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    • Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants

    Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants

    Backcountry Skiing Canada Gear of the Year 2017

    The 'crème de la crème' of soft shell ski touring pants are the Mountain Equipment Spectres. Full of features, loaded with good looks and oozing with quality design, they are simply the best we’ve ever tested. Add to this Gore Windstopper and you’ve got a Gear of the Year Award winner on your hands (or rather your legs).

    The Backcountry Skiing Canada Team.


    The vast majority of backcountry skiers wear resort inspired, waterproof ski pants when ski touring. While these will keep you warm and dry (from the outside) they do tend to get a little clammy when pumping out laps on the skin track. Let’s face it, Gore-Tex really has no advantage when it comes to ski touring. (Unless you happen to do an excessive amount of ski touring in the rain). If you haven’t tried soft shell pants specifically designed for backcountry skiing, then you’re missing out. They are waaaaaaay more breathable and keep you surprisingly warm and dry. Having reviewed soft shell ski touring pants from Outdoor Research, La Sportiva, Haglofs, Black Diamond, Ibex and Stio, (click the links to read the respective reviews), I thought it was time to take the Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants for a few walks in the backcountry.

    Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants

    Front and back of the Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants.

    Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants
    Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants
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    The Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants fit snug and are slim through the waist and knees while still leaving lots of room to accommodate alpine touring boots and provide great range of motion (ROM) thanks to the inherent stretch of the softshell fabric. Aggressively articulated knees and a gusseted crotch only help to improve the fit and ROM. 

    There’s a built-in belt and removable suspenders that ensure your pack will not ride down the pants as you climb. While the 32” waist fit me perfectly and was snug enough to stay up around my waist (where they should be) I preferred to wear them with the suspenders for double protection against a southerly migration. If suspenders aren’t your thang, then the extra wide and burly built-in belt will do the trick on its own. I tried this option as well just to ensure it would suffice.

    Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants

    The vents are incorporated to look like cargo pockets and are designed to allow warm, moist air to escape while not letting snow in, thanks to their centre thigh location and built-in mesh guard. Being accustomed to side thigh vents that dump considerable amounts of heat, these zippered mock-pocket vents were limited in the amount of cooling they could provide. In colder temps and inclement weather this vent style performed well, but some will prefer larger sized leg zip vents that can really let the breeze reach those bits that need cooling most. To help the Spectre pants dissipate heat as much as possible, I find opening the two hand warmer pockets helps, as they are mesh lined which increases air flow.

    Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants

    Features:

    • Gore Windstopper Soft Shell fabric
    • Mountain fit with increased lower leg volume for ski boots
    • 2 zipped hand pockets
    • Integrated belt with double press-stud waist closure
    • Removable and fully adjustable suspenders
    • 2 vents with YKK zips and 1 inner zipped transceiver security pocket
    Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants
    • Offset ankle zips with internal gusset panel to accommodate all ski boot and zip-out stretch Soft Shell gaiters.
    Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants
    Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants
    • Articulated knees and Dyneema reinforced kick strips and bonded hem for ski and crampon durability.
    Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants
    Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants

    Verdict:

    I’ve been ski touring in soft shell pants for over a decade now and swear by them. The hard shells only come out on days when there is excessive wind, bitterly cold temps or rain forecasted (but then the skiing would likely suck and I’d just stay home anyways). The Mountain Equipment Spectre Pants are the first soft shell touring pants that get pretty much everything right for this reviewer. The use of Gore-Windstopper is well worth the price of admission and the fit is spot on for my 32”x32”, 175lb, 6’1” frame. While I would like to see larger thigh vents for dumping heat faster, the fact that the soft shell fabric breathes so well almost negates the need for them. I typically only wear base layers under the Spectre Pants if the mercury is going to dip below -10°C as this adds welcome insulation and warmth.

    The Spectre Pants also get full points for the location and size of their transceiver pocket. I haven’t worn my transceiver in its chest harness since I started carrying an iPhone (for pics) and a radio for emergency communications. Electronic devices need to be at least 20cm apart when switched off (the radio and iPhone that is) and 50cm apart when switched on. Keep this in mind the next time you harness your transceiver right next to your phone. If you haven’t considered carrying your transceiver in a pants pocket (securely zipped and clipped in of course) then give it a whirl as it’s far more efficient in searches and much quicker to access.

    The large, almost bell bottomed legs on the Spectre Pants may not be en vogue if you plan on going out for dinner after a day in the backcountry, but they work flawlessly over any ski touring boot. La Sportiva’s soft shell touring pants are notoriously close fitting, whereas the Spectre Pants from Mountain Equipment don’t have this affliction and provided more than enough room when my AT boots were in walk mode, even with all the boot buckles wide open.

    The final feature that makes me smile (aside from the Spectre’s good looks and comfort) are the redundancy of a built-in belt and optional suspenders. You can’t have enough ways to hold your pants up when you’ve got a pack on your back, as it and gravity are typically in cahoots to slowly migrate them southward. I find that both work best but I have also forgone the suspenders for the sake of simplicity.

    One final note: Mountain Equipment is not to be confused with Mountain Equipment Co-op which is a Canadian institution here in the great white north. These are completely different companies, and Mountain Equipment is based out of Great Britain. Due to the similarity in their names, Mountain Equipment is not allowed to be sold in Canada. So, if you want to get your hands on a pair of these awesome pants use the links below.

    If you haven’t given soft shell ski touring pants a try, do yourself a favour and do it. You can thank me later. For more soft shell reviews (jackets and pants), click on over here.

    PROS:

    • Gore Windstopper does as the name suggests on even the windiest of days.
    • Fit like a glove, only better.
    • Colours are all style and not primary or Euro.
    • Leg cuffs can accommodate alpine touring boots in walk mode even with open buckles.
    • Thigh transceiver pocket is a must and the size and location are right.

    CONS:

    • Vents are not large enough to really dump heat and cool you.
    • Could use an additional cargo pocket.
    • Zippers could use pull tabs to make things easier with gloves on.

    SPECS:

    Price: $333CAN / $299.95US
    Sizes: 30-38 Regular and Long
    Colours: Black, Kiwi, Marine
    Weight: 760g / 26.8oz
    Warranty: Lifetime

    RATING: 9.5/10

    Fit/Mobility                       2/2
    Packability/Durability        2/2
    Waterproof/Breathable      2/2
    Features                            1.5/2
    Quality / Price                   2/2

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    Did we miss something? Are we totally out to lunch? Let us know what you think. People like/dislike gear for different reasons so chime in below and we'll get a well-rounded evaluation. You'll need to login or register before you can comment but it only takes a few seconds, then you're good to go.

    • Fraser Judd
      January 16, 2017 14:50
      #
      I have an older pair of Patagonia soft-shell ski touring pants that I rarely use.  Anything below -10C and they're not really warm enough and when it gets windy they feel very chilly.  I also found when boot packing up snowy couloirs that snow would accumulate to the bottom half of the pants until the point that they were a hard, icy mess.  The breathable fabric allows the heat from your legs to melt cold snow and then freeze on the pant.  Do you have any experienced with boot packing or grovelling in deep snow with these soft shells?

       Since then I bought a pair of Patagonia Goretex pants and enjoy them for all but the warmest days.  At least then I can unzip the legs and dump the heat on the up track.  I find the goretex good for when I'm digging a pit or other snowy times when my legs are covered in snow for longer periods of time.  

      I do like the idea of soft-shell pants, as most of my upper body touring gear is softshell, but am reluctant to make the change.
      • Backcountry Skiing Canada Admin
        November 20, 2017 07:26
        #
        Any soft shell pant will feel cold on days below -10°C, especially if you are stationary for any amount of time. Same is true for windy days, even if they are made with Gore Windstopper, although this fabric does help. To keep snow from building up on the outside of the pants and then melting you do have to be careful not to get them in contact with too much snow as the DWR on the fabric will only protect you for so long. Soft shell pants are really for days when you know it will be not too cold or windy and you won't be wallowing in deep snow. I find this to be true on 90% of my touring days, the other days I wear a waterproof/breathable pant as you suggest. So, in short, I have both kinds of touring pants as each excel in different conditions.

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