****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Let's start with what these pants don't have. These pants don't have zippered leg openings and instead have buttons on both the ankle gaiter and outer pant. These don't allow either layer to open up very much and make it very difficult to put them on with shoes on and nearly impossible with boots on. These pants don't have any vents, so while they are breathable if you need to quickly dump heat on a warm day you're out of luck. These pants don't use Columbia's Omni-Heat reflective insulation and instead use the traditional fleece + fill. The pair I saw at the Columbia outlet with the same name/price did use omni-heat, so it was a bummer these didn't. The big down side to this is that the fleece can get wet much easier than the omni-heat material when you're putting them on outside.On to what they do have. These pants are fairly waterproof, I'm not sure what the rating is on them(they're no Gore-Tex) but the first time I used them snowboarding was a rainy day that crept into the 40s and they held up well with only a minimal amount of water managing to force its way through the knees and butt. As for insulation and breathability I've worn them for extended periods in days ranging from the low teens to low 40s and have always been at a comfortable temperature wearing a base layer plus athletic shorts and tall wool socks under them. The inclusion of belt loops, an adjustable waistband and 2 zippered front pockets is nice.I would have spent some extra money on higher performance pants(preferably Gore-Tex) with better features had I known I would be using these as much as I have, but overall they've held up well to my use and abuse. Ohio tends to have warmer temps and wet weather, so these aren't quite water-proof enough if you find yourself sitting or kneeling a lot, but they'll do if you're not sure how much use you'll get out of them or plan on spending most of your time upright.
