Short women's hardshell pants

My wife needs new hardshell pants.  This time we would like to do it right and find something that comes from the factory fit for her 27" inseam.  Short ladies of MP, how do you find these pants?  It looks like XS Short would work (at least in some brands), but Google can't find us any.  How do you all get pantsed?  Thanks.

JonasMR wrote:

My wife needs new hardshell pants.  This time we would like to do it right and find something that comes from the factory fit for her 27" inseam.  Short ladies of MP, how do you find these pants?  It looks like XS Short would work (at least in some brands), but Google can't find us any.  How do you all get pantsed?  Thanks.

I haven't been "pantsed" myself, well, one exception. 

Try Googling "petite" instead of "short" and I bet you'll get some hits. 

For myself, I'm taking the full zip ski pants I scored a great deal on, used, to the local seamstress. She'll shorten them for a fair price, and I'm still way ahead.

Best, Helen

Thanks OLH.  Still not much luck with 'petite'.  Maybe its time to get better at sewing?  

It seems like messing with hardshell hems would be, well, hard.  What with powder cuffs and different materials.  How much (ish) does your seamstress charge?

JonasMR wrote:

Thanks OLH.  Still not much luck with 'petite'.  Maybe its time to get better at sewing?  

It seems like messing with hardshell hems would be, well, hard.  What with powder cuffs and different materials.  How much (ish) does your seamstress charge?

She hasn't yet, lol!

But, asking about it, about $30, tops. These have cuffs, snaps, full zip (that's the hard part), all that.

If they can do so, they preserve the cuff as is, and take the extra length out higher up. Then, fix that zip.

Tailors do the same, in my understanding, and la ti dah jeans are done the same way, so it isn't a stretch for someone who knows what they're doing. Not me, for sure!

I just roll the jeans up, myself. 

Best, OLH

I've also seen suggestions to just use gaiters to sorta cinch up the extra. If it's not a bunch, that seems really reasonable too.

Best, Helen

Yeah, it is hard to find petite/short inseams in specialized technical pants. I'm 5'2" and when shopping for hardshell pants I have just learned which brands make impossibly long legs that will never work for me (e.g. Patagonia, usually) and which brands have more moderate length inseams (Mountain Hardwear has been good), but they are still always too long and I haven't tried hemming them; as gunkiemike points out it is hard to shorten pants with fancy stuff going on at the bottom. Anyway, my hardshell pants just end up being all bunched up extra fabric at the knees and it never really bothers me. 

Marmot precip pants.  They make 'short' versions.  My wife is 5'0" and they fit her just fine.  You can order directly from their website.