UKC

I am thinking about modernising my gear but I am very confused about the soft shell category.
Can anyone recommend soft shell pants(bibs) which would be suitable for ice and alpine climbing and telemarking? Would I have to carry a hardshell in my rucksack for back up or can I expect soft shell pants to be hard enough for blizzards etc.?
Thanks,
Kári

In reply to iceland41:

Hey, can recommend Arcteryx Gamma Sallopettes

http://www.arcteryx.com/product.aspx?group=Softshells&prod=1287

Not cheap at £300, but worth it. This sounds pretty close to what your looking for, others will correct me if I am mistaken. Snow and Rock appears to stock them.

Rob

In reply to iceland41: You might consider Macpac's Mission pants (a good combination of powershield an non-powershield fabrics) or the Patagonia Super Guide pants as well. I tele in my wife's macpacs occasionally; there's a review on outdoorsmagic.

Otherwise if you need something warmer the Patagonia Mixmasters may be the best bet: just search on here or have a look at the Softgoods section on www.telemarktips.com for a full review.

In reply to iceland41:

I recently bought a Macpac Nemesis jacket - the 'other half' of the Mission trousers. Most impressed with it in Scotland - kept everything at bay during some wild days out. Wore a few thin layers and a thin wooly jumper underneath and was dry and warm. Stuck a belay jacket over the top for the shivery bits.

I'm sure it wouldn't stand up to a downpour, but then neither do I, quite frankly. There are a few issues about quality of construction - at the moment I'm prepared to believe that I've been unlucky and that Macpac and Slush & Rubble will sort it - we'll see.

In reply to iceland41: The Telemarktips.com review is here:

http://www.telemarktips.com/NewRevSoft.html

Ben B not logged in

In reply to iceland41:

The first thing you need to know is, that for some reason, it has become trendy in some circles to use the term for male underwear to mean trousers. Soft shell pants are not actually pants at all ! they are trousers. Hope that helps your confusion.

In reply to iceland41: Thanks for all the advices.
I'm leaning towards the mixmaster pants(sic!) from Patagonia. The Gamma salopettes look tempting but too expensive and a bit to pro-looking for the grades I'm climbing. I have read the review on T.tips.com but I would like to know if the mixmasters are wide enough to be worn with knee-caps while telemarking. I would rather not wear the on the outside of the pants. Because it's inconvenient and will make me look like an inline-skater.