3/4 zip vs full zip shell pants

Anyone on here have experience with dealing with 3/4 zip shell pants vs full zip in the alpine?

I am looking for some shell ( gore- pertex) pants to be able to put over my soft shell or insulated layer ( arc nano or RAB photon pant). My quandary is that on a really cold day im fine with hiking or skiing with soft shell or just shell pants with a layer under but there are time I would like to be able to add warmth when climbing or moving above tree line.

Full zips would seem to be the answer but I’m having a hard time locating ones. I ordered some arc beta sl but sizing is a bit off and no pockets. I also kinda feel some suspenders might be nice which I could add myself.

the 3/4 zip selection seems to be pretty good but I wonder about getting them on and off over ice/ ski boots and/or crampons. Full zip is great as they could be put on while in skis or at belay etc. Again the full zip pant for climbing/ alpine seem hard to source vs being able to get RAB, mammut etc in 3/4 zip...

I do have a pair of thick quilted mountain hardwear full zip over pants that are great for warmth when not moving for awhile But looking for an answer to adding warmth in a more progressive way.

any input? 

https://www.mountainhardwear.com/p/mens-stretch-ozonic-pant-1582731.html

I use these on my bike commute. They're not burly but they'd be fine as an occasional emergency layer in shitty weather. Light and full zip. 

Without full zips I can't imagine I'd ever put pants on in the alpine personally. I avoid messing with pant layers while climbing and skiing so I don't own a layer for your specific use case. 

I have a pair of full zip hardshells from Mountain Hardware that are pretty nice. Wish I could tell you the model but companies rarely add that important info to the garment.

Marmot has full-zip pants in Precip (so not gore-tex). 2.5 layer. Three zip pockets I seem to recall. Really more rain pants than alpine shells.  But you might want to have a look. At least they pack small. Also they come in short, medium. and long.

The biggest difference is that you generally need to / want to be sitting down to put on 3/4 zip pants, so you don't accidentally catch your crampon points on the pants.  I generally put full zips on while standing.  

P.S. I have a pair of Beta SL pants (size small) that are currently up for sale.  

I have fill zip Rab hard shells and they fit the bill just fine. As others have said, the big benefit is you can put them on standing up while in full gear. Harder to do with 3/4. 

Thanks for the input everybody!

Not sure the perfect solution is out there... It’s been very rare I would want to use this solution As most of the time I’m on my own so I just keep moving fast to stay warm but I bought some arcteryx proton pants based on a recommendation and I could see on a cold day hiking in or skining w those on and then needing a layer to go over to cut the wind etc. Also the super rare day I’d like/ need to get another layer over my soft shells at some point.

In my attempt to cover bases I’m always searching to have a good quiver of options. Lol... I currently use either a soft shell ( RAB- arc) or a gore shell ( mammut) and The RAB and mammut have side zips but they have their limitations.

Anyhow... I’ve sent back the arc beta sl I ordered and ordered some of the Mountain Hardwear Ozonics ( small and medium) to try. Stretch, light, one pocket with fly and full zip. Maybe they will work, MH also had a hard shell w full zip but it was heavy. 

once again thanks for the input.

Z

Kyle, that was the genesis of the question I guess...

In my limited experience its tough to sit and pull 3/4 on especially throw in crampons, weird limited space etc or skis and some snow depth...

I‘m 61, lifetime of climbing and still looking for the perfect gear answers! Lo

I honestly don’t see increased functionality with 3/4 zip vs just full pants or ankle zips. Full zip is a whole different thing, and worthwhile if that’s the way you want to be able to use it. 

I've used full zip and 3/4 for ice and skiing.  For skiing and full zips, I've found it's easier to take off the skis and treat them as 3/4 zips.  That's how I have full-zips configured in my pack anyway.  Putting on 3/4 zips and crampons you'll be sitting.  Putting on full zips as full zips is sort of a hassle, and would be a pain in the wind, as you have to line up two zippers with the legs flapping in the wind.  So, I treat my full zips as 3/4 zips for virtually all applications.

For me the huge plus for 3/4 zip is comfort. Full zip under harness sucks.

The difference between 3/4 zip and full zip is the amount of time before you put a crampon through the pants. With 3/4 zip it will be soon afterwards, with full zip it will be much later.

My point being that 3/4 sound good in principle, but getting them over boots and boots with crampons is a PITA. 

Without crampons, I do as @Skibo says: unzip 3/4 up(and often a few inches down form the top too), but leave zippers attached. Much easier and quicker to put on like that, even with bulky boots. 

I like the 3/4 zippers since they are more comfortable in the hip/waist area.

However, I would not want to put on 3/4 zip pants with crampons. If it is windy enough to need shell pants, and exposed/slippery/steep enough that you want to keep your crampons on, I can not imagine getting a cramponed boot through a 3/4 zip pant. In that case, crampons need to stay planted on the ice, and pants zipped around them.

I use belay pants fairly often for ice cragging and use the full zip if I want to keep crampons on.

My daughter and I both have the stretch Ozonic pant. Quite a nice pant for this application. Very light, stretchy, breathable and comfy to wear. Not durable of course.