Your favorite winter hiking pants?

[Hokiehikergirl]

Hi all :)

What are your favorite winter hiking pants/boots? I have some mountain hardware convertible pants I use in the summer and I've been layering these with tights but would love to hear about your recommendations...

and your favorite winter boots?

[fehchet]

For winter I like my Ibex wool leggings and wool skirt or Mountain Hardwear shorts instead of the skirt. If I'm trudging through snow then I put my LL Bean rain pants on for the top layer. Merrell Chameleons with Gortex for all season footwear. In fact today I went for a woods hike in fresh (never been trod on) foot deep snow and when I was done, my socks and leggings were dry. My rain pants and shoes are hanging out by the wood stove now to dry the surface wet. Ahhh, winter in Maine is finally here.

[cbeaves]

I prefer my Mountain Hardwear midweight tights with rain pants if needed and definitely gaiters if there's snow. I have a pair of Salomon waterproof boots that I'll wear in snow. Otherwise, I'd still wear gortex trail runners.

[Dogwood]

REI Schoeller stretch fabric pants. Almost WP. Highly WR. Dry fast even in winter. Shed mud and ice VERY WELL. Highly durable and abrasion resistant. Sized for thermals underneath increasing versatilty as compared to one thick pair of winter hiking pants. Half to 1/3 the price of similiar Cloudveil, ArcTeryx, etc pants using Schoeller fabric.

[Hokiehikergirl]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone!! I was wondering if tights would be warm enough. I prefer them in fall weather. I'll check out your recommendations!

[BarFight]

Columbia Ice Dragons for boots. Long underwear, plain synthetic pants and then plain rain pants for hiking. Gaitors over all. I delayer on top and this works well for heat regulation.

[stonedflea]

hiya hokie! =)

i just came off of the foothills trail yesterday. y'all have a gorgeous trail up there, my friend.

we had decent weather the entire trip... it got pretty danged cold up on the ridges (we had a real thin layer of ice on the outside of the rainfly one night) but it never rained, and it had actually warmed up enough yesterday to be considered tshirt weather.

we were out for 5 days and i never changed clothes. i wore a pair of underarmour cold gear leggings and a pair of nike shorts over them. i only remember my legs getting cold a few times when we'd stop for extended breaks to check the trail book and grab some food out of our packs.

i bought a pair of merrell sport gtx's i think. i honestly just bought them last week 'cause the only shoes i had semi-fit for hiking, etc. were my five fingers, and i didn't figure those would be very comfy in snow. i'm not real sure what to tell you about them. i slipped on some snow/ice and hurt my right ankle two days into it, and i continued having problems with my ankle throughout the trip. they weren't great on slippery surfaces, but they broke in fairly quickly. they're pretty comfortable. i'll need a few more miles on them before i form a solid opinion on them, though. a friend of mine has a pair and loves hers.

are you hiking the foothills? =)

[SunnyWalker]

Whipcord pants used sith thermal underwear.

[foreversuperawesome]

i wear my mountain hardwear ramesa pants with a saucony fleece tights. Keeps me warm and cozy.

[pelenaka]

2nd those LLB Bean rain pants for a cost effective method coupled with layering of long johns. I originally bought them to use in less than ideal conditions when bike riding. If I was a better seamstress I would put in a few zippered vents in the thigh areas. Hope to score a higher end version (cargo pockets & vents) this Spring on sale.
Boots for everyday urban hiking as well as off - Columbia Women's Bugaboot Plus Snow Boots Omni-Heat which I love. So much so I bought my teenage daughter a pair.