For cold days of hillwalking, winter climbing or skiing, their combination of warmth, weather-resistance and breathability makes these softshell trousers close to perfect, says Toby Archer. 

Rab's Torque Vapour Rise Pants mix the warm and high-wicking furry inner of Rab's of long established Vapour Rise clothing, with the smooth and durable stretch-woven outer of the Torque softshell range. The result is a pair of trousers that gives the warmth and winter performance of lighter pile-lined shelled trousers, like Buffalo have been doing since the the 1990s, whilst looking a lot more normal - and I mean that it in a good way.

In use

I've worn mine for some Lake District winter climbing and fell walking, soggy Peak District ice climbing, trad climbing and bouldering on crisp, cold gritstone, very cold winter limestone sport climbing, and local snowy hiking and cross country skiing. For activities in temperatures approaching or below freezing, I think they are superb. If I say my only real criticism is with a pocket detail, you should get an idea of how much I like these trousers.

Fit

Unfortunately these are men's trousers only; there's no direct female equivalent, though Rab do offer something reasonably similar in the Women's Incline Vapour-Rise Pants. In the men's sizing you have a choice of three different leg lengths, which is great.

I have been using 34" waist, 32" (Regular) length versions of the trousers. The waist fits better with a belt (plentiful loops for that), and if there is any tightness anywhere it is over my oversized calves. The flip side of this is that the lower leg is really trim which is great when it comes to climbing, walking in crampons, or putting a gaiter over them. You also get a zipped ankle gusset, which would be handy if you're wearing ski boots.

Fabrics

On the outside it's a wind-resistant and tough Matrix stretch double weave fabric with fluorocarbon-free DWR. There are two weights of this material, with a heavier and really durable version in high wear areas on the knees, the inside leg and inner ankle.

Whilst these softshell pants make no pretence to being waterproof, I've found them to be untroubled by soggy snow and even getting sprayed by the unfrozen bits of Crowden Clough, they didn't seem to absorb water and it never crossed my mind to get out my waterproofs. As with the old Buffalo pile and Pertex design, the heat you are pushing out from inside these trousers helps keep water on the outside and when it is not actually pouring with rain, means they are drying quicker than they are getting wet. Of course you will need waterproofs in really wet conditions, but these are warm, winter-focused trousers, so I suspect many people using them in snowy and icy conditions, rather than rain, will find they rarely need to cover them with a shell.

Keeping that warmth in, inside the Torque VR Pants you have a Vapour Rise lining. Turning them inside out shows how thoughtfully put together the trousers are, with thicker deeper pile over the bum and thigh areas, and then a lighter slightly smoother VR around the lower legs where you are likely to have your mountain socks pulled up some of the way anyway. Going out to ice climb when the temperatures were well below freezing I did put some merino longjohns under the Torque VR, but other days hiking in breeze and snowy conditions around freezing I've found them perfectly warm enough on their own. I haven't tried yet, but I suspect for UK winter climbing you could wear the Torque VR next to the skin for the long and often sweaty walk-ins, then layer up with a shell before climbing, and you will have a really snug system for your legs.

As is often the case with lined softshell, stretch is minimal - but I've found mobility easily good enough for climbing anyway. I happily wore them bouldering on a frigid day at Curbar, and if trousers work well for bouldering then I'd say they're stretchy enough for all my needs.

Weight

It's fair to say these aren't the lightest of trousers at 460g for my Regular pair. Whilst you might not choose to carry them as a spare pair backpacking, I think the Torque VR are very much a 'wear all-day' piece of kit, so the weight isn't usually likely to be an issue. 

Features

The comfortable and plushly-lined waistband is closed by two secure poppers. There is no waist adjustment beyond the minimal elastication. The zip on the fly is the standard 'zip up' style. For men this does mean the normal slightly undignified fumbling if you need to take a pee while wearing a harness but it does work. The trousers have three zipped pockets, one at the back on the right side, and two hip pockets. Does anyone actually use pockets at the back of trousers, be they zip-closed or not? What I'd have loved instead is a thigh pocket, designed to sit just below a harness leg loop. This is a great place to store a phone or paper topo, and I have missed one on these trousers. It is worth noting that the Rab webpage for this model does mention a "zipped thigh pocket"; this may have been a mistake.  

You do get zipped vents over your thighs. These are mesh backed so don't reveal too much flesh and easy to use on the go, although I often forget I've opened such vents until I wonder why my thighs are getting cold. I think I sweat as much as the next man, so I see the sense in vents. But in practise for me they don't seem to make much difference, even skinning up in the sun when ski-touring.

Sustainability

According to Rab's excellent "material facts" section on their web page: the Torque VR are made in China, contain 16% recycled material and were made with 25% renewable energy, with none of the unhealthy "forever chemicals" used in DWRs. 

Overall

These are fantastic warm softshell trousers well suited to all winter mountain activities, from walking to climbing to skiing. As someone who gets ridiculously excited when the temperatures drop and the north winds blow, I can definitely see myself continuing to use them in future. For me the only small improvement would be to ditch the bum pocket and add a phone sized thigh pocket instead. For cold winter days their fuzzy warmth is exactly what you need, and the Torque Vapour-Rise Pants are close to perfect.