Mountain Equipment G2 Pant First Look

Mountain Equipment G2 Ultimate Mountain Pant First Look

Price: £150.00

Weight: 570 grammes (medium)

Features: Stretch N2S soft shell pant using Gore membrane, DXB water-repellant finish, twisted seam construction, reinforced Gore-tex 2-ply knees. Gore-Tex 3-ply 'kick strips', zip fly, two zipped-hip pockets, two zipped thigh vents, ankle zips, inner gaiters, back zipped securiyy pocket, water-resisant zips used where appropriate.

Mountain Equipment have taken Gore's N2S - Next 2 Skin - windproof fabric and done something a bit different with it. Rather than a simple, fast mover's pant or tee-shirt, they've opted to produce technical alpine soft shell kit in jacket and pants form. They've added an aftermarket DXB water-repellant coating to the outer to improve water resistance.

Previous experience with N2S has been impressive. It's stretchy, windproof, and wicks very impressively making it a fit-and-forget option for mountain clothing. It works so well in fact, that Gore is launching its own dedicated soft shell fabric using Windstopper later this year - see link to previous article below.

But what about the G2 pant? We used it on a couple of long UK mountain days for some first impressions. The pant is quite slim-fitting but the stretch in the fabric means that mobility is excellent with no problem with high steps when climbing or scrambling.

The fabric too is just as good as we remembered from previous encounters. It's comfortable against the skin, totally windproof and wicks and breathes excellently. Even moving fast, any perspiration soon finds its way out via the high wicking lining and breathable membrane. The twin thigh vents, with water-resistant zips, work surprisingly well too, especially when the going gets breezy. It also performs well in anything but a total deluge meaning that you can happily leave the overtrousers behind.

Gore claim that their new soft shell will be tougher through using a woven rather than a knitted fabric, but despite some deliberate rock rubbing, we had no problems with abrasion or snagging. There are also crampon reinforcements on the inside of the ankle and a reinforced knee section.

So far, so perfect. So this is the ultimate mountain pant then? Erm, not quite, there are a couple of niggling design flaws in this first incarnation that let the overall design down. As supplied, the zips have metal pulls and unfortunately they jingle like a court jester's hat, so one of the first things we did, to save our sanity, was to snip them off and replace with shock-cord loops.

That's relatively minor, but more irritating were the internal ankle cuffs. Designed to stop snow and wind penetrating up your ankles, they reach almost to the tops of your calf muscles and aren't breathable or revovable. The result is that they develop a nasty condensation problem in use and sit uncomfortably and clammily against your calf. They really ought to be breathable and removable and we'd happily cut them out if they were our pants. Unfortunately the loose fit of the bottom of the pant and lack of any means of tightening the ankle means that doing that would leave you with a draught up your ankles, unless you wear snow gaiters.

Having a proper zip fly was great for convenient calls of nature, but we'd like to see more than the single button closure at the waist for added security and we also had problems with the waist band sliding down in use. Braces would be the best solution, though there are belt loops which might help. For alpine use, salopettes might be a better solution however.

Verdict: Fantastic fabric, superb fit, great idea, but in need of some tweaks. The jingling zips are easily remedied, but the internal gaiters are sweaty and uncomfortable and need changing. We'd also like to see some form of adjustable closure at the ankle and a means of holding the waist up more firmly. That said, these are great fit-and-forget mountain wear - windproof, highly breathable, non-restrictive and practical. Those twisted seams are very Levi too... On balance, we'd be tempted to wait for a revised version before splashing out.

Mountain Equuipment web site

Pushed for time: Should be fantastic once they're finished. Amazing fit and forget fabric but a couple of detail flaws that need sorting out. Still good kit, but we'd be tempted to wait for a revised version before reaching for the plastic.

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