Warmest softshell pants?

Hi all! Looking for recommendations on the warmest softshell pants for climbing ice. I've had several pairs from BD and Patagucci but my legs always seem to be the weak link in my layering, even with double pairs of long underwear. I often just wear hardshells over the softshells which obviously have their limitations... looking for Thick, insulated softshells! Or any  recommendations. Thanks 

Sounds like you’re working with one or several thin layers; diminishing returns!

I climb in -25c temperatures on the regular during the winter season, and recommend the following

- fluffy base layer (Pata capilene air)

- synthetic layer (nano air pants); these have a loose fit to not compress the base layer)

- shell bibs

Softshells are designed to keep you warm during high activity like hiking primarily. If you are cold, I would get a hardshell pant that will retain more of your heat since it doesn't breathe as much. Sounds like you already do that. And I have never gotten a softshell to shed water after a few days of wearing it, despite reapplying waterproofing sprays and what have you. 

Hard to find but the old Patagonia Northwall pants were an insulated soft shell with r3ish fleece grid. They also made some pants before that with similar material but I don’t know the name. Very warm

Other options include arc Gamma MX pants, fleece or gridfleece salopettes (rab makes some powerstretch ones), or some of the insulated pants or knickers like Patagonia nano air or Arc axino knicker or atom pants.

Could also up your sock game with something like the Lorpen primaloft socks. 

I've used OR Cirques for a little while now and they're great for a hybrid ski touring/alpine climbing softshell for use at higher elevations or for colder temps in the Cascades. Slightly on the heavier side of mid weight IMO, but they breathe well for what they are. Crampon patches are nice, knees are super well articulated, fabric is very comfortable and stretchy, they accommodate ski boots, and there's a gaiter hook and option to use tie-downs with mountain boots. My one gripe is that they include these suspender loops which are not useful to me at all but make for a bit of a hotspot right under my pack at the small of my back. Overall though, they're great quality, comfortable, and very functional.

I’ve heard good things about the MH compressor pants, synthetic insulation with full zip. Agreed though, cozy base layer, synthetic insulted pants and a hard shell will be bomber.

Ira OMC wrote:

Hi all! Looking for recommendations on the warmest softshell pants for climbing ice. I've had several pairs from BD and Patagucci but my legs always seem to be the weak link in my layering, even with double pairs of long underwear. I often just wear hardshells over the softshells which obviously have their limitations... looking for Thick, insulated softshells! Or any  recommendations. Thanks 

I'll answer your question directly and then make a suggestion that I feel is better and less expensive...

The warmest softshells I've worn and found came from an Italian company called Karpos. They make a ton of clothing for high output alpine climbing and ski mountaineering and it's really good stuff. Arguably better for those activities than the gucci $$$ North American brands. The sizing runs really small though because it's made for Italian builds. 

Personal take- I think your layering system is flawed. You mention two pairs of long underwear, or wearing hardshells over softshells. Neither method is great for trapping the heat you are creating under the hardshell. Might I suggest getting a heavyweight baselayer pant, a fleece pant, and then a synthetic puffy pant? My personal system is based around wearing a 230 weight merino baselayer, a grid fleece pant, and a hardshell pant (with large side zips) over top. On the approach, I open the side zips as much as possible without letting snow in so that I don't build up moisture inside that will ultimately cool down when I slow down to belay or climb.If I wont be moving for 20mins or longer, I put a synthetic puffy belay pant over top of the previous layers. This system has served me well down to -14F (we were climbing in the sun on those days of neg temps though.) 

Softshell pants are great, but the whole idea of softshell materials is to allow the material to breathe better, which in turn trades off some heat loss for better ventilation. The downsides to softshell pants are that they are heavier, don't trap heat as well, and can wet out. There are other downsides as well that are more minor, but these issues are key factors in why softshells aren't awesome for ice climbing specifically. 

The best softshell style option with a lot of warmth would be active insulation style. I believe patagonia still have some nano air trousers, arc'teryx also have the proton pants. They would work great when there isn't much wind and you can layer hardhsells on top when it's windy. 

Please take no offense, but as others have mentioned, your layering approach is all wrong.  Whatever softshell pants you currently have, make sure they're designed to be worn during the winter vs. a spring / summer / fall softshell pant designed for rock.  

Secondly, you need to trap heat as efficiently as possible.  I use the Patagonia Nano-Air Pants, however, just like anything awesome Patagonia makes, they discontinued these a couple seasons ago.  One option going forward would be the Black Diamond Vision Hybrid Pant - Synthetic insulation for max warmth, mapped areas to dump excessive heat build-up. These, combined with a light to midweight base layer, will get you where you want to be. 

Arc'teryx proton pants

Linnaeus wrote:

Hard to find but the old Patagonia Northwall pants were an insulated soft shell with r3ish fleece grid. They also made some pants before that with similar material but I don’t know the name. Very warm. 

Mix master pants.  They were warm but heavy.

Jake907 wrote:

Mix master pants.  They were warm but heavy.

Mix master pants were great.

They were also sold to the US military, and you can sometimes still find them on Ebay as military surplus.  

Thanks everyone! 

if you are looking for a mid layer alternative to the Patagonia nano air, try Montbell Thermawrap UL

https://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?p_id=2301302