Mistral Pants

I bought the Mistral pants immediately before a hike up Longs Peak, CO. Fortunately, I didn't encounter any rain on the trip, so I cannot attest to their water repellency (they did repel water well when I tested them by dumping water from my water bottle on them). I read a trip report on rec.climbing which said that Schoeller fabric is ineffective in heavy rain.



I liked them because they were extremely breathable yet wind proof. I wore them with nothing but shorts beneath, and they were comfortable through a range of temperatures of 50-80 degrees. Never once did I feel too hot or too cold. They are an excellent summer mountaineering pant if you want something to block the wind and a little bit of rain.

I just recently bought these for a trip to Mt whitney. For a test run I went for a 2 day climb where I broke trail though fresh powder for 4 or 5 hours, never did my legs feel overheated or sweaty. the pants never retained any moisture. The next day we were in low twenty degree temps with a steady 20 mph wind with gusts to near 40 mph (measured) I never felt the wind and stayed very comforatable.

These pants are great and I would recommend them to anyone. Extremely breathable, durable, and flexible. They aren't as water resistant as I would have hoped, but they still kept me very dry going up a thawing mountain. I did manage to put quite a few holes in them from crampons, but I think that can be expected from just about any piece of clothing. I would buy these again in a heartbeat.