Favorite Soft Shell Pants for Ice Climbing?

The title says it all.

I use the OR Cirque pants. Not too baggy, not too tight.  Integrated belt-type adjustable elastic with options for suspenders or traditional belt.  And not prohibitively expensive to boot.  A bit over $100 on sale, usually.  So those are my favorite but, admittedly, I've only tried 4 or 5 kinds.

MIX MASTERS. 

Arc'teryx Gamma MX, without a doubt.

Patagonia Alpine Guide pants, but I’m not sure if they still make them

Pretty happy with my Cirques so far, this is my first season with them but so far so good.

Another vote here for the Cirques. They can take a beating and get poked by screws and poons and still do their job just fine. Not a huge fan of the OR suspenders though. Too long and wear out fast.

Patagonia Northwall

 I’ve been wearing Arc’teryx hardshells lately due to all the snow we’ve been getting. I used to never wear hardshell  pants or jackets because I felt they didn’t breathe enough and were too baggy. The Arcteryx pants keep me dry. I can vent down the sides if I get too warm. I haven’t caught a crampon and hardshell pants are great for glissading at the end of the day. 

Can I get a thumbs up for how much more fun sliding on your ass is than hiking back down the approach?

Mammut EXTREME Hybrid pants. Found them on sale on STP a while ago and they are great. Softshell but hardshell on the knees and butt, integrated pow gaiters, suspenders, burly crampon patches, vent zippers, etc....

Sherpa Nilgiri Pant... awesome

I've stopped wearing my softshell pants and just wear my Patagonia mesh guppybag. Just cut some leg holes in the bottom. It breathes a whole lot better and I have less guilt about harming the environment. Well, maybe not the visual environment.

+1 Black Diamond Dawn Patrol Approach Pants.  Great softshell pants for winter climbing.  Mine are the first year model which were made more for climbing than skiing.  There's a zip expansion at the bottom to accommodate ski boots though.  They fit great zipped-up with my Phantom Techs!

+1 for Black Diamond Dawn Patrol (LT and Approach). Stopped producing them last year.

OR Cirques are great quality/design, but ankles are too baggy for me. Great for accommodating skis boots though. If these work for you, buy em

Aaron D. wrote:

I appreciate the help guys. One more quick question, do you layer with a hard shell over them? If so, why?

 If you’re going to wear hardshells do not wear your soft shells underneath unless it’s below zero F.

 I wore my hardshells today as it was super cold. I wore a heavy merino wool base layer and Ragged Mountain fleece pants. When I got to the parking lot  I put on my hard shell pants. 

Marmot Scree pant. 

Use it for everything, all 4 seasons. Under OR hard shell pants for skiing and climbing ice in the winter. Also great in the early summer mornings climbing peaks.

Been a fan of the dawn patrol pants except for the size of the pant at the ankle (it's made for skiing so it goes with the territory) but I find it a little baggy and find the built in ankle gaiter too baggy as well. Huge fan of the 3/4 zip. On alpine days I usually find myself wishing they were a little more wind resistant for belays. 

Recently scored a deal on some Mountain Equipment G2 mountain pants. Haven't had a chance to get out in them yet but the ankle is a perfect tight fit around my ice boots. Expecting the windstopper to give me bomber wind protection. Curious to see how they breath and I've got a feeling I'll wish they had a 3/4 zip. 

Rab Neo Guide Pants, that uses Polartec Neoshell which combine the superior breathability, ventilation, and stretch of a Soft Shell with the waterproof performance of a Hardshell, delivering the best of both worlds!!!   

Pretty good review below:

https://www.myoutdoors.co.uk/gear/gear-reviews/general/clothing/item/962-rab-neo-guide-jacket-and-pants-tested-reviewed

Depends. More times than not for me Arc Psiphon Ars.

For me those are always hard to find as I am 30 inseam and most pants are unfortunately 32 inseam.. So i have to find those that are availble in short length... Currently Arc'teryx Gamma AR is my favorite... 

Love the OR Cirques. Good value and great for ski touring too. I have had four pairs.

Controversial opinion: cirques aren’t that great. The fabric is the deal breaker for me, they tear easily and are too thick. My old thin mammut pants with no crampon patch resist crampon tears better. I much prefer a thin soft shell with the option to add a base layer. The cirques are just less than ideal IMO, not a bad pair of pants of course but people tend to rave about them more than I feel they deserve.