I finally finished testing these pants and hence my review. When you put these pants on, you can immediately tell that they are a quality product. They feel good, the seams are on the outside so as not to rub against you, there is very thin layer of fleece against the skin. The pockets have low profile nylon quality zippers (why wouldn't you put zippers on the pockets of athletic pants?) The stretch panels are more than adequate; you could do a yoga class in these pants. My first test was winter mountain biking. The seat was plenty roomy so that I could wear padded bike shorts underneath. The legs taper at the bottom so I didn't have to worry about the fabric getting anywhere near my bike chain. The breath-ability was good and even though I was sweating on the climbs, there was no sense of dampness against my skin. Contrary to that day's weather report, I ran into a downpour and found that the pants are very water repellent but at a point, the rain did start seeping in but it wasn't uncomfortable. Along with the rain came a huge spray of mud from my tires which covered the pants. They cleaned up really well in a cold water wash and I hung them to dry. This past weekend I did a 21 mile cross country ski trek through Yosemite. I wore the pants for two days straight which included sleeping in them. They remained comfortable and performed superbly. If you're looking for versatile winter pants, just buy these and don't waste all of the time that I did going through stores and websites.
The website picture makes these pants look like your average full cut snow pant, so I was a bit surprised to discover that they were a tapered cut with made with a stretchy sweat-like fabric. However the fit is very flattering, allows great comfort for movement, and has none of the annoying swishing sound made whenever you walk around in regular snow pants.
Wore these to the park after snowstorm Nemo and spent about two hours wading through snow as well as doing a fair bit of sledding. The conclusion is these are my new favorite wintersport pants. My legs stayed dry and warm even though I did not wear a base layer in 15 degree weather. The material breathes well and the brushed inside layer feels good against the skin.
I had not heard of Sporthill before and went to check out the website. As far as I can tell these are the XC Pants which LLBean is bringing to you at a better price. Also shocking; they're made in the USA!
I was surprised by how warm they felt, even with the temperature in the teens and a 20 MPH wind. They are very flexible, which is unexpected with bulk winter clothing. I wish they had pockets for more often casual wear. But if you are skiing or hiking in the snow, they will keep you warm.
