I tried on 25 pairs of pants
so hopefully you don't have to.
Hi Toggsers, Hadley here.
Maybe it’s because it’s mid-winter. Or maybe because it’s post New Years reflections. Maybe because of all the personal transitions in my life. But I’ve been having a lot of conversations around the idea of engaging in activities for enjoyment rather than any considered or practical purpose. The idea of time spent doing activities, or having conversations that are detached from progress. Detached from achievement. Detached from seriousness. And how seriously hard finding those moments can be, particularly as I get older, the more spread out my friends are around the world and the busier life becomes-a word and lifestyle I don’t love or aspire to.
I miss those “ski bum” years, living in a cabin the woods with my friends, spending evenings building pump tracks in the backyard or just giggling over nothing on the couch…
One of my motivations for moving away from being a performance driven athlete to a story-telling athlete was to refocus the way I was skiing. There’s the classic argument that skiing is either sport or art. But for me, it’s a third option-skiing is a chance to play. Overtime, the over-metric’d aspects dampened all the fun. The focus too acutely placed on the summit or the steep. I for sure love trying hard, walking far and skiing technical lines. But I also love hot-lapping a chairlift weeks after it’s snowed, laughing with my friends, letting pizza oil drip down my chin. Carving, crashing, and convulsing with giggles.
One of our main missions at Togs is expanding the accepted uniform in the outdoors and ski towns. One of my new personal missions is widening or perhaps just reminding myself of, the accepted ways to ski, ride, climb, hike, and run. To balance out the sweat and burn with sunshine and picnics. To celebrate those pushing the edge equally to those out there to just have a nice, simple time. Because one way is not better than the other, but I’m weary of letting myself get off balance when I engage too much in one direction.
This extends into the clothes we wear-a mission to adding the flair back in. Because wearing dope structural earrings why you ski might not make you carve better, but they just might back you feel doper! Having an interesting print on your touring pant might not make you skin faster, but might make you smile through the leg burn?
And here at Togs-that’s what we are all about. The all being expression in a variety of forms. A celebration of getting to be outside and living in or visiting these beautiful places while embracing the swag.
I wrote a piece for the newest High Route Magazine on the topic of swagger in ski touring. It’s out now-and word on the street is there’s just 1/3 of inventory left of the mag. I’m not sure I’ve ever had more fun playing with words for an article before.
“Vain trifles as they seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than to merely keep us warm. They change our view of the world and the world’s view of us.” I don’t think Virginia Woolf skied, but she certainly understood the way clothes project an idea of self outward. There is a functional nature to ski clothing that allows us to play in winter landscapes; however, the purpose of clothes isn’t just to protect us from the elements. Often what we wear is an outward signal, a visual expression.
Glasses resting on the outside of your hat at a tilt-I skied these lines before you were born. All black Artc’teryx kit—don’t follow me, I’m going somewhere you shouldn’t. Tri-layered Gore-Tex free jacket—I’m new and excited and very sweaty. Narrow 90’s era glasses—I am young, potentially hungover, and will definitely out ski you. -Excerpt from the High Route article-Swagless Sartorial Skiing
You can find the rest of the piece and other great stories in the mag here.
This post doesn’t have much to do with fun per say-it’s a post about ski pants (though one could argue skiing/riding is the most fun so the pants are an assistance to the fun). But in the act of trying on as many pants I could find in Chamonix, I noticed that there wasn’t much play going on when it came to technical driven bottoms-be it prints, fabrics, or fits. There were a lot of pants to try, but many looked pretty similar. The design differences were slight, and some important in what they added or missed, but I was hoping to be a bit more surprised.
In order to address the quantity of options-I narrowed my search for this round to shell pants only. I’ve never been a huge fan of insulated pants just as they lose versatility pretty quickly.
If you know me, or have been here at TOGS since the beginning-you know I love a stretch pant. And I’ll be checking those out next. I want to see how these new fashion forward brands, think Halfdays and Jorde, stack up to the technical focused brands like TNF and Arcteryx and the older fashion houses like Moncler (swoon) and Bogner. I want to see if a brand out there is hitting my sweet spot of function and fashion. So far TNF is still winning for style and price point with the Snoga.
After 14 years of being sent stuff-it was a fascinating experience to become a consumer again. Holy moly was it also overwhelming. There is SO much clothing out there and I get how it’s hard to know what’s good or even where to start. Those questions make me even more excited to keep TOGS going and become detectives for all of you so you can focus on the fun!
When I went searching-I had two customers in mind- my oldest friend Liza and myself.
Liza lives in Virginia but her parents live in Jackson where she visits for Christmas and potentially other parts of the winter as well. She’s a great skier but isn’t going every week. She asked me this year for a new pant suggestion-a ski pant that will last the next five or ten years, that looks cool, but also can handle a good amount of beating-aka her 2 kids spilling hot chocolate all over her, and that keeps her warm in Wyoming which fluctuates in temperature.
For me, I look for a pant that is versatile-that will be sturdy enough for lift laps and functional enough for longer ski tours. Chamonix is generally pretty warm, if not downright hot, so I don’t always need the warmest of pants. Often my biggest concern is fit. I’m somewhere between 5’2 and 5’3 and have an XS waist and legs/butt that make my pants a S or M. I’m pretty dang curvy which historically has been tricky for finding outdoor clothing.
I ended up trying on over 20 pairs of pants-and I easily could have found 20 more. Being mid-season, some of the styles I was looking for were sold out. Being Europe, there were also a few American brands that I didn’t find in the shops. I haven’t tested any of them outside of the dressing room either. So consider this just a start.
Shall we begin?
From the North
When I was first competing on the Freeride World Tour-I had a major girl crush on Matilda Rapaport. She embodied so much of what I wanted to by-quiet in speaking but bold in her skiing. She always looked so good while the rest of us were still awkwardly trying to figure out our styles.
Matilda rode for Peak Performance-and their silhouettes and color palettes were at least five years ahead of the time. Unfortunately for Americans-it was impossible to purchase the Swedish brand stateside. But that has now changed. Peak is available in the US through their website.
I would consider this outfit perfect for someone spending most of their time riding lifts and lift accessed backcountry. I’m wearing a small-and the simple velcro waste adjustment helped to keep the waste band snug. Where I think Peak thrives is their colors. The only con is they only come in one length which was longer than most brands I tried-which is fine if you don’t mind pooling around your boot-but becomes a bit more challenging when you start needing crampons etc. The quality and attention to detail are through the roof for both their pants and jackets. And again, their color palette is often my favorite of all the brands year after year.
Bumping over to Norway-Noronna is another European brand making an inroad into the US. This pant is ideal for a chairlift rider who wants to make one purchase for the next 10 years. The material is bomber-which makes me think this pant will last a long, long time. But so bomber I wouldn’t want to do much hiking/skinning in it because of the noise and weight.
The silhouette is classic “freeride”-baggy throughout. Again it’s longer than I would like with no option for different lengths, but the gator runs high enough that I think you could bring them to a tailor. It might be totally silly-but when pants pool at the knees it drives me nuts! It’s tricky to get the articulation you need for skiing while avoiding the pool-and isn’t a Noronna specific problem. But I do think having different lengths helps to mitigate the excess fabric.
A northern brand I’ve been excited to get my hands on is Amundsen, also originating in Norway but available in the US. My interest peaked when I learned the brand’s three pillars-using natural materials, play well and “frilutsliv” which has no direct english translation but embodies the state of mind found outdoors separate from activity or competition. All ideas that make my heart sing!
These pants are made with three layers of 67% organic cotton. They are then treated with a PFAS free repellent-making them water resistant. My hunch is I wouldn’t stand under a waterfall in these pants, but I’m excited to see how they hold up in general winter conditions. The fit downfall is that in a small I maxed out the waist adjustment and still had some room-but otherwise I liked how it was a bit of a snugger fit there wasn’t excess fabric anywhere else. The hand feel of these pants is delightful. The brand was nice enough to send me the complete cotton kit to test and a handful of wool sweaters (the cream sweater you see in almost all these pictures is also from the brand) so I’ll be able to report back soon on how they hold up in the elements.
Most Surprised
The pant that surprised me the most came from Mammut and while it’s really geared towards alpinism, I think it’s a pant that could be used for freeskiing and touring. If you’re someone who is wanting a pant that will grow with you as you explore all forms of mountain pursuits-this is the pant for you.
The fit for me was spot on. In some of the reviews it sounds like if you’re taller that might not be the case-but for me these fit better than any of the other pants I tried in waist, legs, and length.
The cut is pretty straight, and short which I love. I’ve noticed in street style that I’m drawn more and more to classically cut trouser that offer the eye a respite after so much ballooning. (again one not better than another, but we love the mix). Consider these the alpine version of your italian grandpa’s trousers.
The white zipper is definitely a look but overtime it grew on me.
One note is you’ll have to use a chest strap for your beacon as there is not a beacon pocket. This can/might lead to a long debate-but generally speaking I think wearing your beacon around your chest is the “safest” option for a variety of reasons.
Touring Focused
For riders who are looking for a touring specific pant-the Stormstride pant is a good option. It’s very simple in design-which I think is key for touring. You don’t need a lot of bells and whistles out there. The fabric reminded me of North Face’s futurelight that despite mixed reviews, I loved. It’s quiet (hours of hearing a swish can drive someone nuts), and soft. It’s like you’re skiing naked but well, you’re not.
There were some elements that I didn’t like-the waist adjustment is on the inside and it’s a pretty massive velcro patch that was pokey and created a stiffness that played against the overall softness of pant. The other struggle I have with Patagonia is the colorways specifically for the women’s lines (I usually love the men’s colors). They tend to stay in the mauves, taupes, beiges where I prefer the nordic brands’ richer hues-which of course is just a personal preference. If you were a fan of the skims/TNF or Halfdays/Ilia collab-I think you’ll enjoy the color of the Stormstride pant, with the increase in technical functions.
Arcteryx’s Sentinel Pant is another great option for a touring specific pant. It’s beefier than Patagonia’s so it also lives comfortably in the do both category. It had a more robust waist adjustment/internal belt. I also like that the thigh pockets are situated a bit higher to avoid your stuff riding closer to your kneecaps. Arcteryx offers short-reg-long lengths in their pants (this was a regular as they were out of the short) and I really thing if brands are able to-that it’s a very sellable feature. There wasn’t much I didn’t like about this pant.
I wasn’t going to go there…
Originally I was going to leave bibs as a separate category since I already had try-on fatigue after the first 3 hours of my “shopping” experience. But then I was already in the new Arcteryx shop in Chamonix, and since they only offer three shell pants including the bibs, it was easy to give them a go.
I put them on and immediately I fell in love. I used to only wear bibs. Then I moved to Chamonix and it’s often so disturbingly hot, that I switched back to mostly using pants. But man oh man, I felt my soul light up when I tried them on.
I just felt so dope-which is a feeling I find equal in importance to cut, fabric, and fit. The cut made me feel slim and somehow taller than I am. I loved the way the suspenders were cut to hug my back but allow some space for the pant to move when skiing. They are buttery soft. Not really baggy and not really tight.
They are also pretty expensive…
And because of that price- I went back and tried on some others. I liked the Mammut HS bib, which kept the softness and went for the hybrid bib/pant style. If you’re often touring, and run warm, I think they are a great option.
I also borrowed a friend’s Flylow bib (a brand not available in Europe). It has a similar cut as the Arcteryx bib and a much more affordable price point. Where the difference will come in, based on reviews on the internet and friends, is that the Flylow ones are less significantly less waterproof than the Arcteryx pair. So better for those in drier climates.
I think the Arcteryx bib’s remain definitely on top for me, but for the same price you could buy a pant and jacket from the other brands.
Are you dizzy yet?
A few concluding points:
The title of this piece is a bit misleading. You still should probably go try on a pant before you buy them for two reasons: fit, in my mind, reigns supreme when it comes to the function of a garment. Second-there’s something magic-like in clothing that happens only when it’s on your body. That feeling of oh shit yeah I look good requires the clothing to be on you and not just purchased through the internet.
That being said-it’s overwhelming out there and my experimental retail day helped me breakdown in my mind what filters I could create to narrow my options.
Fit:
Are you tall, short, or average height? If you’re on the other sides of average-finding an option that offers different lengths can make a big difference in fit. If your short, Mammut’s pants had the shortest average lengths. If you’re tall-Peak Performance is a good option. Arcteryx, Flylow, and North Face offer lengths for most if not all of their pants.
Do your hips curve or stay straight? Patagonia’s boxier cuts I find look better on straighter figures, Mammut’s pants hugged my curves in a nice way, and Arcteryx works well for both.
Usage:
Are you touring, riding lifts, or a combination of both?
Do you need a hyperspecific pant that’s the best at one thing or a versatile pant that can do them all pretty well?
Region:
Do you live in BC where you need something closer to a garbage bag or are you my neighbor in Cham where it’s normally pretty balmy. This will change the level of water proofing you need but also what style of venting is included.
How do they work?
That I can’t tell you yet-but I’m excited to give them a real test in the elements and report back. In the meantime-feel free to hop into the comments or that chat if you have any of these pants, or a pair I didn’t mention that you think we should test!
Phew…that was a long one!
-Hadley
P.S. If you work at a brand or a shop, I can’t help but include a note on dressing rooms. Most of the rooms I tried clothes on felt like an afterthought. Cramped dark closets, or curtains ballooned around a wall without much interior light…not ideal for trying things on-particularly clothes you’d like to squat and lunge in (and ideally privately). The Arcteryx store nailed it-wide, well lit, beautifully styled rooms. The Peak Performance was fairly decent as well given the constraints of the building.
The rest were pretty uncomfortable to be in-not the ideal state when dropping five to two thousand dollars on gear…
This was a fun deep dive. I do think women’s ski pants are so hard because everyone’s body is different and pants have to suit so many different needs!
I love a ski pant deep dive!! I went on my own ski pant journey earlier this winter, and I landed on two pairs that are fairly niche but EXCELLENT. The Raide Women's Tour Tech Bib is a softshell/hardshell hybrid, great for touring but also great for the resort. https://raideresearch.com/products/womens-tourtech-pant
The other is a new up and coming brand by a woman who used to design for other companies but is striking out on her own- Awning Designs. She makes a bib that is super simple, but extremely waterproof- think those warm wintry mix days in the PNW or wet powder days when your butt gets wet from the snow on the lift. They've got waterproof paneling but are lightweight and comfortable. https://www.awning-design.com/shop/p/womenssogfreebib (these would be excellent in the "my kid spilled hot chocolate on me" category as I've spilled bone broth and more on them and it rolls right off)