Paintball

[noctem89]

alrighty, next review. I ended up picking these up since my eclipse pants were just too big, and I didnt want to deal with paintballing in a belt. I ordered these off of ebay for 115 shipped nib, and got a damn good deal out of it. One thing about these pants. They seem to be out of stock EVERYWHERE. I dont know if its just limited runs, high demand or what, but it is difficult to find these pants in the color your want in the size you need. But anyway, here we go



When I first got the box, I was a bit confused. it seemed to light to contain a pair of paintball pants. Well, lo and behold it did. Here are my new exalt thrashers, sealed nicely in what looks like a large freezer bag. I ordered size large, since it said they were fairly adjustable with a large inseam. I cannot stand squating down and having my pants ride up on my ankles. These I can fortunatly say, don't. These are also not as bulky as other pairs of pants that I have seen, which can be a pro or con to some, it doesnt matter to me. These fit me really well (6'1 160 lbs, ordered a large), so I can't complain.



Here they are. First things I noticed out of the box were that the knees are soooolid. The pant material is mostly thick, which reminded me of my old C8s. There seemed to be a distict lack of "features", which can be good for some, bad for others. I dont mind, as long as they perform.



Closeup of the knee. The stitching is interesting, going against the grain of the pants. Ed from exalt has stated that this is to prevent stitching from ripping out as you slide, which is a good idea. The material is almost the same as PE pants, which means quality and no ripping. Time will tell though how well the knees hold up.



One thing that attracted me to these pants was how far the actual knee kevlar material extended. The material starts at about mid shin, comes up above the knee when sitting, and wraps around to the back of the quads. There is also hip padding of the same material on the hips, and extending down into the pockets.



There are dual swab pockets on either side of the pants, just above where the padding starts to wrap around the back of the leg. These have tabs on them to assist in putting in and taking out of swabs. They are embossed with the exalt logo



Down to the closure of the legs. A nice cinching mechanism is used. This will not fall off or be crushed it looks like. One con about the design is that if you dont like to have your pant legs cinched, these are right where your heel is. These could very easily be stepped on, which might lead to problems in the future.



The pockets are nice and deep. However, like PE pants, these dont have any sort of closure. This is a little irritating, since most other brands have at least velcro to hold our belongings in your pockets as you play. Time will tell how good/bad this is. The pockets are reinforced with double stitching and a heavy material, so they wont at least rip oen.



moving up to the waistline.
-The belt loops are solid, double stitched onto the pants, so sliding wont rip them off. The exalt logo is printed in ruber in a repeating fashion along the waist, giving a cool look to the pants. Time will tell how well these last.
-One thing to mention, these pants do not have a back support like PE, Dye, or Empire pants. One thing to consider in the future, but the exalt logos seem sticky enough to help hold the pack in place.



onto the fly and closure of the pants.
-An interesting feature about these pants is how they close. There is no velcro to be worn out, or catch on other things in the wash. These pants close with dual drawstrings in the front of the pants, which are then covered with the fly. An interesting idea, which I will reserve judgement on. I am a 32 waist, and with large pants I have to cinch these down a bit. This leads to bunching, which kinda ruins how the pants look, but its just an aesthetic feature.
-The fly itself is triple padded, so extremely thick to protect the goods. Another interesting feature is the zippered pockets hidden within the fly. I'm not sure if you are supposed to tuck the drawstrings into those, or put small items in. I know for a fact my keys are NOT going right in front of my crotch, sorry. If that is what the pocket is for, I would say that it needs to be moved.
-The pants close on the front with a heavy zipper, and button with two remarkably thick buttons. There is an exalt pulltab on the fly, to help in opening the overlaping piece, which is reminiscent of the PE pants.



onward to venting and inner material.
-The pants are lined with a nice mesh material, again bringing back memories of the dye pants, since the mesh extends all the way down the legs. One thing some might not like is that the pockets are fashioned out of mesh, so they will let small things through and get keys caught. The actual venting on the pants is great, extending up to the crotch from the legs. There are also mesh panels strategicaly placed around the pants to increase airflow. I am currently sitting in my dorm in Texas with the A/C off wearing these, and not sweating at all.
-The stretch panels on these pants are quite nice, and feel almost like oldschool empire grnd pants. They are well stitched, but stretch very well.

Conclusion
Pros
-Cheaper than other "high end" pants, yet built quite like them with the same ammount of quality.
-Cool color choices for speedballers, only grey avalible for woodsballers who just want a dark pant
-Extremely heavy duty knees and pant material. These suckers will last a LONG time
- Well made ankle closures, zippers, and buttons
-A brand that not a whole lot of people use, so you will definatly stand out

Cons
-No closures on pockets. Cmon pant manufacturers, zippered closures are they way of the future
-Avaliblility, these are kinda hard to find in the color and size you need
-Placement of ankle closure pieces, they can easily be stepped on.
-For some, the mesh pockets are a turn off.

Unsure (reserving judgement on)
-Method used to tighten pants, need to see how well these work and hold up to play
-Pocket hidden in fly, unsure of what this is for

Final impressions, I really like these pants. They remind me of a cross between all the major brands, with a cool look to them. Time will tell how well they hold up, but I do like them.

I'll be updating this review as I play in these pants more. I'm going to try to get out and play some indoor sometime within the next few weeks, so I'll update the review then. My next scenario is June 6th, so I will have a while to go.

Enjoy, and feel free to ask questions

[splattttttt]

Large size fits 32-35" waist, which is good for me. But have a 34" inseam. Way too long. But they do look nice and strong.

[dirty harold]

was just talking to my dad about this he wears a kevlar vest to work and says you can wash kevlar even if its only that much.

[worrptangl]

I swear that the guitarist for five finger death punch was wearing these in their "Over and Under it " video. I know one of the guys was wearing their paintball jersey in the video.

[Kermit]

Friend of mine has a pair. He used them for half a season and the knee ripped out. Other than that, he said he loved them.

[Menace]

Good review.

Just out of curiosity, are these made by APX? The Thrasher name, plus some of the design features, suggest some relationship.

[splattttttt]

These pants are back for retail. Just ordered mine on ebay for $99. shipped.
These are new for 2012 with some changes made, like zippered pockets