UKH

It's coming up to that time of year and I need some new winter trousers. Only used Salopettes in the past and I'm inclined to go that way again. The idea of trousers makes me think of a cold lower back.

Any thoughts on these??


http://www.mountainhardwear.com/mens-diverter-bib-1581461.html

http://rab.uk.com/products/mens-clothing/mens-clothing-shell/neo-guide-pant...

Any other recommendations welcome. Can't afford Jottnar.

In reply to nawface:
I give it 4 mins before the flood of decathlon suggestions start

In reply to tallpaulselfridge:

Half price patagonia sallopettes on outside at the moment

In reply to tallpaulselfridge:

ok, I'll start it then! You really can't beat the Simmond ones from Decathlon. I favour them over my OR ones.

In reply to girlymonkey:

I prefer them to my me g2 ultimates as well! They're tougher and warmer

In reply to tallpaulselfridge:

I used mine all the way through 2 intensive winters where I did winter ML training and then assessment in them, and all my logbook and training days were in them too, and they still look like new. Even the odd time I've caught them above the crampon protection patch, they still haven't ripped. I think I paid £40 for them. Brilliant

In reply to girlymonkey:

I think the Decathlon winter softshells are great too http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/simond-alpinism-pants-revie... but this chap seems to want waterproofs which the Simond ones most definitely are not.

To the OP, having used the Jottnar ones http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=6103 (great, but - yep - very pricey!) I can say that NeoShell seems a good material for winter salopettes. Hence if the Rab ones are too dear, they may well be worth a close look.

In reply to nawface:

+1 for any non-black colour.

In reply to nawface:

Aspira salopettes are pretty awesome.

In reply to Dr.S at work:

Well, like all Paramo, that is true only if the sack-of-spuds fit fits you!!

In reply to nawface:
Check out sports pursuit they have mountain hardwear drystein trousers /semi bib for £149 at the moment
Oh yeah they are definitely not plain black

In reply to nawface:

For hardshell: I have the original stretch neo and they are super comfortable/breathable but I have reservations about their durability in the face of crampon points, not that I've tested them yet. But Rab appears to have upped the resilience in the new trouser by using a tougher fabric in vulnerable areas, ie anywhere below the thigh. This looks like recognition of the weakness of the original. But now they look the business to me.

Softshell: The Montana Sabretooth pants are hands down the most comfortable winter trouser I've worn. If you can find a pair, especially at the £80 I paid on offer (RRP £170) at Needlesports, then buy them. Heck, buy two or three. Being made of Polartech Powershield, popular for a jacket, rare in a trouser, they are warm enough to wear without thermals in all but the coldest weather yet breathe incredibly well and are tough as old boots, as anyone who's thrutched up Savage Slit in the Sabretooth jacket will tell you. Well featured too, with some nicely thought through details, like the shock cord grommets which are so placed that they only align when you have wrapped the pant leg around your boot forming a tight gaiter, for which there are fastening studs. Ingenious.

In reply to BnB:

I've got the sabretooth jacket and love it for winter. Gutted needle sports didn't have the trousers in my size! I've never seen them for a good enough price to justify buying them on a whim.

I too have the Rab neo trousers. Echo concerns about durability, but very comfy tousers. Looks like the new version are an improvement on an already good piece of kit.

In reply to nawface:

The most comfortable winter trousers I own are the Rab Vapour Rise unfortunately they are not very good for ice climbing as water passes straight through if your knee touches the ice. I also have a pair of the Simond softshells which are excellent value for money and every bit as good as the Mammut ones I had previously which cost three times as much.

In reply to nawface:

I've had a pair of Montane Sabretooth softshell trousers as recommended above for two seasons now and have done a bunch of Winter climbing and ski touring in them. As a trouser they're great but the braces are absolutely awful - the elastic straps are too thin and stretchy so they don't stay up. They use a non-standard fitting so I've not been able to find a neat replacement but they seem to work ok with the braces ditched and the belt off my Terra Pants. I was wearing them over powerdry baselayers and found them warm enough providing it wasn't too wet. Unfortunately it's normally too wet in Scotland!

Last season I splurged on a pair of Berghaus Oktang salopettes in sexy blue as they had by far the best fit for me. They're absolutely brilliant to climb in keeping me warm and dry and I thrutched my way up Savage Slit on their first outing without leaving a mark on them. After some experimenting with different layering options I settled on wearing the Sabretooth trousers without a baselayer for walking in, then layer the salopettes over the top for swimming up melty snow gullys and the like. Toasty. =o)

In reply to nawface:
Being skint, I've been loving my £40 soft shells from Decathalon. I absoutely can't fault them unless it's pretty wet out there.

I'm extremely tempted by the harshell version for wilder days which are £80; could be an option for you too?

In reply to highaltitudebarista:
I agree the braces are a weak spot. More in the sense that they keep trying to slide off my shoulders. I guess I could easily fix that with a chest strap. But they seem to have stayed in place on me for various rock climbing outings, probably because my backside is so ample that trousers can't drop very far without losing a button

Two seasons use? I thought they only came out last year. And now discontinued it would seem. Perhaps to become one of those legendary yet ethereal bits of kit that only surfaces for a single season, earns rave reviews, then vanishes gossamer-like in the mist...

In reply to BnB:

I used to have a pair of Arcteryx theta SV pants, brilliant, but in dark grey was not my favourite.

I have now MH Drystein pants, and will see how they cope

With trousers I find, you will wear them for a long time, so pay good money for good quality

Avi

In reply to nawface:

>2014
>Winter
>Not wearing based Buffalo teclite salopettes.
>ISHYGDDT

In reply to nawface:

Thanks all for the responses. Should have been more clear but it's hardshell I'm after.

I'm leaning towards the RAB mainly due to the Neoshell and they do look well designed. Although the decathlon ones mentioned are defo worth a look. Shame my old ME ones finally died, they were great. The new Tupilak don't seem as good and have tiny crampon patches so the inevitable is gonna happen way sooner than you'd like.

In reply to BnB:

Re-rig the braces so that they form an X both back and front i.e. swap the left and right front attachments. Job done.

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

I'll try that

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

Truth has been spoken.

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

Happily my dimensions are correct.

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

Yep, that was my solution as well. Works ok but the plastic buckles still ended up sat under my rucksack straps which made carrying a load uncomfortable.

In reply to highaltitudebarista:

Could be worth giving them some feedback on the design, it may be possible to place the clips somewhere differently to make this less likely to happen?

When I gave some feedback to Mountain Equipment about their Powerstretch cuffs absorbing water they're seemed to change their cuff design.

In reply to nawface:

I use Mountain Equipment ultrafleece salopetts. 20 years old, and going well.
Not seen many around recently on eBay, but worth a try.

In reply to nawface:

I just picked up a pair of the original Rab Neoshell trousers from Needlesports for £104. Haven't tried them out yet but they look pretty good. If it's not looking too wet I use Patagonia mixed masters or Backcountry guides. I've yet to find a crampon proof pair of trousers, but they're pretty easy to fix and you get that much-admired dirt bag look.

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:


Here's an option - For a bloke of 5' 10'', I have short stumpy legs, so any of the exotic trousers (hate 'pants' - they're grundies where I'm from) are always waaaay too long or skinny from me.

So I took the plunge and had Cioch Clothing make me some made-to-measure Paramo ones. NOT black (red and black actually), they vent well, have braces that work, FIT me, which is a feeling I will never forget, the first time I have EVER tried on trousers that fitted immediately, can be worn as waterproofs-ish, and next to the skin.

And they only cost the same as a normal pair of off the peg dear stuff. Love 'em.