Pants for climbing/touring
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I'm hoping to do some winter ski touring in Washington/Oregon this year but I need some new pants. My current system is fleece pants with lightweight rain pants on top that now have some nice big crampon tears in them. For my spring trips last year, the fleece was always too warm and I usually didn't put the rain pants on because I have to take my shoes/boots off! |
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I almost never wear an insulating layer. Find a good pair of well fitting soft shell pants. For ice climbing, there's numerous cheep options. (MH, OR, Marmot, adidas Outdoor), don't skimp and buy something with kick patches. On warmer days, I wear a thin synthetic base layer, for colder, thick wool. I've been climbing in -20 temperatures and haven't had issues with cold legs. As you mentioned, the fleece is way to warm. For warm days touring this also seems to work well for me. On colder touring days, or pre-dawn, I typically wear a hardshell ski pant. Depending on how often you ski it's worth the investment in nice hardshells. I went for a 1/2 height bib. I prefer the hardshell for touring because the decent gets cold with all the wind, going up I'm usually running warm. If you don't want to own two pairs of pants, I'd vote softshell, more universal and comfortable. If it gets super cold you can always throw the fleece back underneath. If you are willing, mammut, OR, arcteryx and pataguci all make awesome options folks rarely regret. |
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In the PNW I don't think I'd ever wear an insulating layer underneath my top layer of pants, I'd be way too warm. Even down to -20C when out touring or ice climbing I find just long underwear under a shell works for me. |
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I really like arc'teryx procline fl. Wide enough for snowboard boots but tighten up for my Nepal cubes. I'm like others and rarely use a hard shell bottom. I used the proclines on baker, Shasta and numerous overnight and day tours in Alaska this past winter. Having the vents really helps too. In case of really crappy weather I bring a light rain pant with full side zips. I particularly like the rei pants made with event. They lack reinforcements but I end up wearing them so minimally it's worth saving the weight and I want event instead of gore Tex in the bottom since they will be going over a heavy soft shell pant. |
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I second the cirque soft shell pants from OR. I work outdoors and have 3 pairs of them that I rotate through. I beat the heck out of them and they have lasted. They're stretchy, a little on the thicker side, and almost completely wind proof. I wore them just yesterday bush whacking in a complete downpour for three hours and my legs were not wet. |
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OR Cirque Pant +3 |
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All of last winter I used the BD Frontpoint Gore-Tex Pro bibs. You can read a more in-depth review from WildSnow here: wildsnow.com/17279/black-di… |
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Rab exodus pants with wool or cap 4 long underwear underneath are a great versatile option. The thigh vents are really nice and provide a lot of temperature range, you'll only need another layer if you're camping or making long stops. |
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akafaultline wrote:I really like arc'teryx procline fl. Wide enough for snowboard boots but tighten up for my Nepal cubes. I'm like others and rarely use a hard shell bottom. I used the proclines on baker, Shasta and numerous overnight and day tours in Alaska this past winter. Having the vents really helps too. In case of really crappy weather I bring a light rain pant with full side zips. I particularly like the rei pants made with event. They lack reinforcements but I end up wearing them so minimally it's worth saving the weight and I want event instead of gore Tex in the bottom since they will be going over a heavy soft shell pant. I've used the proclines in the last winter in temps down to -15 Fahrenheit and just used a mid weight thermal under neath for days below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.Concur - a softshell, near bib type pant and light to mid weight baselayer is plenty for me even on very cold days. |
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Thanks for all the advice! I decided get a pair of the Cirques and see how they do. |
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Good call on the OR Cirque. They'll serve you well for spring touring, and most days touring in the winter either alone or with a baselayer underneath. Depending on how much you like skiing in the rain/cascade concrete, a pair of hardshells with tons of venting like the Flylow Baker can be nice. No need to layer softshell + hardshell though, just pick one or the other. |
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Another OR Cirque vote! |
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Thin merino/synthetic baselayer + Arcteryx Alpha Comps (soft shell on groin and inner thigh, hardshell elsewhere) |