Softshell pants that work, and fit…

Arcteryx sells about 20 different softshell pants.  The ones that have “regular” sizing fit me. I find the alpine fit too constricting.  I can also wear the LTs over a thick base layer, patagonia R1 for example. Not cheap though. No crampon patch. Some of the specific winter softshells do have a crampon patch.

For every season but summer, I like the Ibex Mountain Pants by the UK company Mountain Equipment.  Very roomy although I had to size up. Mine are packed away now but I think no crampon patch. More price worthy than Deadbird. Available in the USA at Backcountry and other vendors.  Phil at Sectionhiker wrote a long review of the Ibex pants

For trips mostly above freezing, I love the Rail Riders adventure pants such as the Bushwhacker or EcoMesh (which is my all time favorite hiking pant). For hot weather the Bone Flats are awesome.

Rail Riders fit me very well and are cut comfortably, a straight but not baggy leg. They don’t have much in the way of DWR but dry very quickly. The elastic in the waist keeps them fit well even without the included belt

the Bushwhacker has some reinforcements and are pretty beefy for their weight.

The EcoMesh handle a wide range of temperatures very well with their zip leg vents. Plus they have  Bug Guard treatment so are good for buggy environments too.

And the double mesh leg vents on the Bone Flats make them the coolest pant I’ve worn. (Thermally cool. According to my wife they are Not stylishly cool). Comparable to shorts i think as the dual mesh vemts on each leg are extremely effective and if you get the lightest color they reflect a lot of the sun’s heat off of you. For hot exposed hikes they are impossible to beat.

Edit – also their fabric and seam lines are one of the main reasons I like them. The fabric is comfortable after rubbing against your thighs for 15 miles. I had Arc Gamma AR pants but sold them as the interior weave was very irritating after several miles. Also their thigh pocket was uncomfortable.

So RR excels in skin feel and fabric smoothness IMO

Worth a glance

Thanks for those suggestions!  At first blush the Ibex Mountain has a lot of what I’d like; I can always add a strike patch if needed.  Definitely going to check those out; I assume they run mostly true to size?

Bonzo

I am a fan of my RR Adventure pants but they are not softshell and do not stretch.  I usually wear Rail Rider 36 waist pants or XL Arcteryx.  For the ME Ibex, I went to 38 waist.

https://www.mountain-equipment.com/products/ibex-mountain-pant They are too warm for California summers but I wear them for hiking, biking, and snow camping plus my recent spring bike, train and urban walking trip to France.

I picked up a pair of Montbell Roche pants from the Japanese site. I like them a lot. They have a light fleece lining, so they are definitely better for cool to cold weather. They are loose without being too loose, so you can fit some base layers underneath if you want to. I used them for a variety of activities over the winter and found them to be reliable and well made.

There are more sizing options on the Japanese site, including short sizes, which sound like they may work for you. Also, I think the cuts are a bit slimmer — I think they used to have both “Asian” and “American” fits on the Japanese site, but that doesn’t appear to be the case these days. They are also cheaper, even with shipping.

I usually stick with shorts, spring through fall; the pants come out in winter…so I don’t mind them being a bit thicker, or even lightly insulated.  I’ll definitely need to make sure they work over layers; either a single base layer, or a base layer and light fleece pants.

Sizing: I actually don’t need short sizes.  I’m a shade over 5’10″/178cm, and with layers underneath I usually wear something around US 34 in the waist, with a 31″ inseam.  That’s not an atypical size at all…but that Cirque II was just absurdly long.  Even pulling the waist way above harness level, they were too long…and then they started binding up in the groin area, which is honestly not very cool.  The best-fitting pants in this category that I’ve found, lately, are the Flexpedition pants from Duluth Trading…but despite being labeled as a softshell, their DWR is non-existent.  Near-instant wet-out from any amount of water, and I haven’t found any way to fix that.  Otherwise, they would work; I could add the crampon patch and be done.

The best-fitting pants in this category that I’ve found, lately, are the Flexpedition pants from Duluth Trading…but despite being labeled as a softshell, their DWR is non-existent.  Near-instant wet-out from any amount of water, and I haven’t found any way to fix that.

Have you tried a wash-in or spray on DWR like Grangers?

Greg: yes, I’ve tried several different DWR treatments over the years.  Some work for a bit on some materials; some don’t.  Haven’t found anything that seems to work on these.