Hiking

Great For When You’re Hiking and Climbing . . . And Great For When You’re Not

Image by UW Digital Collections via Flickr

Soft Shell Hiking Pants are fantastic for when you fancy a little cold weather hiking or climbing. You get your own micro-climate even in the most movement intense cold weather sports. Available in different weights (for different degrees of coldness . . . . (the “chilly factor”) yet lightweight in materials and offering great comfort and freedom of movement, no wonder many seasoned hikers reach for their soft shell hiking pants when the temperatures start to drop and a nip appears in the air. The problem is that when you’re hiking through the snow in some pants, although your legs are initially very warm (even sweaty), as you kick up the powder snow this wets your pants and eventually, once the sun goes down, you get very cold legs!

Soft Shell Hiking Pants

Soft shell hiking pants are great for when you’re hiking and climbing, but they’re also great for mountaineering, mountain biking, backpacking and back country ski-ing.  What do you need to look out for?

Image by chantal foster via Flickr

• the breathability factor – to minimize the sweat building up on the inside, after all, these activities are pretty rigorous and even the fittest hikers can get a little hot and sticky. Good breathability can keep these problems to a minimum.
• the waterproof factor – no matter how hard you try not to, you just can’t help kicking up the power snow which can  eventually soak your pants through . . . but not if you choose soft shell hiking pants which are suitably waterproof. Once your pants get soaked your legs get cold . . . . not a good choice when you’re out on the mountains in sub zero temperatures.
• the stretch factor – you need to have a great range of unrestricted movements when you’re going about your back-country activities, so soft shell hiking pants with 3 or 4 way stretch can really add to your comfort.
• a little street styling means that you won’t look out of place in your soft shell hiking pants when you’re not hiking, backpacking, climbing or cycling . . . but just walking along the street minding your own business.
• gusseted ankle zippers are a real bonus, allowing you to slip your soft shell hiking pants on or off over your hiking boots, and if there are also gaiter grommets you’ll be able to secure them to your hiking boots to stop them from riding up. Adjustable rip stick tabs are a great way to adjust cuffs too.
• pockets with zippers – zippers are essential on your pockets so that you can keep all of your important bits and pieces safe and sound until you need them.