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4.5
I’ve always found that while one generally gets that for which one pays, the variation in price of ski clothing FAR exceeds the variation in its quality. If you don’t care that nobody else in Ketchum is wearing the brand you’re sporting, the trick is to find the quality gear sans the nosebleed price tags and that’s Columbia’s game. Unfortunately they usually fall well short of the true value mark though and simply deliver reasonable quality at reasonable prices, which made me reluctant to give these pants a try.After some extensive shopping and a fair amount of disgust at the concept of ski pants that cost a goodly fraction of a season ticket in Little Cottonwood, I let go my resistance to Columbia primarily because with a 35” waist and 29” inseam I had a hard time getting a good fit elsewhere. Enter the Ridge 2 Run II in medium short and unpopular colors for less than $60 and I have a rare value winnah in my hands (a brace of them actually).What the what! They’re not perfect in that the zippers (particularly the vent zippers) could be more leak resistant for the ridiculous pow that we’re all chasing and maybe they’re a little more bell-bottomed that I’d prefer in an ideal world, but there’s an awful lot of quality here for less than $150 and unbeatable value at less than $75. The Omniheat gimmick actually works well, there’s loads of easily accessible storage space, they’re reasonably stylish, the fit will be great for anyone given the variety of sizes, and the water-resistance/breathability works as well as any of my higher-priced GoreTex gear.These pants are right up there with the better than Arcteryx, fully steamed sealed, excellently lined, and perfectly powder outfitted GoreTex shell I bought from EMS for $200 10 years ago that’s still in primo condition.Winnah indeed.Sized a little bigger, as you would expect for winter clothing. I ordered a MR, and it had room in the waist for layering, and they were the expected length in either winter shoes or ski boots. The elastic waist tensioner and velcro keepers at the hips are not sufficient; you would be better off using your own web belt with the belt loops. The 5 belt loops do appear well-anchored, but I did not test them.They should delete the elastic/velcro altogether; they don't provide nearly enough support, and elastic eventually wears out anyway. The pockets are all well placed and most have zipper closures with cord pulls for use with gloves, which is good. The right front pocket has a key hook for your key ring. A big peeve of mine is that almost everyone who makes clothing has zippers pull "up to close", and "down to open"--this is backwards! Anyone who has ever tried to close a jacket pocket by pulling up while wearing heavy gloves will notice it takes two hands--the other hand to hold down the stupid jacket! Anyway...The leg pockets only have velcro on the storm flaps, unlike all the other pockets. They are also not very large at all; it was a right squeeze just to get my ski gloves in there, and that was with them sticking out the top. These pockets simply need to be wider and taller, with a gusseted side to expand for bulkier items.The pant legs have snaps to open wider when putting on ski boots, and a snowdrift collar with rubberized stretch hem. These and the sizing are good, but frankly the leg was a little wide even for ski boots. More snaps around the bottom hem would allow the user to narrow the leg. Right now, they wear far more like bell bottoms than the product photo indicates.The groin vents have mesh in the opening, which could be good or bad. Good to keep out snow, bad if they rip open anyway. I didn't feel warm enough to need them, I just used the pit zips on my jacket.Columbia: the fabric is good, but get a pair of surplus ACU or BDU pants and take a look at them sometime--especially the cargo pockets. Save the cost of the zippers from the back pockets, and just use buttons and storm flaps instead, and put some of that money back into the cargo pockets. If someone is sitting on a lift, they probably don't want to sit on something in that back pocket all day anyway. The waist also needs hang tabs for suspenders, and an external clip somewhere for hanging gloves temporarily.I was looking for something very light, since I already have some fairly warm ski pants. These aren't bad, but they do have the reflective inner lining and are warmer than I need for SoCal spring skiing. Fit of the 38 waist was just a bit smaller than expected, but close enough. The short inseam was just right for me, usually standard sizes are way too long. Well made with sturdy material, I would have liked a higher rise waist though.I'm 5'9 165 and typically wear 33x32 jeans. I ordered the medium/regular. These are a loose enough fit that I can wear jeans underneath, but its just a little tight. They are pretty loose when I wear them alone. There are elastic velcro tabs on each side to use to loosen and tighten. They are just a little too long for me, I step on the back of the pants every once in a while with my boots. This would be solved if they weren't so baggy around the ankles. There is a snap at the ankles you can release to make them even looser, but I wish they went a couple inches narrower so they would sit a little higher on my boots. I may end up just stitching them that way, but its not a huge deal. I'm sure the medium/short would have resolved this issue for me as well. There isn't much insulation between the inner and outer layers, but this has actually turned out to be a positive because I can wear them in warmer weather and wear jeans or fleece pants underneath when its cold. Seem to be waterproof so far, but haven't really tested that aspect yet. I got them on sale so despite the small issues I'm quite happy with my purchase.I recently purchased these pants for our trip to Wyoming. I was very pleased with how warm they are and comfortable. They were a little long, nonetheless for the price of these pants I don't think you can really find a better deal. For the week that we were there, the temperature fluctuated between 2-20 degrees, and the days I wore these I never got cold. 10/10 would recommend. If you have the ability I would recommend using Prime Wardrobe and ordering in a few different sizes to find your best fit.I'm no experienced skier/snowboarder but this item is good quality IMO and did it's job perfectly (although it looks thin).I usually wear 32 waist and 32 length and Medium/Regular fit perfectly!Light weight great insulation.I wore a couple of layers under these pants but not heavy layers, they kept me more than comfortable while outside all day.Excellente qualité prixConfortable et bien adapté pour les sports d'hiver dans des conditions arctiques!I'm curious to see if this is gonna be warm enough for ski, but it's very thin
