peak_bgr
New member
I'm in need of a good pair of pant shells. Durable, not to heavy. Reinforced knees would be great. Any recommendations? Please a couple links would be great. I need these for the big boys out West. Rainier, Hood, etc..
Pant Shell Links
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Peakbagr
Well-known member
Spencer,
Marmot Guide pants. A good friend of mine( you met him on Wolf Pond Mt) swore by them for years. Until I bought a pair, I didn't know why. Gore-Tex, full bottom and top side zips so you can ventilate them in the middle of your legs, reinforced and backed by Marmot's guarantees. Warm enough to wear summer hiking shorts under them, or light long johns. I choked at the price, but worth it for winter or out west. You can save money by looking around on the web.
Alan
Marmot Guide pants. A good friend of mine( you met him on Wolf Pond Mt) swore by them for years. Until I bought a pair, I didn't know why. Gore-Tex, full bottom and top side zips so you can ventilate them in the middle of your legs, reinforced and backed by Marmot's guarantees. Warm enough to wear summer hiking shorts under them, or light long johns. I choked at the price, but worth it for winter or out west. You can save money by looking around on the web.
Alan
Features to consider:
Double butt; double knee
The heavy wear areas.
Full-side zips
Two reasons:
1. It's possible to put the pants on w/o removing boots (to-the-knee zips also allow this, but not as well)
2. Ventilation
Low profile side zip
Makes the pants a lot less bulky. The zips on the Arc'Teryx products (for example) are first rate. After that internal storm flaps seem to be less bulky than external storm flaps.
Beefy crampon/ski-edge patch
on the inside ankle. In the absence of a rugged external gaiter, such OR Crocs, the benefit of this feature will become very apparent, very quickly.
Removable suspenders.
Probably a personal preference, but they're nice to have on occasion, if not always.
Map pocket on the thigh.
Probably a personal preference.
Internal Gaiter.
Personally I don't like these, but some friends LOVE them.
As to the question about which products. Hmmm....
More than any other piece of gear (other than gaiters), these things seem to get trashed in normal use; glissading, errant crampon placements, ski edges, ice screw teeth, bushwhacking.... all take their toll on shell pants. Consequently I tend to think of them almost as a "consumable" and shop as much on price as anything else.
Gortex is great, but somewhat superfluous when it's possible to vent using full size zips. Pants made of other breatheable (and not AS breatheable) fabrics sold by Lowe Alpine, Patagonia, etc. work acceptably well and are often a lot less expensive. I've used products from Lowe Alpine, Marmot, Mountain Hardwear, and housebrand stuff from EMS; they're all fine - usually just a variation or two in the features that are offered - and worthy of consideration.
The online overstock / closeout places usually have some inventory:
www.rei-outlet.com
www.northernmountain.com
www.sierratradingpost.com
www.backcountryoutlet.com
www.campmor.com
And of course, good deals can be found on the close-out racks at bricks-and-mortar stores: EMS, IME, Ragged Mountain, and The Mountaineer, etc.
Double butt; double knee
The heavy wear areas.
Full-side zips
Two reasons:
1. It's possible to put the pants on w/o removing boots (to-the-knee zips also allow this, but not as well)
2. Ventilation
Low profile side zip
Makes the pants a lot less bulky. The zips on the Arc'Teryx products (for example) are first rate. After that internal storm flaps seem to be less bulky than external storm flaps.
Beefy crampon/ski-edge patch
on the inside ankle. In the absence of a rugged external gaiter, such OR Crocs, the benefit of this feature will become very apparent, very quickly.
Removable suspenders.
Probably a personal preference, but they're nice to have on occasion, if not always.
Map pocket on the thigh.
Probably a personal preference.
Internal Gaiter.
Personally I don't like these, but some friends LOVE them.
As to the question about which products. Hmmm....
More than any other piece of gear (other than gaiters), these things seem to get trashed in normal use; glissading, errant crampon placements, ski edges, ice screw teeth, bushwhacking.... all take their toll on shell pants. Consequently I tend to think of them almost as a "consumable" and shop as much on price as anything else.
Gortex is great, but somewhat superfluous when it's possible to vent using full size zips. Pants made of other breatheable (and not AS breatheable) fabrics sold by Lowe Alpine, Patagonia, etc. work acceptably well and are often a lot less expensive. I've used products from Lowe Alpine, Marmot, Mountain Hardwear, and housebrand stuff from EMS; they're all fine - usually just a variation or two in the features that are offered - and worthy of consideration.
The online overstock / closeout places usually have some inventory:
www.rei-outlet.com
www.northernmountain.com
www.sierratradingpost.com
www.backcountryoutlet.com
www.campmor.com
And of course, good deals can be found on the close-out racks at bricks-and-mortar stores: EMS, IME, Ragged Mountain, and The Mountaineer, etc.
Last edited:
hillman1
New member
When are you going out west?
peak_bgr
New member
Rainier late next spring or early summer.
Linehant-thanks for the links and suggestions, I'm gonna check them out right now.
Linehant-thanks for the links and suggestions, I'm gonna check them out right now.
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