i teach skiing and snowboarding at a local ski hill near seattle. as u can imagine, we get a lot of sloshy weather often mixed in with an arctic blasts, worst combination, but the guide pants hold on strong and i'm never that cold or that wet...truly awesome, cause i'm always comfortable!
if it's looking ccold, i'll throw on a some underarmour otherwise, silk weight capilene shorts go well.
i think i'm spoiled, i dread having to put on the hardshell pants for those demon days.
anyway, my pants have seen at least 150 hard working days on the snow/slush/ice/rocks/bar stool and i think they will go at least another 150. i'll be sad when i have to replace them...

Customer Service

haven't needed any

Puchased in 2004, they are the sand colored model with one thigh pocket on the right (the 2006 model has thigh pockets both sides). Fit and comfort are excellent. I use mine predominantly for mountaineering and backcountry skiing. They suit a very wide range of temperature conditions from well bellow 32 to quite warm (I have never had to wear long underwear). They are water repellent and dry quickly. They are now my first choice for most outdoor activities - if you just want one pair of pants these are they. They also look reasonably respectable when you come back to civilisation so you can get away with one pair of pants on a long trip where weight is important (ski touring). The pockets are perfect and the thigh pocket will hold a gps or camera comfortably. The only problem is the lack of reinforcement in the ankle which can be cut by skis (this has been rectified in 2006) and the ankle zippers are light weight and mine have blown out twice (they may have been strengthened in 2006). They replced the zipper the first time BUT this time Patagonia are replacing the 2 year old pants with new ones for FREE this time!!! Customer service does not get better than that. These are the best outdoor pants I have every owned.

Customer Service

Excellent see above

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No other soft shells

I wouldn't exactly call these "shell pants" but I would say that they rule everywhere shell pants aren't needed. The fabric is the key, Schoeller fabrics are awesome, they resist precipitation and wind, they breath better than any shell every will, and they "move" with you, they stretch. They also are bomb-proof. What did I leave out? oh yeah, they're not exactly cheap, but they're worth every dollar. These are my prefered mountain pants in all seasons so long as I'm not in an all out storm. They're also sized by your waist size, not the usual S,M,L,XL... so they fit nicely too. If I had only one pair of mountain pants these would easily be the pants I'd choose. Enough said, five stars!

Customer Service

Patagonia takes care of their buying public

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Black Diamond Alpine pants, but they're cut too short in the inseam for me