FurTech's New Trousers

Andy Davison of FurTech swung by the lavish OUTDOORSmagic editorial office today to give us a quick firsthand look at his new trousers, that's FurTech's new trousers, rather than Andy's ones, obviously...


Equally obviously it wasn't particularly hard to persuade Andy that we ought to go for a quick walk in the snow and give the trews a rapid test run. Like FurTech jackets, the trousers use a combination of a DWR-treated windproof and water resistant outer shell and an inner pump liner in a similar way to Paramo clothing.

The system is effectively waterproof and very breathable, though as with Paramo, the liner makes for above average warmth. The new trousers are designed to be worn next to skin and feature a zipped fly, two zipped front hand pockets and three-quarter length side-zips.


The neat thing about the side-zips is that they feature double-ended zips, so you can use them to vent your legs on the hill, with strategically placed press-studs stopping things from billowing too far - you can expose either upper leg, lower leg or upper and lower leg together. The lower legs also have a neat press-stud configuration which allows you to cinch down the trousers below the knee to minimise the risk of catching a crampon or simply make it easier to wear snow gaiters over the top.

Other features include articulated knees, abrasion-resistant zips, elasticated waist and belt and a reflective FurTech logo on the righthand butt cheek.

On our brief test outing, the trousers felt spot on, soft and comfortable against the skin, cut reasonably generously - certainly not as close-fitting as FurTech's jackets - and easy to vent, though we did get some snow through the vents and onto bare flesh, ooops.

We'll bring you a full test in due course, but our experience with similar legwear suggests that they should make excellent all-round winter trousers. Price is £100 and you can also have the trousers professionally shortened for an additional £20.

More information at www.furtech.co.uk