We Tested The Best Ski Pants and Bibs For Men–These 7 Outperformed The Rest

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Ski pants and bibs aren’t all made the same. When it comes to choosing, there’s likely hundreds of options on the market at this point, and between insulated, hardshell, and softshell pants and bibs, we’ve been busy testing the year’s best products. Here are our Editor’s Pick choices for the year’s best ski pants and bibs for men.

Bibs Vs. Pants?

Ah, the age-old debate. While we’ll let you decide where you fall on this particular spectrum, there are clear benefits to choosing both bibs and traditional pants for skiing. 

Bibs, on one hand, offer added protection from the elements, like additional waterproofing and warmth for stormy, wet days. There’s also room for more pockets to carry essentials like an avalanche beacon, snacks, a phone, or other accessories. Many skiers swear by them for added comfort and features on powder days.

On the other hand, pants are much simpler, skipping added material that can bunch up under your jacket or a ski pack. There are no shoulder straps (which can slip off your shoulders or otherwise be uncomfortable. However, on storm days, that lack of extra protection can invite unwanted snow into your nether regions–and there’s really nothing worse than getting snow down your pants on a pow day. Pants can be a better option for spring skiing, or sunny winter days. 

Insulated vs. Shell Pants

You’ll notice that none of these pants offer insulation, and that’s because just like jackets, we’re convinced insulated ski pants are not the most effective way to stay warm on the hill. Instead, shells offer the ability to layer more easily, and allow you to take advantage of more purpose-built insulation pieces like a fleece pants, or down puffy pants for really cold days. Shell pants also breathe much better than insulated options, keeping you dryer (and ultimately) warmer on high-output days. 

What material for pants or bibs is best?

These technical shell pants and bibs come in a variety of material options that offer varying degrees of breathability and waterproofness. The principle behind how these materials work is actually pretty simple. Inside, there’s a membrane made of a microporous material, with thousands of pores per square inch that are much smaller than water droplets. That means snow or liquid water (which has surface tension that keeps it in a droplet form) cannot pass through, making the material waterproof from the outside. That waterproofness also happens to make the material windproof, meaning the garment will also protect you from biting cold winds. Breathability comes from the fact that water vapor (trapped on the inside of the material thanks to sweat evaporating from your skin) can pass through the membrane. While too small for liquid water, those tiny pores are large enough to let water vapor through. 

The breathability works best when there’s a stark temperature change between inside the garment and outside. That means it works best when you’re generating lots of body heat and sweating on cold days–exactly when you’d need it to keep you dry the most.

The super-thin membrane is typically sandwiched between an inner fabric layer and an outer face fabric (hence the 3L or “3-layer” nomenclature on lots of garments) to allow it to be sewn into a pant and add varying levels of stiffness and durability. The face fabric is then usually treated with a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) coating, which causes water to bead up and simply slide off the material–further adding waterproofing. DWR coating eventually wears off, but can be easily reactivated by simply washing and drying your gear. Here’s how to best take care of that.

Perhaps the most widely-known fabric option is Gore-Tex, which was recently re-engineered to get rid of environmentally harmful PFAS chemicals–but Gore-Tex is far from the only option. We tested pants and bibs using similar materials called Dermizax, Xpore, FUTURELIGHT, Pertex Shield, and other proprietary membranes offering varying degrees of performance. Depending on what you’re intending to do with your jacket, different materials might be better suited for the job at hand. Choose Dermizax, XPore or Gore-Tex Pro for the ultimate waterproofness and durability, Gore-Tex ePe or Gore-Tex C-Knit for a better balance of breathability, waterproofing, and packability.

Oakley | Bowls Gore-Tex Pants

Oakley is a brand perhaps best known among skiers for high-performance goggles and helmets, but they’ve long been players in the on-snow outerwear market. This year, Oakley re-enters the scene with their new Bowls Gore-Tex pants, which offer high-performance fabrics with a modern, stylish fit in a very simple package.

Like the matching Bowls jacket, the Bowls Gore-Tex pants are surprisingly minimalist–but it doesn’t skip out on features that will make any resort or backcountry skier happy, like zippered side vents, hip drop pockets, and a beacon/phone sleeve inside the thigh pocket. With a slightly more fitted silhouette than we expected from a brand with such a storied history in the freestyle world, this jacket will make a lot of skiers happy. It’s constructed from softer and slightly stretchy Gore-Tex C-Knit fabric, to allow for additional breathability and comfort when hiking for backcountry lines or sessioning park features. However, the waterproofness of the Gore-Tex fabric still provides epic protection from the elements on stormy chairlift rides, windy ridgewalks, and the deepest days of the winter.

Raide Research | TourTech Bibs

Now in their second generation, we absolutely cannot get enough of Raide’s exquisitely-designed TourTech bibs. Are these the best everyday ski touring pants ever made? Honestly, we think they might be. The simple, minimalist design (two thigh pockets, a low, breathable bib, effective straps, and zippered side vents that double as a bathroom flap) is everything you need and nothing more for modern ski touring, where big vert days are combined with not looking like a skimo dork. The fit is on the baggy/freeride end of the spectrum, but it’s not so loose you look like you’re filming for Superunknown.

Beyond the stretchy but waterproof (enough) fabric and exceptional breathability, a small detail that we love with these is the fact that there’s beacon sleeves and loops in both pockets. In fact, Raide designs their entire outerwear line, from bibs, to jackets, to baselayers, to include the same simple beacon loop and sleeve in every single pocket. It doesn’t add any meaningful bulk, and allows you to wear your beacon however you want.

Stellar Equipment | Free Shell 2.5 Bibs

The Stellar Free 2.5 Shell bibs (and the matching jacket) are for hard-charging freeriders who are looking for a kit to do it all for years to come. Durability and longevity are one of the hallmarks of anything coming out of Stellar EQ’s factories, and the updated Free Shell 2.5 is no exception, so if you are going to drop the cash on this kit planning to really use it for years to come, know that this kit will hold up and the quality is well worth the price. 

The Stellar Free 2.5 bibs are packed with features alongside the great fabric that made it stand out as a high-quality, dependable uninsulated bib for any condition. Waterproof fabric covers as much as a pair of pants would and then extends into a meshy upper piece that stops mid-chest. There are belt loops if you prefer to wear a belt with your bibs, but the velcro straps are also great. Both legs have roomy slant hip pockets as well as thigh pockets with a beacon hardpoint and little mesh sleeve inside on the right leg. On the breathability/waterproofness scale of window mesh to trash bag, our testers’ experiences say that the PFAS-free Free 2.5 shell jacket is actually a bit more waterproof than Gore-Tex ePe, but slightly less breathable.

Mountain Hardwear | Mythogen GTX Pro Bibs

Designed hand-in-hand with professional ski mountaineer Vivian Bruchez, the Mythogen™ GTX Pro Bibs (and matching jacket) are Mountain Hardwear’s answer to defeating the elements in the alpine. Built with the latest generation of ultra-waterproof, breathable, durable, and PFAS-free Gore-Tex Pro fabric, these bibs are in it for the long haul, with loads of features, a stylish fit, and impressive marks on both breathability and waterproofing.

These feature two large chest pockets on the full-height bib, two waist pockets, and two thigh pockets. There’s also a large dropseat-style bathroom flap that doubles as thigh vents. Every pocket features a clip-in anchor point and elastic strap to hold an avalanche beacon. The burly construction and spot-on fit means we’d be perfectly happy having this be our do-it-all, quiver-of-one kit for seasons to come.

Outdoor Research | Cloudchaser 3L Bibs

Baggy softshell bibs are kind of a hot take, if you ask us, but Outdoor Research has never been afraid to think outside the box. The matching bibs to our tester-favorite Cloudchaser Jacket, the Cloudchaser 3L bibs are a great option if you’re a backcountry freeride skier who’s looking for softshell performance with a modern fit. This could be the answer for those of us looking for that perfect in-between kit for high-output days where we don’t want to look like a skimo athlete. For the entire Cloudchaser kit, OR chose to build both the bibs and the matching jacket from Pertex Shield 3L, one of the most storm-proof softshell fabrics out there. Good choice, in our opinion.

The bibs are stretchy, move with you in all directions, and keep you pretty damn dry. From a breathability standpoint, the Pertex Shield 3L beats Gore-Tex hands down. However, it’s not quite as waterproof as something like Gore-Tex Pro–so it might not be the best choice on super wet days. But, for most high-output ski touring days, especially in dry and cold climates, the Pertex Shield 3L fabric is an excellent option. The Cloudchaser bibs come in a variety of colors, a stylishly baggy freeride fit, and have the right amount of pockets, vents, and other features (not too many!) to keep things minimalistic for big days in the snow.

The North Face | Summit Series FUTURELIGHT AMK Ski Pants

As part of the North Face’s Advanced Mountain Kit (AMK) series–the Summit Series FUTURELIGHT AMK Ski Pants are some of the most purpose-built shell pants ever made. These shell pants are meant to pair with the rest of the Kit to create the ultimate layering system for mountain athletes in harsh environments.  A cross between winter alpine climbing and traditional backcountry skiing shells, these are pants we’d choose for the biggest backcountry missions where enduring bad weather is part of the plan. The extremely breathable but waterproof FUTURELIGHT material is crafted into a durable but ultralight and paper-thin shell that’s on the looser and baggier side–meant to fit over larger-cuffed ski touring and alpine boots. The zippered cuffs are adjustable and can be cinched over low-profile mountaineering boots.

The pants feature belt loops, two side zippered vents and two large thigh drop pockets. Neither pocket features a beacon anchor or in-pocket phone sleeve, as the pants are meant to be as compressible and packable as possible. The AMK Ski Pants are the most technical pants on our list this year and while not the best option for resort skiing, make a fantastic choice for anyone looking for an ultralight shell pant for big mountain adventures that do equally well between alpine climbing, ice climbing, and ski mountaineering pursuits.

Backcountry | Cottonwoods Xpore Bibs

Now in their third official iteration, Backcountry’s Cottonwoods bibs leave behind the Gore-Tex and are now entirely constructed entirely from Xpore. Built with all-out durability in mind, the new Cottonwoods bibs are chock-full of features, including both mesh and zippered pockets in the full-height waterproof bib, two waist pockets, and zippered vents on both the inside and outside of your leg for optimal airflow. The outside vents double as a bathroom flap. Like the matching jacket, some testers found the bibs to be a bit over-engineered, but others loved the maximalist style, saying this makes for the perfect resort kit to hold everything you might need and block out the elements.

Testers found these to be some of the warmest bibs they tried. Despite the added warmth, the Xpore material still competes on the breathability front. The sizing falls squarely into the modern “baggy freeride” fit.