Pants Recomendations?

The REI Mistral soft shell pants are a good balance of weight/protection. The way to fly for cold wet weather.

For hiking, I would say Mistral for temps below 40F. Stretchy unlined softshell hiking pants. Really durable. Really comfortable. I wear similar pants to these all winter with or without a baselayer tights underneath.

For temps from 40 to 70 degrees, the lightweight Adventure pants would be fantastic. Comfortable for hiking. Great travel pants or just around-town long pants in hot weather.

REI also makes the usual assortment of running pants — from lightweight tights to heavier warm running pants which would probabl be good choices for trail running.

wait for a sale or be prepared to add another $50-.

Got mine in the Gear Garage at the flagship store and learned how to install snaps.

Sadly, $50 won't buy soft shell pants at REI unless there is a good sale. The Sahara pants are all on sale if you want summer stuff.

Take a look at running and training pants too. "Soft shell" is a very loose category with lots of overlap in stretchy polyester knit pants and "loose tights" designed for active outdoor use. I think the lighter varieties are much better suited to hiking; the heavier versions are pointed more at mountaineering with more abrasion and extreme conditions.

Agree on the Mistrals. Although slightly heavier material (and more robust) I also like the REI Acme pants — also made from Schoeller.

Unfortunately they don't sell the ACME pants anymore

i've always looked at dryskin as a winter pants material and dynamic as a 3 season fabric. i'd wear the acme pants alone in a situation where i'd wear the mistral's with a light weight/running tights base layer. mistral's would be my choice for cascade volcanos in the (late) spring, summer and (early) fall and down into the low teens f* while on the move with overpants for breaks if needed and around camp. the one thing the mistral's need are tie-downs at the cuffs so you can loop cord under your instep like the acme's have. i like to be able to wear pants without gatiers in certain situations.