Snowboarding is one of the most popular outdoor activities. Those who are experts at it can easily attest to the skill and, more importantly, the thrill involved. However, like all other outdoor activities, snowboarding requires a lot of work and preparation.
One of the areas where you need to be especially careful is in selecting snowboard pants. Thankfully, we’ve done a lot of the hard work for you. Below are some of the best snowboard pants available on the market now!
Table of Contents
1. Best Runner-up Snowboard Pants: The North Face Men’s Freedom Insulated Snow Pants
North Face Men’s Snow Pants are a close substitute to our top pick if you’re looking for a mix of quality and affordability. It’s a popular brand with outdoor enthusiasts because of its impressive gear. With The North Face Men’s Freedom Insulated Snow Pants, it’s easy to see why people love this brand so much!
One of the most unique features of these pants is their closure. While many options offer zipper closures or even the belt variant, these pants offer a hook and loop closure – making them almost look like a regular pair of pants! Essentially, you will be able to fasten the pants to fit your size and use the hook and loop closure to ensure a snug fit as you snowboard.
These snow pants are also made of an impressive combination of materials. First, you get 50D nylon, which is known for its breathability and flexibility. Next, there’s the polyester material, which offers sturdiness and rigidity. Finally, you have additional materials such as DryVent, face fabric, and much more that offer benefits such as warmth and strength.
These pants offer two zippered pockets, as well as one hook and loop thigh pocket option. The waist is adjustable, with the addition of belt loops to help you make any size adjustments you need.
Pros
- Lots of pockets for storage
- Good fit for everyone
- Soft, light, and comfortable
- DRYRIDE two-layer fabric
Cons
- Poor zipper quality
It’s pretty easy to see why these pants rank first on our list. They have everything you need, ranging from impeccable style to the right functionality features to protect you while you snowboard. Men are sure to love these!
2. Best Runner-up Snowboard Pants: The North Face Men’s Freedom Insulated Snow Pants
North Face Men’s Snow Pants are a close substitute to our top pick if you’re looking for a mix of quality and affordability. It’s a popular brand with outdoor enthusiasts because of its impressive gear. With The North Face Men’s Freedom Insulated Snow Pants, it’s easy to see why people love this brand so much!
One of the most unique features of these pants is their closure. While many options offer zipper closures or even the belt variant, these pants offer a hook and loop closure – making them almost look like a regular pair of pants! Essentially, you will be able to fasten the pants to fit your size and use the hook and loop closure to ensure a snug fit as you snowboard.
These snow pants are also made of an impressive combination of materials. First, you get 50D nylon, which is known for its breathability and flexibility. Next, there’s the polyester material, which offers sturdiness and rigidity. Finally, you have additional materials such as DryVent, face fabric, and much more that offer benefits such as warmth and strength.
These pants offer two zippered pockets, as well as one hook and loop thigh pocket option. The waist is adjustable, with the addition of belt loops to help you make any size adjustments you need.
Pros
- Different color options
- Innovative hook and loop closure
- Several materials rolled into one
Cons
- Sizing looks small
While they’re not the top option out there, you can’t deny the fact that The North Face did a great job designing these snow pants. The pants manage to get everything right at once, and they also keep you very comfortable throughout your snowboarding trip!
3. Best Budget Snowboard Pants: Arctix Mens Mountain Premium Snowboard Cargo Pants
If you’re on a budget, Artix Mens Mountain Cargo Pants are definitely a great choice of attire for you. Despite the low cost, these pants are made of a comfortable, high-quality nylon material that’s very breathable. With a belt closure, the pants ensure that you will stay tight and snug. If you’re not a fan of zippers, especially those often found on snowboard pants, then these cargo pants will be perfect for you.
You should note that the pants do have boot zippers, but this is only to make them easier to put on. They also offer boot gaiters with grippers to ensure that you can easily tuck the pants into your boot to keep your feet warm and prevent any moisture from entering.
Moving on, these pants offer a durable water-repellent finish that prevents the entry of water into the fabric’s surface.
The hem, scuff, and ankle guards are also reinforced with 600 Denier Ballistics. These will prevent the effects of daily wear and tear and ensure that you will be able to use the pants for much longer.
The pants have an adjustable waist, so they will fit you regardless of your size. They also have an insulated interior and mesh knees to offer you more flexibility.
Pros
- O-ring included for your important items
- Adjustable waist design
- Boot zippers
Cons
- Don’t come with a belt
While they don’t have the DRYRIDE and DryVent fabric our first two choices have, these cargo pants are a great versatile fit for anyone. They look great, work well, and ensure that you’ll always be covered when snowboarding!
4. Best Snowboard Pants Under $50: MOERDENG Men’s Soft Shell Waterproof Winter Snow Pants
Low cost does not always mean poor quality, and that’s what the Moerdeng Men’s Snow Pants prove. For less than $50, they are definitely a bargain.
While MOERDENG might not be as popular as some other brands, the company has definitely struck gold with the Men’s Soft Shell Waterproof Winter Snow Pants. Snowboarders love comfort and stability when choosing pants, and these ones offer everything you need at an affordable price.
To start off, these winter snow pants offer a drawstring closure, which can be just as effective as any other closure option on snowboard pants. The pants are made from a combination of stretchy spandex and scratch-resistant polyester. The soft-shell fabric is further lined with a 100% soft polar fleece, and all of the fabric is completely skin-friendly.
These MOERDENG pants can help you to expel sweat and moisture from your body, while also preventing the entry of additional moisture from the outer environment. So, rest assured that you’ll be able to stay dry no matter what!
Your comfort will also be maximized thanks to the pants’ surface layer, which is lined with a water-repellent coating. The coating will help to repel wind and snow, while also improving breathability throughout your snowboarding trip.
As expected, the inclusion of a spandex material also ensures that you’ll be able to move freely in these pants.
These pants are fade and wrinkle-resistant, and maintaining them is quite easy. As for storage, they offer three zipper pockets to keep your most important and valuable items. Articulated knees are there to protect you in case of contact, and a side elastic waist also ensures that the pants are comfortable regardless of your size.
Pros
- High moisture-wicking capabilities
- Water-repellent coating
- Skin-friendly fabric
Cons
- Zipper pockets are quite small
While these pants might not have as much name recognition or DryVent technology, they’ll still get the job done perfectly well!
5. Alternative Snowboard Pants: Burton AK Gore-Tex Cyclic Snow Pant
Burton is one of the most popular providers of outdoor gear. It’s no surprise that they have two snowboard pants on this list.
The AK Gore-Tex Cyclic Snow Pants are an impressive alternative product if you’re looking for some luxury without forgoing functionality. At a higher price than the others on the list, these pants might put a hole in your proverbial pocket, but they will definitely keep you dry and warm on a cold winter day.
With these pants, you get an impressive fit that comes in different colors. You can always choose the black option if you’re feeling safe, or you could show your style and go for one of the other color variants.
Burton has made the pants with fiber material, using a miracle membrane and impressive engineering to ensure that you stay dry and comfortable at all times.
The material is reinforced with a two-layer Gore-Tex plains weave fabric, which ensures that the pants remain waterproof. A mesh and taffeta lining will also ensure that you stay warm and comfortable in the pants.
With these pants, you get multiple pockets to keep your belongings and items. There’s even a tool sleeve to help you keep essentials close to you. Even better, the pants feature Gore-Seam tapering to lock out all of the natural weather elements. From wind, water, snow, and more, these pants will easily keep all the elements at bay.
Despite keeping the cold out, these snow pants also offer mesh-lined Test-I-Cool venting, as well as a crotch gusset, so you can open this area slightly to allow more air to come in and out. Lastly, the pants have added reinforcements on some of the wear zones to keep you more protected and to make them last longer.
Pros
- Optimal ventilation
- Durable against all the elements
- Gore-Seam tapering for extra protection
- Extra storage space
Cons
- Quite expensive
Buying Guide for Snowboard Pants
Before purchasing snowboard pants, there are several features you need to consider. Below, we have outlined a few important features to take into consideration before making your purchase.
Waterproof Rating
Perhaps the most important feature of snowboard pants is the waterproof rating. Getting water in your pants while you’re moving is never a fun situation. The waterproof rating shows how much water your pants can come in contact with before they give way.
Normally, the waterproof rating is measured in millimeters. The higher the rating, the more water the snowboard pants can take. A pair of pants will need to have at least a 1,500mm rating to be deemed waterproof pants.
There are several fabrics that are especially noted for their waterproof capabilities. These include DryRide, Hyvent, and Gore-Tex. These fabrics are especially great because of their pores, typically they’re larger than sweat molecules but smaller than water molecules. So, the fabrics combine breathability and waterproof capabilities.
Breathability
Moving on, you need to ensure that your pants are breathable. The breathability rating is a measure of how much a piece of fabric can allow sweat molecules to escape. This way, your pants will stay dryer and keep you warmer for longer periods of time.
Unlike waterproof ability, breathability is measured in grams. It’s calculated by getting the Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate (MVTR). The MVTR is a metric that calculates how many grams of sweat per square meter can escape a pair of pants in a day. A higher MVTR means that a piece of fabric is much more breathable.
Strength and Durability
Next, you want to make sure that your fabric is strong and durable. This is what a lot of people tend to overlook when it comes to choosing pants. You might feel like you have a normal pair of pants that can keep you dry and repel water, but they just don’t have the kind of strength that’s required for snowboard pants.
Most snowboard pants are made from polyester, nylon, or, in some cases, both. These materials hold a great deal of strength and can hold their own in extreme weather conditions. This is especially important as you can encounter unexpected weather conditions at any time while snowboarding.
Important Features to Consider in Snowboard Pants
Seams
Just like there are different types of snowboards, there are also variations in seams.
- Fully Taped: When a pair of ski pants has fully taped seams, all of the stitched seams have been properly taped. This ensures optimal waterproofing and will protect you from the elements. If you’re looking for full weather protection, fully taped seams are a great choice.
- Critically Taped: You could also get ski pants with critically-taped seams. These seams are only taped in the most important and vulnerable regions.
We recommend going for the fully taped seams when selecting snowboard pants. Since the pants will be exposed to snow a lot, you want to keep them protected.
Boot Gaiters
Boot gaiters can be pretty important features. If you want to walk around without getting snow all over your legs, you should look for boot gaiters. They are essentially a cuff on the inner bottom region of your snowboard pants and are attached to an elastic band.
Some boot gaiters can also come with lace clips that can be attached to your shoelaces. In general, they fit well on your legs and will help to keep snow at bay.
Articulated Knees
With articulated knees, the knee area of a pair of snowboard pants is pre-shaped to match the natural motion your knees make when they bend. Since you’ll be riding and bending your knees a lot, this is a pretty good feature.
Scuff Guards
A scuff guard is an additional durable fabric that’s placed in the ankle area. It ensures that the pants don’t fray around that area, especially with the high amount of friction that it gets. With scuff guards, your pants will be protected for much longer.
Waist Adjustment
With waist adjustment, the waist area of your snowboard pants will be able to conform to the shape and size of your waist. This is especially important as a comfort component. You want to be free and comfortable as you snowboard, so waist adjustment is definitely a great feature to look out for.
Most pants come with Velcro waist adjustment features. If you’d like to wear multiple layers or you don’t want belts, waist adjustment is good to have.
Suspenders
Suspenders are pretty self-explanatory. They help to hold your outfit in place, but the only difference between snowboard pant suspenders and normal suspenders is that the former are usually sewn in place.
Note that not every type of snowboard pants will have this feature.
Side Zips
Side zips are located at the bottom area of the pants. They ensure that your pants can fit any boot design. While they’re not a complete necessity, beginner snowboarders are advised to get them.
Inner Leg Vents
Leg vents are an interesting feature that combine a mesh lining with zippers on the inner thigh region. You can unzip them when there’s too much heat to let the breeze come in and cool you down.
Leg Fits
Leg fits are another feature that aren’t so common. Here, you have a piece of material around the boot cuff that lets you roll them up and snap them. So, your cuffs will be lifted and distanced from the ground.
With leg fits, you can raise your pants in order to protect them from any dirt or residual snow.
Pockets
Pockets are also important, especially for keeping your essential items. Some of the available pocket types include:
- Pass Pockets: Some snowboard pants come with pass pockets. Here, you have a space to store your pass, so you have it ready when the appropriate people ask for it. You don’t want your pass to keep flapping everywhere in the wind, so keep it’s nice to have a pass pocket for extra convenience.
- Cargo Pockets: These are pretty much the same pockets you see on those large khaki shorts or cargo pants. While they’re not necessary, they are still nice to have when it comes to storing any essentials.
Glove Holsters
If you can get them, glove holsters are pretty great. Essentially, they are just plastic hooks that allow you to take your gloves off and hook them to your pants when they’re not in use. With glove holsters, you don’t have to worry about fumbling with the gloves whenever you’re not riding.
How to Clean and Maintain Your Snowboarding Pants
If you care for your snowboarding pants properly, they’ll last longer. Snowboarding pants are washable — but always read the general cleaning instructions on the label first! Although you don’t need to wash them after every wear, you should wash them at least twice a season.
To clean your snowboarding pants, you’ll need:
- Gentle detergent (e.g., Base Wash, Nikwax)
- A soft brush (or toothbrush)
- Stain remover
- Waterproofing liquid or spray (optional)
- A washing machine
- A drying line
Steps to Clean Pants for Snowboarding
1. Prep the pants for cleaning
Check your pockets for anything that could stain or damage your pants during a wash cycle. Remove any lift tickets, tissues, and lip balm from your pockets.
Remove all detachable hoods from jackets (if you’re washing the jackets together) and inner linings. Zip up all the zippers and close all snaps and Velcro fasteners to prevent them from snagging on anything and tearing the fabric.
2. Treat any stains
Look for food or grease stains on your pants and treat them before washing. You might need to use a stain remover and a soft bristle brush to scrub the stains. Leave the stain remover for about 15 minutes and scrub again before throwing it in the washer. Don’t worry. The fabric on your snowboarding parts is strong enough to handle the stress from scrubbing.
3. Put pants in the washing machine
Wash the pants in cold water and set the machine to a gentle cycle. Use a gentle detergent and if they still feel soapy after rinsing, rinse them again until all the soap is gone. Do not put the pants in the dryer.
4. Use a waterproofing solution to rinse
After the first wash cycle, run the pants in an in-wash waterproofing solution. Ensure the solution is meant for clothes, not outdoor tents or sleeping bags. Don’t rinse with any other garments and use only cold water.
5. Spread the pants to air-dry
Don’t use the machine dryer to dry your pants. The dryer’s heat shrinks them and limits your range of motion when you wear them again. Instead, hang them out to dry in a shaded area. Don’t place the clothes under direct sunlight or any other heat source. You also don’t need to iron the pants as the fabric doesn’t wrinkle.
How to Store Your Snowboarding Pants
Once the season is over, wash your pants with gentle fabric detergent to clean and deodorize them before storage. Ensure the clothes are completely dry before packing them up to prevent mold or mildew growth during the off-season.
Loosely fold them on a shelf or hang them in your closet to prevent them from being compressed. One important feature of these insulating pants is how they trap air and body heat in the fibers to give you extra warmth. Compressing them will affect the fiber’s ability to trap air.
How to Repair Any Tears on Your Snowboarding Pants
If you have any tears in your pants, you should repair them before storage. Use pre-cut repair patches specifically for waterproof clothes to cover up any tears. You can buy them from any store specializing in fabric, outdoor gear, marine items, or craft items.
To use the pre-cut patches, remove loose threads around the tear and clean it as much as possible. Grease, oil, or dirt will prevent the patch from sticking to the fabric.
After cleaning up the tear, place the pants on a flat surface and line the sides of the tear up as close as you can to their original state. Peel the film at the back of the patch and gently place it over the tear, pressing down firmly to remove wrinkles and air bubbles. After 24 hours, the repair patch should reach full strength, and you can wear your snow pants again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, they must. This is a very important feature – perhaps the most important of all. The waterproof feature ensures that you’re protected from water splashes and snow as you snowboard. You should never compromise on this.
There’s no specific answer for this. Most people tend to go with black, but it’s really a matter of preference.
Again, they can be as tight or loose as you want them to be. But, keep in mind that you need something that’s spacious enough for you to move comfortably. As long as you can move seamlessly, you’ll be good to go.
Conclusion
A lot of people love snowboarding and the fun it brings. It’s completely understandable, but it’s important to remember to stay safe and to use the proper gear.
Pants are perhaps the most important piece of gear when it comes to snowboarding, and the Burton Covert Insulated Snowboard Pants Mens are especially awesome. They look and feel good, and they offer all the security features you could ever need. You should definitely give them, or any of the other options on our list, a shot!