Favorite Hardshell bibs for ice climbing?

Im interested in getting my first pair of of bibs. They seem a little more sleek with a harness and warmer. Does anyone have any that they like? Patagonia Dual aspects?

I've been experimenting with bibs for ice climbing.  Great for the reasons you mentioned.  FYIY I comfortably wear XL in patagonia clothes, bu the Dual Aspect bibs were too tight in XL and XXL.  The fit information says "regular" but you read in the description that they are cut closely and trim, and they recomend sizing up.  

Apart from those bibs, it's hard to find bibs with lower cuff closures that work well for climbing.  There are plenty of option for skiinga nd snowboarding, but not many that are narrow anough not to get torn, create a trip hazard, and so on.  Check out Arcteryx Alpha bibs, TNF climbing bibs, Mammut Norwand, and Mountain Equipment Tupilak.  All very, very expensive. 

Also, some, like the Mammut and the ME are sort of "half bibs."  They are very high waisted pants with supenders, perhaps a good compromise.

In your search you may find the outdoor research archangel bibs. I have them, hands down worst piece of outdoor gear ive ever bought. Stay away, far away...

OR has been swinging and missing for a while now.

While not quite a full bib, I have been very happy with my Mountain Equipment Tupilak Pants. 

https://www.mountainhardwear.com/p/mens-exposure%2F2-gore-tex-pro-bib-1857301.html?dwvar_1857301_color=603

I bought these for climbing with ski access since the leg openings are relatively tight, but still large enough for ski boots. They are excellent as far as being waterproof and comfortable. The things I don't like are durability specifically where the screw tips rub and snag on my thighs. The internal gaiter attachment is somewhat low and has an opening that will readily accept snow into boots while post holing. As long as you really tie down the bottoms it's not a problem. I'll be looking into prematurely taping, or reinforcing, my thighs where the screws are rubbing. This should allow these bibs to last for years to come. Additionally, for short people, while I have the short inseam length, which is awesome, they didn't adjust the thigh pocket depth so that pocket goes to my knee. This makes carrying anything heavy in there a no-go as it drops to my knee and makes walking and certainly and high stepping annoying.

Those tupilak pants have material overlays to fix the problem I'm complaining about. So at least someone in the industry is finally realizing that screws are sharp.

Jake woo wrote:

...So at least someone in the industry is finally realizing that screws are sharp.

I have a buddy you should climb with - his screws are never sharp, so your pants would be fine.  

Grant Watson wrote:

I have a buddy you should climb with - his screws are never sharp, so your pants would be fine.  

See not enough people thinking outside the box! Don't need to carry a screw case to save the tips and threads either!

I second everything Jake has said about the exposure 2 bib. It's not perfect... but it's the best I've found for ice and snow when a hardshell is needed. They should maybe just come with a couple packs of noso patches...

Bibs are good in theory and sometimes in the field. Sometimes the design is self-defeating, however. If you have a lot of ballast on your harness -- screws, carabiners, and so on -- you might find that the harness pushes down your base layers under the bib (in the extreme, getting "de-pantsed"), compromising range of motion while on pitch and of course being uncomfortable. This happens with pants too, of course, but is more quickly & easily corrected with pants.

The Keela Munro Pro Salopettes are the lowest price ones I have seen though I have never tried them.

Just got a pair of the Patagonia dual aspect bibs and have been ice climbing in them. Overall I like them a lot. The only weird thing is there no vertical adjustability, just fixed length shoulder/chest straps. But I found them very mobile and the cuff closure works very well!

I’m 6’0” and west the size medium. They worked well even layering them Das light pants below them on very cold days. 

@ Christian--wow, great that they work for you.  In most respects, nice pants, but there was no way in the world they would fit me.  What sie do you notmally wear?  I am astounded that they work for you with Das light pants beneath.  I tried an XXL with only tights underneath and I could hardly breathe, much less climb.  As I said, I usually wear aan XL, with comfortable movement in those.  I am 6'4" with an athletic build, a long torso, and more muscles on my legs and butt than I need for climbing (legacy of beeing a competive cyclist many moons ago).   If I remember correctly, the fixed vertical height was a problem for me, as well as the volume of the thighs and butt.  I wonder if they changed the fit?

Anyway, glad they work for you!

Bruno Schull wrote:

@ Christian--wow, great that they work for you.  In most respects, nice pants, but there was no way in the world they would fit me.  What sie do you notmally wear?  I am astounded that they work for you with Das light pants beneath.  I tried an XXL with only tights underneath and I could hardly breathe, much less climb.  As I said, I usually wear aan XL, with comfortable movement in those.  I am 6'4" with an athletic build, a long torso, and more muscles on my legs and butt than I need for climbing (legacy of beeing a competive cyclist many moons ago).   If I remember correctly, the fixed vertical height was a problem for me, as well as the volume of the thighs and butt.  I wonder if they changed the fit?

Anyway, glad they work for you!

I’m 6’0” 150lbs and a pretty thin frame and 30”waist. I can definitely imagine they would not fit well with a larger athletic build. A bit disappointing there is no height/torso adjustability though I agree. 

I have the north wall bibs.  Great bibs and nearly a hard shell. They are fleece lined so to warm for most days unless it’s below 10 degrees.  Main problem is finding them at this point 

Dallin Carey wrote:

OR has been swinging and missing for a while now.

While not quite a full bib, I have been very happy with my Mountain Equipment Tupilak Pants. 

I second this recommendation 

Bruno Schull wrote:

@ Christian--wow, great that they work for you.  In most respects, nice pants, but there was no way in the world they would fit me.  What sie do you notmally wear?  I am astounded that they work for you with Das light pants beneath.  I tried an XXL with only tights underneath and I could hardly breathe, much less climb.  As I said, I usually wear aan XL, with comfortable movement in those.  I am 6'4" with an athletic build, a long torso, and more muscles on my legs and butt than I need for climbing (legacy of beeing a competive cyclist many moons ago).   If I remember correctly, the fixed vertical height was a problem for me, as well as the volume of the thighs and butt.  I wonder if they changed the fit?

Anyway, glad they work for you!

I am 5’6” 127lbs and none of patagonia’s pants fit me whatsoever they’re always the wrong size of the waist or end up crushing my balls which we can all agree is undesirable. Is a real shame because Patagonia has a great company and they do great things for the earth.

Finn Lanvers wrote:

I am 5’6” 127lbs and none of patagonia’s pants fit me whatsoever they’re always the wrong size of the waist or end up crushing my balls which we can all agree is undesirable. Is a real shame because Patagonia has a great company and they do great things for the earth.

we have similar dimensions, have you tried the dual aspect bibs? im leaning towards these since they're relatively cheap 

To anybody considering thee dual aspect bibs, see up thread for more sizing examples/information. 

Just to be clear, they are listed on the Patagonia site as a "regular fit" but in the description it says that they run small and reccomend sizing up if actually want some mobility.  Why don't they just describe the fit as slim or athletic or whatever?  Why have different fits if they don't mean anything?  As somebody said upthread, I admire Patagonia a great deal, but often their choices are maddending, and the whole thing seems like a disingenuous marketing campaign (all of ther ground breaking environmental work notwithstanding).  

Anyway, I have some Tupilak pants in the main.  I'm trying the XL.  I'll post back here how they work for me.

Bug Boy wrote:

we have similar dimensions, have you tried the dual aspect bibs? im leaning towards these since they're relatively cheap 

I have not tried the dual aspects but I have tried many of their ski bibs and none of them fit, I am a 31-2 inch inseam and a 29 inch waist, I have to go to a size medium for the waist to fit but then the inseam does not make any sense so I have to pull the pants up very high in my waist but the crotch does not allow. Additionally, it seems like the distance between the crotch and the waist is very low much like fjallraven pants, but very uncomfortable to wear low down as you might anticipate you have to. Same thing with casual Patagonia pants, in contrast Mountain equipment 29” waist and reg inseam fit perfectly, and Montane small waist reg inseam fit great especially for ice climbing.

also because we are here Patagonia just released the Alpine suit at a staggering $999

@ Finn...ahh yes...the alpine suit.  I would actually be somewhat intrigued, even at that price, which is basically the price of a new hardshell top and bottom, but have you seen the spiral hood thingy?  It's basically a way for the hood to fit on people's heads around town, and then, when open, sort of almost fit over a helmet.  A ridiculous gimmick.  The mammut alpine suit from a few years back was the real deal, but was similarly priced. 

And speaking of prices, with Arcteryx and the North Face Summit Series line and brands like Peak Performance pushing prices ever higher, Patagonia is coming in somewhere in the middle, which is crazy!  

I used to think the Mountain Equipment stuff was expensive, but again now they are just "normal."  I'm excited to try both the Tupilak pants and jacket.  The jacket looks like it should have a nice big hood, it has two chest pockets in the right places, it doesn't have any hip/hand pockets, and it has no pit zips!  I though that was a forbidden "no-no" from Gore Tex, but I guess ME found a way to get around that rule.  I know some people love pit zips, but I find them uneccessary and annoying, so it will ne nice to try on a jacket that seems designed by a person who thinks the way I do. 

The quest continues...

Bruno Schull wrote:

@ Finn...ahh yes...the alpine suit.  I would actually be somewhat intrigued, even at that price, which is basically the price of a new hardshell top and bottom, but have you seen the spiral hood thingy?  It's basically a way for the hood to fit on people's heads around town, and then, when open, sort of almost fit over a helmet.  A ridiculous gimmick.  The mammut alpine suit from a few years back was the real deal, but was similarly priced. 

And speaking of prices, with Arcteryx and the North Face Summit Series line and brands like Peak Performance pushing prices ever higher, Patagonia is coming in somewhere in the middle, which is crazy!  

I used to think the Mountain Equipment stuff was expensive, but again now they are just "normal."  I'm excited to try both the Tupilak pants and jacket.  The jacket looks like it should have a nice big hood, it has two chest pockets in the right places, it doesn't have any hip/hand pockets, and it has no pit zips!  I though that was a forbidden "no-no" from Gore Tex, but I guess ME found a way to get around that rule.  I know some people love pit zips, but I find them uneccessary and annoying, so it will ne nice to try on a jacket that seems designed by a person who thinks the way I do. 

The quest continues...

Initially, I thought the Alpine suit was a good idea but if you talk to someone or have climbed above 6000 m in a full down suit, you’ll become familiar with the harness trap, were you get stuck in your suit because of your harness preventing you from shedding layers of adding along with using the “restroom” being a real pain. But at the end of the day, I don’t know what I’m talking about.