Pants & Fall/Winter layering: A New Winter Hiker Needs (Even More) Advice

I wear Columbia Silver Ridge cargo pants which are lightweight nylon, durable, very cool and comfy. They come in "tall" size which are a little hard to find in stock but patience pays! The "talls" are 34" waist and 36.25" inseam.

I have a selection of merino wool long-johns for underneath. I pick the appropriate thickness for the expected conditions.

I have two pair of rain pants. One is a very light 6 oz Golite Reed, I love 'em, but I have to take off my shoes to put on and, I have The North Face (TNF) proprietory rain pants that weigh twice as much but have full side zips, so can be donned easily.

Cool, Michael. Thanks for the heads up on those Columbaia pants. It's tough to find pants that come in tall sizes for some reason…

In general though, it seems like the pants layering system for fall & winter is much simpler than picking out a soft shell jacket etc. Basically it seems that if you layer insulation under a pair of sturdy nylon pants and take a pair of rain/water proof pants, then you're good to go.

I might stick with Prana. I really like the pair that I have. I do like the look of the Montane pants though…but I think they'd be too short.

for an item you're bound to wear all the time as it'll be the case with those pants weight is not so important. The heavy Prana pants won't affect your base weight figures :)

But seriously weight is evenly spread when you're wearing the item. Light is still better but not as critical as for those items that'll live in the pack.

REI Mistral pants are on sale at REI. I love the Schoeller Dynamic fabric for all seasons. The only thing I did not like about the design is that the rear pockets are open like jeans and do not have any closure.

The REI description has them listed as windproof to 16mph. I find that iffy as well. I have been on New Mexico ridge lines at 11000 feet in February have wind driven snow blasted at me, and as long as I was moving I was comfy in my Black Diamond Alpine pants, with a silkweight layer underneath, which are the same Schoeller Dynamic material. (Slight run on sentence)

http://www.rei.com/product/738371