If the colder months are calling your name, our Best in Bottoms Collection is the first place you should visit to plan your fall and winter adventures. Today we’re diving into the best winter hiking and climbing pants for cold, wet, unpredictable days outside. Find your perfect fit by checking out the rest of the Best in Bottoms Collection right here. A little snow, rain, or sleet never stopped you from getting after your favorite winter sports. In fact, it’s just forced you to get a little more creative with your layering system – from the bottom up. The good news is that the product designers here at Outdoor Research are just as picky about their cold weather hiking pants as you are. Finding a pair of good-fitting bottoms that can withstand the chilly demands of a winter spent outside will be your ticket to comfortable, successful adventures. For trusted warmth in cold weather, we’re excited to introduce the new Men’s and Women’s Hyak Pants. Named after the Seattle local ski hill, the Hyak are the best midweight soft shells for ski touring, winter hiking or snowshoeing, or as approach pants to big alpine climbs. The Hyak Pants were designed with a simple and streamlined feature set that gives you just enough weather resistance, breathability, and durability, without the weight or bulk of winter. Articulated knees and a gusseted crotch aid the fabric’s naturally movement-enhancing stretch, and an inner drawcord at the ankle allows you to cinch your pants tight to keep out snow or watch your toehold. Plus, the Hyak Pants feature a waistband that’s amplified by ActiveTemp™, the thermo-regulating technology that adjusts to your body temperature to keep you cool, dry, and comfortable during high-exertion activities. If the temperature drops a little lower, and you need something with a more technical construction for burlier warmth, go with the Men’s and Women’s Methow Pants. These are the best cold weather hiking pants for exploring the frosty hills of its namesake – the mountains, trails, and slopes of the Methow Valley that make the perfect playground when winter freezes everything over. The Methow Pants are designed with a hybrid-mapped construction for performance in variable temps, movement-mirroring stretch, and UPF 50+ sun protection for frigid bluebird days when you need to think about the harsh reflection of sun on snow. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, if it’s an unseasonably warm winter, you’ll be able to get away with a pair of pants that are much more lighter weight. For the durability and technical, breathable performance of a double weave soft shell construction, we recommend the updated Voodoo Pants. People love the Voodoo for their ability to skin up a ski track one weekend and hold up to a rugged climb or hike the next. For something even lighter in weight and more wearable year-round, go with the Ferrosi Pants. The Ferrosi soft shell has long been a best-seller and award-winner for its adaptability across any activity you throw at it, along with its lightweight weather protection. It’s the perfect piece to go straight from the climbing gym to the office, or trailhead to pub. Landed on the perfect pair of bottoms? You’ll want to make sure the rest of your kit is in sync. Here are our top picks for head-to-toe pairing with our best hiking and climbing pants for winter: Vigor Collection: Your guaranteed ticket to layering intuitively and effectively for cold weather adventures. Each Vigor piece is powered by ActiveTemp™, the thermo-regulating technology that adjusts to your body temperature to keep you cool, dry, and comfortable during high-exertion activities. This tech works hand-in-hand with Vigor’s grid fleece fabric, which wicks sweat and allows total breathability when you’re gunning it uphill. Enigma Collection: This base layer collection wicks sweat, dries quickly, weighs next to nothing, inhibits odors, and – that’s right – it’s built with sustainable materials. Blended drirelease® merino wool and E.C.O. (Environmentally Correct Origins) fabrics provide temperature-regulating warmth that’s committed to your comfort and to the conservation of the outdoor places in which we love to play. Transcendent Down Collection: The Transcendent series has been a long-time puffy favorite for climbers, backpackers, mountaineers, and everyone else who spends extended time outside. Insulated with all-natural responsibly sourced down, the Transcendent uses a wide quilting and rebalanced down fill to allow its insulation to loft better for fast, compressible warmth. Refuge Collection: The Refuge collection – in all its different weights types of construction – are all pieces that were fundamentally built to keep you warm when you’re moving fast, and sweating hard. The Refuge Hooded Jacket was the hoody that started it all, the pinnacle release of VerticalX™ technology perfect for retaining warmth during start-stop activities. The Refuge Hybrid Hooded Jacket strips the classic hoody of weight and warmth for better weather days, using a stretchy, wicking material on the arms and hood, and insulation only in the vest area. Finally, the Refuge Air Hooded Jacket is the lightest weight, fastest to move moisture solution for when you’re more concerned with staying dry from sweat than staying out of the elements. You can count on us to stoke your journey with purpose-built gear for however, wherever, and in whatever season you like to explore. Find your perfect pair by checking out the rest of our Best in Bottoms Collection right here.
