Skiers demand a lot of their pants. We want them to fit well, vent while protecting us from the elements, and be flexible but also durable. This winter, in an effort to find the best on the market, I spent three months testing 16 pairs of pants and bibs, with the help of four other skiers. My all-around favorite was a pair of bibs from Trew. They were comfortable, versatile, and breathed much better than expected. Of course, different skiers have different tastes, so we also tested everything from baggy freeride models and insulated in-bounds pants to slim soft shells for backcountry skiing.
Our Favorite Men’s Ski Pants
Trew Trewth Bibs ($420)
In theory, bibs offer a level of comfort and protection from the elements that pants can never match. But in practice, many are frustrating to wear鈥攖hey often don鈥檛 vent or fit well, and the suspenders frequently slip.
Not so with the waterproof Trewth bibs. Trew put a tacky lining on the suspenders to keep them in place聽and coupled that with soft rubber strap adjustments that stayed away from the top of my shoulders, where pack straps could rub uncomfortably. (By contrast, Spyder鈥檚 Nordwand bib, which I also tested, is marred by uncomfortable metal clasps. Anyone who has suffered through a tour with strap adjusters digging into their shoulders will avoid bibs like that at all costs.) The suspenders have such a wide range that a medium fit both my five-foot-ten-inch frame and another tester鈥檚, who is six foot one. I also had enough room to layer a light puffy underneath on cold in-bounds days.
Because bibs cover so much of a skier鈥檚 body in a relatively vapor-impermeable layer, many people find them stuffy. I didn鈥檛 have that problem with the Trewth bibs. The side vents run from my armpits to my knees, and they鈥檙e secured by a well-placed snap at the top that keeps them from flapping open while still allowing plenty of air movement.
And for areas of the bibs that don鈥檛 have a vent, we found the waterproof membrane to be more breathable than others in the test. The fabric was soft and flexible聽and didn鈥檛 make the telltale swishing sound that I associate with Gore-Tex pants, nor the crinkle sound I hear in pants like Norrona鈥檚 Lyngen (reviewed below), which are made with Gore-Tex Pro. The Trewth bibs have a generous amount of stretch, helpful聽when I reached down for my boot buckles, and I never had any issues with the material wetting out, though my testing was mostly limited to skiing in relatively dry continental Rockies snow.
What鈥檚 more, the Trewth bibs feature a larger storage capacity than any other pants in the test: there are five waterproof pockets placed around the hips and torso聽and two large cargo pockets above the knees. More than any others we tried, they鈥檙e the pants I keep returning to. Even bib skeptics in the test crew started coming around eventually.
Best Hard-Shell Touring Pants
Fj盲llr盲ven Bergtagen Eco-Shell Trousers ($470)
I liked Fj盲llr盲ven鈥檚 Bergtagen pants for two main reasons: they have simple full-length side zippers that are easy to open and close, even with gloves on, and they鈥檙e just 23 ounces鈥攍ightweight for hard-shell pants, which tend to be heavier than their soft-shell equivalents. Those are key features for ski touring.
The Bergtagen is made with Fj盲llr盲ven鈥檚 Eco-Shell material, a PFC-free, recycled-polyester fabric that kept out precipitation and breathed enough to keep my temperature well regulated. It doesn鈥檛 have quite as much stretch as the Trewth bibs or Black Diamond鈥檚 Recon Stretch pants (below), but there鈥檚 enough to comfortably move around during transitions. I also liked the aramid reinforcements on the cuffs for top-notch abrasion resistance.
In keeping with European style trends, the Bergtagen runs on the slim side, but that doesn鈥檛 restrict movement in the knees. And unlike most brands, Fj盲llr盲ven gives buyers the option of choosing from a list of preset waist and inseam measurements, as you would with a pair of jeans, which anyone who doesn鈥檛 fit neatly into one of the main-size categories can appreciate.
Best Soft-Shell Touring Pants
Dynafit Mercury ($230)
Soft-shell material is usually more breathable than that of hard shells, at the expense of total waterproofness. For people who do a lot of high-output touring and live in relatively dry climates like the Colorado Rockies, soft shells often make sense. Dynafit鈥檚 Mercury pants are minimalist, lightweight (just 20 ounces), and my choice for uphill skiing.
Dynafit made the Mercury with a nylon-polyester-elastane material it聽calls Dynastretch, which is windproof and water-repellent. They felt like soft sweatpants more than snow pants聽but still come with a beacon pocket, an integrated belt, and reinforced hems.
One tester used the Mercury pants for the Grand Traverse, a 40-mile ski-mountaineering race in Colorado, and on weeknight ski-mountaineering races at Colorado鈥檚 Eldora Mountain. He thought they breathed well聽and found that the zippers on the pockets and vents were easy to use with gloves on. Like the Bergtagen, the Mercury聽runs on the small side. These pants are聽also probably not the right choice for skiing wet powder in the Pacific Northwest. But you鈥檇 be hard-pressed to find better pants for ski touring in the Rocky Mountain West or other dry climes.
Best Storm-Skiing Pants
Flylow Chemical ($350)
I ended up wearing the Chemical聽on two of the most miserable ski days I had this winter: a backcountry tour in a whiteout with sustained 30-mile-per-hour winds and gusts up to 60, and another tour that ended in a half-mile bushwhack through dense trees. In about 30 minutes, I achieved a full season鈥檚 worth of branch scraping. Both times聽I was very happy to be wearing these pants.
Flylow鈥檚 waterproof fabric never wetted out and is noticeably less stiff than Gore-Tex shell materials, but the pants聽still felt burly, like a worn-in pair of Carhartts. Compared to the Trewth bibs or Fj盲llr盲ven Bergtagen, the side vents are small. Accordingly, they didn鈥檛 breathe quite as well, but they were adequate for touring, even on warmer days. And in stormy conditions, they never failed to protect against sideways snow and rogue tree branches.
The fit is on the looser end of the spectrum, and I liked the Chemical鈥檚 articulated knees and adjustable button cuffs, which allowed for easy access to my boot buckles. If you鈥檙e the type of person (like me) who loosens their boots at the bottom of each run, this is a much appreciated feature. Flylow also included an internal beacon pocket in the leg, adding utility for backcountry skiers who already plan to bushwhack through deadfall in search of untouched powder.
Best In-Bounds Pants
Stio Environ ($379)
Billed as an all-around pant, the Environ is a bit on the warm and heavy side, but it鈥檚 just those traits that make it ideal for resort riding. An adjustable waistband, belt loops, and a relaxed, slightly articulated fit make it聽comfortable for long days, and I was happy to keep this pant聽on well into apr猫s.
Stio stitched flaps over the zippers and pockets, which look cool聽but add extra weight that would be unnecessary on a tour. The Environ鈥檚 fabric is soft聽but has a quality, durable feel to it聽and never wetted out, even when I took it聽on a trip to Big Bear Lake, California, to ski slushy spring snow. The pant聽runs a bit on the longer side, and a medium felt loose and baggy on me聽and even fit the six-foot-six skier in our test.
Honorable Mentions
Black Diamond Recon Stretch ($329)
As the name suggests, these Black Diamond pants (the gray pants pictured above)聽offer excellent mobility. The fabric is wind- and waterproof, and the waist has an integrated, low-profile belt. That鈥檚 a tricky feature to get right鈥擯atagonia鈥檚 PowSlayer, for example, uses velcro on the inside of the waistband, which literally rubbed me the wrong way under a pack鈥攂ut Black Diamond鈥檚 version is functional and unobtrusive. (The company also included belt loops, which is confusing and totally unnecessary.)
The cuffs are reinforced and have quarter-length zippers, which offered easy access to my boots for transitions without taking off my gloves. The biggest downside was a relative lack of pockets鈥攖he pants have just three, one of which is for a beacon鈥攁nd I noticed the lack of storage capacity.
Ortovox 3L Guardian Shell ($700)
Not quite a bib, but more than a pant, the Guardian Shell pants are very high waisted and have a finely woven merino-wool lining for a bit of low-volume insulation. For in-bounds or even sidecountry riding, they performed well, although with their insulation and side zips that are small and hard to operate, they would be too stuffy for touring.
Norrona Lyngen Gore-Tex Pro聽($479)
At just over 15 ounces, Norrona鈥檚 Lyngen pants were the lightest in this test. Their weight and packability mean they can even be聽stashed easily in a pack on approaches, as one tester did while ice climbing and guiding this winter in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Picture Object ($200 MSRP)
Picture鈥檚 Object pants are聽vegan, organic, recyclable, and insulated, which makes them聽a great option for cold resort days. The high-waisted gaiter may not be for everyone聽but could be a good compromise for people who don鈥檛 want bibs.
How We Picked the Best Men’s Ski Pants
This winter, four testers and I, all of whom are dedicated backcountry skiers as well as avid resort-goers, spent three months testing 16 different pants both at聽resorts and in the backcountry of聽Colorado, Wyoming, and California. We had sunny, slushy spring conditions as well as single-digit days above tree line with high winds and whiteout conditions. Three testers were training for the Grand Traverse聽backcountry ski race. Combined, we put in hundreds of miles of touring and accrued over 100,000 human-powered vertical feet (ascent and descent).
Ultimately, the difference between good men’s ski pants and great ones is narrow. All the pants in the test kept me and my fellow testers dry and warm, but some offered a level of breathability, comfort, and versatility that stood out. The pants reviewed here made the cut largely because the companies that make them pay attention to detail.
What to Look for in Men’s Ski Pants
While Gore-Tex has long set the benchmark for waterproof, durable, and breathable fabrics, companies are increasingly developing their own proprietary materials with great success. This means consumers have more options than ever, but it also means there鈥檚 more jargon to decipher. I鈥檝e tried to clear some of that up for you here.
Soft Shells Versus Hard Shells
Soft-shell fabrics are breathable at the expense of total waterproofness. Hard-shell fabrics are, for all practical purposes, waterproof but less breathable. (Typically, because they鈥檙e supple and thus prone to snagging, soft-shell pants are designed with key areas of waterproof or hard-shell reinforcement around the knees, seat, and cuffs.) Soft shells will do a better job of regulating temperature during high-output activities, and if you spend a lot of time skinning uphill, and can afford more than one pair of pants, you might want to invest in both hard-shell and soft-shell pants. If you鈥檙e looking for versatility, a breathable hard-shell pant with good venting, such as the Trewth bib, with its ridiculously high 40K breathability rating, will do the trick. (More on ratings next.)
Waterproof and Breathability Ratings
A completely waterproof material, like rubber, doesn鈥檛 breathe. Wear it聽and you鈥檒l end up soaked in your own sweat. Instead, most shell fabrics鈥攅ven hard shells鈥攁re designed to be extremely water-resistant rather than waterproof. Manufacturers often rate their fabrics with two numbers. The first, a waterproof rating, is a measure of how many millimeters of聽water it takes to penetrate the fabric under a certain amount of pressure. The second, a breathability rating, indicates how many grams of聽water vapor can pass through the material from the inside out during a certain amount of time.
All of the pants I tested, even the soft-shell options, were sufficiently waterproof for the relatively dry conditions in聽the Rocky Mountain region. The only time you鈥檒l likely notice a difference from wearing pants with higher waterproof ratings is in extremely wet environments, like the Pacific Northwest, where the drawbacks of a soft shell may outweigh the benefits of comfort and breathability. But even the hard-shell Stio Environ, with its 20K waterproof rating (on the lower end of the spectrum; by contrast, the Fj盲llr盲ven Bergtagen Eco-Shell has聽a 30K rating), never wetted out during three months of testing.
Breathability is a bigger consideration. If moisture can鈥檛 escape, you鈥檒l get wet from the inside, and in the worst cases, your sweat will freeze inside the shell. Still, if you鈥檙e planning on riding mostly in-bounds or doing very little backcountry, you may not need or want the highest breathability. (Pants I tested with lower breathability were also noticeably warmer.)
Other Considerations In Picking the Best Men’s Ski Pants
Insulation
For high-output activities like touring and ski mountaineering, I don鈥檛 recommend insulated pants. On the other hand, minimalist shell pants will need to be worn with warm base layers for in-bounds riding on cold days. Still, layering with shell pants gives you options that insulated pants don鈥檛, and I generally think it makes sense to own good shell pants with a few base-layer options. But if you ski exclusively at resorts and want to stay warm on even the coldest lift rides, you might consider a pant with synthetic fill.
Durability
Don鈥檛 underestimate how sharp your ski edges are; without a durable layer of protection around the cuffs, you鈥檒l end up with dozens of tiny cuts before the end of the first season. If you tend to chew through pants like an unsupervised puppy, look for models with extra reinforcement around the knees and seat, such as the Flylow聽Chemical.
Fit
After testing pants from 16 different manufacturers, I can confirm that sizing is extremely subjective. For example, a medium in both the Stio Environ and Norrona Lyngen聽fit the tallest tester, who is six foot six. Some models offer various waist measurements聽but only one inseam, an issue for shorter folks. If you鈥檙e looking for a good fit, there鈥檚 no substitute for trying pants on鈥攐r at least making sure the brand has a good return policy.
Beacon Pockets
For backcountry-specific pants, a dedicated beacon pocket is becoming a more common feature. I regard these pockets with some wariness, and beacon manufacturer Backcountry Access at all. This is because outside cargo pockets have been known to rip off during an avalanche. If you do use a beacon聽pocket, make sure it鈥檚 internally sewn.