****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Okay, take the 3 stars as 3 and a half -- these are really pretty good pants, as Spyder is known for good ski wear, but there are some things that could be better, especially for the premium prices that Spyder commands.I bought these for my husband, who wears them frequently as a volunteer for the Adaptive Sports Program, both helping disabled skiers and being helped as a disabled skier himself. The theory green color is a great bonus because everyone can find him with NO problem on the slopes -- "see the guy in the neon green pants...?" Although my husband is tall, these pants are LONG, too long -- drag-through-the-parking-lot-slush-and-muddy-salt-runoff long. The fabric does not stand up to being walked upon, either, so on the first wearing, the bottom edge of the pants were shredded on the backs. Washing did nothing to remove the amazing staining, but I needed to take the pants up almost two inches, so the tearing and staining from walking on the extra length was a moot point.The fabric itself is a very lightweight poly which appears to be bonded to a waterproof layer, as the material is green on the front side and white on the reverse. We discovered this when a one inch split appeared on one of the thigh pockets -- probably from a piece of adaptive equipment, but my husband doesn't know exactly when it happened or what caused it. I discovered that Spyder took no care at all in seam finishing within the garment when I undertook the repair of the tear -- there were strips of seam allowance tangled with lining material and loose thread, etc. making my attempts to work a small iron-on patch into the space almost impossible. The patch itself would not adhere to the plasticized white coating of the fabric, so I ended up using Bish's Tear Mender to glue the tear shut. (It worked.)So the scoop on the 3-1/2 stars is this: The wearability of the pants is great - warm enough, great flex, zips in all the right places for ventilation, etc. The fit is OK, too, if you are forewarned that they run long and may need to be shortened. One really nice feature is the velcro adjustments at the waist - on the inside - so that you can cinch the waist of the pants in, or let them out, by a couple of inches depending on how well insulated you happen to be ;-) .The fabric used in these is a bit odd. I would say it is generally good, and for a good skier who is not going to run into things that may snag or poke a hole, it's plenty durable. If you get a tear, you'll want to make a repair as soon as possible, because there's no grain (warp or weft) to stop a tear from rapidly increasing in size. Tears need to be sewn or glued - iron-ons won't stick to the reverse of this fabric (I don't know about the front side).
