OR Cirque II for skiing?

Hey y’all, I’m just curious if anyone has experience using these as a ski pant as well as climbing pant. I need to buy new pants for my instructor job and figured I may be able to do a 2 for 1 with these. Lmk your experience. Thanks!!

Absolutely.  I use them as my primary ski pants both on and off piste.

ubu wrote:

Absolutely.  I use them as my primary ski pants both on and off piste.

Maybe a dumb question, but, they aren't a "snow  pant" as we'd normally think of, right? Do they wet out ever? Even for things like kneeling/sitting in snow?

Joe Hollowed wrote:

Maybe a dumb question, but, they aren't a "snow  pant" as we'd normally think of, right? Do they wet out ever? Even for things like kneeling/sitting in snow?

Exactly my question, since these are a soft shell. I’ve heard reviews saying they’re good enough, but figured I’d ask here too. Def not a traditional snow pant, but I’ve heard of being used for both

True, they are a soft shell and won't keep you completely dry, but I haven't found it to be a problem.  I wouldn't want to rely on them for multi-day backcountry fun, but as long as they have a chance to dry out overnight I've never had an issue with bleed-through getting my legs wet over the course of a single day.

Sitting in snow for an extended period might be a different issue.  I also wouldn't recomend them for slushy conditions.

Yup, these are all I use. The fabric isn't waterproof and I have gotten wet when there's been consistent wet snowfall and temperatures close to freezing. But when there isn't any precipitation, or if it's dry Rocky Mountain snow, then it's great. I've rode through many a Colorado storm with these and remained dry. 

They're even better for touring. Nice, stretchy, and breathable. Compared to hardshell pants, these are cheaper, more durable, and can be washed like anything else. I'd rather save my hardshell pants for terrible days and put all the wear on these. 

I use these as my ice climbing/cold-weather mountaineering pants as well. Also when I ride in the resort I go hard and crash a lot, usually on ice and trees. I really wear them down. Once I glissaded from Devil's Kitchen all the way to Timberline on ice with these pants. They shrugged it off. That said, I get 50 - 100 days out of them before I need to replace the pant. If you're more careful with them you could easily get over 100. 

OR sells suspenders that match with these pants, I recommend them to help keep it up. The belt cinch is great but suspenders work better. 

I have a pair I use for scratchier ice/mixed since they are super durable. Though I do need to resew the double seam at the gussets. If I expect wet conditions I do not wear these. Being in VT, where a lot of ice is wet or the snow is wet and the sun isn't out, these do soak through and while they will dry overnight just fine, they'll basically be wet all day. I have skied inbounds and done some light touring in them and they are super comfy. But they will get wet.

I tested the cirque 2, skyward 2, and trailbreaker 2 pants. I think the Trailbreakers are the superior pants for what you are looking for. I’ll break them all down below in case you’re curious/ have looked at the other OR options:

cirque: more tailored for climbing than skiing (70:30 imo), robust softshell, very durable, cuffs have zipper to go over ski boots but no powder cuff, no leg vents, best uses for mountaineering/ ice climbing > ski mountaineering > resort skiing 

skyward: more tailored for skiing than climbing (90:10 imo), breathable hard shell (they will wet out eventually), fixed bell bottom cuffs that don’t zip down or expand, good ventilation (leg vents), best for ski touring > resort skiing/ ski mountaineering > ice climbing/ mountaineering 

trailbreakers: a nice even split between the two (60:40 skiing:climbing), waterproof/ burly lower half that protects against crampons as good as it does against wetness, breathable softshell (with vents), zippered cuff to expand around ski boots and also has a removable powder cuff, best for ski mountaineering > ice climbing/ mountaineering > resort skiing/ ski touring 

I use my cirques primarily for ice/ mixed climbing since they run hot (no vents) for skiing (obviously not a problem if you’re just resort skiing). I use my trailbreakers for big mountain alpinism, mountaineering, casual ice climbing (but could make a great ice pant), and obviously ski mountaineering

I have been wearing the original Cirque (not the Cirque2, I'm not sure how different they are) for a few years as my main ice climbing pant.  As with any softshell, they CAN wet through with repeated contact on something wet. I tend to rest my knees against the ice when I'm climbing, and get wet knees as a result. This isn't a real issue until the factory DWR treatment wears off. Which it will. But again, this isn't any different than any other softshell I'm familiar with.

I will say this, the originals seemed to be tailored a bit oddly in the rear, so you might want to try them on before you buy (if how your a$$ looks is important to you).  :-)

They are certainly not hard-shell pants but I have worn mine in some pretty wet conditions here in the PNW and they were fine. They are my go-to backcountry pants except for days where it is going to be very windy or the forecast is for wet precipitation. The handful of times I have gotten them very wet they have dried quite quickly. 

I have owned the original Cirque for several years. I use them for ice, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, mostly winter wear. They fit extremely well in Large (I'm 165, 6' ). A year ago the lower leg zipper broke. I wrote to OR, asked for repair, they send me Cirque II pants as a replacement. The Cirque II are completely different fit from the original. They are baggy, especially in the lower legs. The fit is not that great and I hate not seeing the tips of my crampons. They fit and look like a snowboarder's pants. I thanked OR and send them back. I love the original Cirque pants and the broken lower leg zipper I can live with. The originals are not water proof, but you would have to go through a lot of water to get them soaked. They do fine here in California's mountains. I would not recommend the Cirque II for winter technical alpine and ice climbing but they might be fine for skiing.