i ended up returning these - the random diagonal seam lines on the pants were not feeling very comfortable, i think there was too much tension going through them, and i felt like they were restricting my movement.  at about the same time as i purchased these, i also got a pair of either midweight or heavyweight (expedition weight) smartwool pants - those only have the seams on the inner part of the leg, i got them also in medium, and i did not feel like my movement was restricted in those, nor any scratchiness.  other than the pants, i own a couple of pairs of smartwool socks, and overall am pretty happy with the quality of the wool - usually i find wool too scratchy and itchy (mostly i wear cashmere) - but for some reason smartwool products are very tolerable.