One piece suit

Any one do any climbing in 1 piece hard shells any more? Is it a thing of the past? Has anyone? Pros? Cons?

Yes, use an EMS Gore Tex one piece a decent amount in New Hampshire. Cold, cragging days it's awesome. Any high aerobic stuff, forget about it. A story for ya is my buddy and I were climbing Repentence on a pretty dang cold day after it had rained the day prior, one of those polar vortexes rolled in. The whole route was dripping and building in front of our eyes. We were getting coated in ice as we climbed...that was a perfect application of the one piece suit...it has a time and a place really.

Good story, The whites is where I do most of my climbing too. Thinking about getting one

i think bib pants have the same benefit with added versatility.

I still have my Patagucci Zoot Suit from the late 90s. A bunch of us bought one when the outlet had them on sale. It was quite comical when we would all show up to ice climb in matching zoot suits. (Patagonia only made them in red).

I have not used mine for sometime as I haven't been on a route that has warranted it. I used mine on big routes like the Cassin Ridge or other Alaska Range routes plus for the occasional wet ice route. I like it because overall it was lighter than bibs and parka. Also one can put a harness on and not have one's parka cover it. The other is no gaps.

The biggest issue with a one piece suit is that it is either on or off. As such, the suit needs to have lots of ventilation options. Long pit zips, full leg zips, etc. They are also a bit bulky.

Today with so many wind proof materials the need for such a suit is greatly diminished. I would still use mine for big winter climbs in the lower 48. New one piece climbing suits are down filled and made for big hills. I think the shell suits made are more for skiing than climbing.

I also like one piece fleece and capline. Again mostly because of the no gaps. And with a drop seat I only need to bare the bare minimal of my butt to the elements.

For only 1500! mammut.ch/store/CA/en_CA/Al…

Allen, that's hilarious, I'd love to some pictures of this. And the Cassin??? That's heavy hitting man. You've got some balls.
Thanks for the link, I may get one. For the price how could I not?

Several years ago I got a north face goretex expedition suit at a used gear store for $10. It is ridiculously heavy and bulky, so I've only used it for sledding, snowball fights, snowboarding, and riding motorcycle in the winter: i.e. Situations where weight doesn't matter, and it's nice to not have snow up your shirt and down your pants.

Danomcq wrote:Any one do any climbing in 1 piece hard shells any more? Is it a thing of the past? Has anyone? Pros? Cons?

Not a hard shell but for the cold, wet windy days in the mountains
nwalpine.com/store/#!/NWAlp…
this is really nice soft shell bib.

Any old timers use the wildthings one piece alpinist suit? I think I'm going to grab one from a guy. Anyone have experience?

Danomcq wrote:Any old timers use the wildthings one piece alpinist suit? I think I'm going to grab one from a guy. Anyone have experience?

The Wild Things suit was a great suit. Very functional, not too heavy. It was really the original one piece zoot suit and if one could afford it one would buy it. Just make sure it still has some water proofness. Gore-Tex will die after lots of use.

Holy shit! I had two Patagonia one piece suits. Wore one out, they went outta style and the other one is still in my closet with the price tag on it! I'll sell it...or maybe just start wearing one again!

Loved my Marmot thunderlight onesie! Great for us tall, skinny dudes. I'd wear one if the companies started making them again . In the meantime, my NWalpine bibs are pretty cool.

Allen, sounds like you had a WT suit. Any pics if it in use? This guys suit is EVent, claims he never used it

BITD, I never could afford the WT suit. A few friends had them but they had connections. It is lighter than the Patagucci suit.

I just sent payment, should have it for the weekend, hope it fits

just get bibs. the mountain hard wear diverter bib is excellent and the breathability is very good for a hardshell

I have a made in America fetish. Wild things old school suit it us.

If ya want one piece zoot suit here is one up for auction: ebay.com/itm/EMS-Goretex-Ic…

Note: I have no connection to seller.

Danomcq wrote:Allen, sounds like you had a WT suit. Any pics if it in use? This guys suit is EVent, claims he never used it

I've got a Wild Things suit for sale. Pretty good shape, fits me (6' 165#). PM me with an offer over $200