Just after a decent pair of softshell trousers, intended use will be a bit of skiing (soon!) and other high alt activities - at least thats the plan! Not been to mountains in winter or skied for a while so this is a bit of an update on kit (have the tops sorted) but require it to be useful beyond a week's worth on skis and actually good for crampons/ice-axe/mountain type stuff too. Keeps out the bad weather whilst not making me feel like a boil-in-the-bag dinner essentially!
I've tried a few on and am pretty much about as confused as I started out and, much as they try, shop hands don't always seem to know their stuff or be as critical to help judgements... Lots of sales on at the mo (end of lines etc) so just wondering general thoughts on the following for ; ME G2's, Arcteryx Gamma Sk, Mammut Champs (+bewildering sizing choices), NF Apex summit series Alpines. There was a MH pair I tried but forget the name (synchro possibly).
the other option is go for a hardshell... but thinking soft is more comfortable
I like Schoeller Dryskin for this sort of thing (IIRC the Mammut Champs are made from that). ME do a couple of options in it, quite a bit more breathable and flexible than the G2s but not quite as clag-proof (you choose, you lose...). The Liskamms have crampon and knee patches so are perhaps the better for skiing with sharp edges and mountaineering, the Combins are simpler and a little lighter and cheaper. Both have happy users on OM (I use and really like Liskamms).
More to throw in to the mix would be Patagonia Guides (Alpine, Rock and Simple are 3 different variations on a theme) and Rohan Superstriders, all of which come in woven, stretchy, tough and breathable fabrics well suited to this job.
They'd all do the stuff, try on if you can because we're all different shapes and so are the various trews.
I tried to expalin the different types of soft shell fabrics in this thread. I think the descriptions are still relevant.
Like Pete, I like soft shell fabrics such as Dryskin for trousers; robust outer face, with a light wicking/insulating dual weave inner face, and no membrane. There are lots of options for this sort of fabric, from different manufacturers.
How warm you need them will depend on what you do with them, and how hot you run.
Capt. Thanks for the link...I think its that each manufacturer may have several different models within their own line, as mentioned above liskamms vs combins - similar but different.
> I think its that each manufacturer may have several different models within their own line
Yes; it's not unusual for a manufacturer to offer items in more than one of the soft shell fabric types, as each type has different properties that are suited to different activities. Shops are likely to do the same.
For instance, Marmot have three grades of soft shell fabric that they call M1, M2 and M3, ranging from almost hard shell (M1) to stretch woven (M3). They also do the DriClime, which is a shelled micropile, but for some reason they don't class it as soft shell.
Hamo - the most recent TGO magazine has a review of a wide range of some of the SS trousers out there. Certainly a version of most fabric types is reviewed if not all the various models.
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