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Anti-disclaimer: I don’t make any money from the links below. And now begin:
I don’t like pants, never have. They’re just too restricting of my manly freedom.
However, I own a lot of pants, because for the most part I’m a fashionable guy.
The problem we face here is that there aren’t many great options for warm pants. And to be clear, by warm pants I mean the pants keep you warm. Not to be confused with pants made for warm weather, which are easily found.
A lot of people, including myself, just wear normal pants in the winter, snow pants for snow-activities and sometimes thermals under the pants when going to a Christmas parade.
If you’re in a wheelchair, get cold easily, or have poor circulation to your legs, then having warm pants in the winter is as important as wool socks and good boots.
The problem is that warm pants aren’t a huge category, and the options are spread out across many sources, such as REI, Eddie Bauer, and other individual brands.
For credibility purposes: I’ve lived in the north country for a few years now and I’m still waiting for winter to end.
Here we go, a list of everyday pants that are cold weather ready!
Eddie Bauer lined pants – a variety of styles, all with an extra layer on the inside to keep you extra warm. I personally like Eddie Bauer and own a good bit of clothes from them.
Found within REI:
REI brand sweatpants – I have a pair of these, they’re very nice and I suspect any girlfriend of mine will be wearing them when I’m not.
Men’s – https://www.rei.com/product/177505/rei-co-op-hyperaxis-fleece-pants-mens
Women’s – https://www.rei.com/product/177406/rei-co-op-hyperaxis-fleece-pants-womens
Bjorn Daepheli – I don’t know much about this brand, but they seem to have good options.
Men’s – https://www.rei.com/product/138196/bjorn-daehlie-wool-pants-mens
Women’s – https://www.rei.com/product/137908/bjorn-daehlie-wool-pants-womens
Smartwool – making up 80% of my socks, I know these will be good, though keep in mind that if you’re caught in the snow, you might want to wear waterproof shell pants over any of these.
Men’s – https://www.rei.com/product/154409/smartwool-merino-sport-fleece-wind-tights-mens
Women’s – https://www.rei.com/product/155656/smartwool-merino-sport-fleece-wind-tights-womens
Columbia – my winter boots are the best that Columbia offers and they perform like it, so I trust Columbia to deliver.
Men’s – https://www.rei.com/product/177179/columbia-lodge-heavyweight-jogger-pants-mens
Women’s – Unfortunately, Columbia only offers the men’s. Women could still wear them if they please.
Patagonia – after reading the book, let my people go surfing in a weekend, I’ve been more aware of sustainable and durable clothing. I’m partial to Patagonia for these reasons.
Women’s – https://www.patagonia.com/product/womens-nano-air-pants/85110.html?dwvar_85110_color=BLK
https://www.patagonia.com/product/womens-snap-t-fleece-pants/22001.html
Under Armour – I have an outfit of coldgear and as in the name, it’s gear made for the cold. This kept me rather warm in the cutting cold wind of Chicago.
Men’s – https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/p/bottoms/mens-coldgear-reactor-run-pants/1355806.html?start=0
There are many other things you can do. You can buy base layers – https://www.rei.com/c/base-layers – and wear them under any pair of pants, but then you have to put on two pairs of pants. You could also wear snow pants, there are some you can find that are pretty thin and look mostly like normal pants. Some snow pants can be found here – https://arcteryx.com/us/en/?search=pants&dFR%5Bcategories%5D%5B0%5D=Pants – further filter will be needed.
Immediate actionable items: If you live where the winters get cold, get some cozy pants.
Summary: Lots of sources to get warm pants
Overdeliver: If this isn’t sufficient for you, you can go to places similar to REI and Cabela’s and search “lined pants,” “winter pants,” (though you’ll likely get more snow pants), “warm pants,” “heavyweight pants,” “fleece pants.”
Or any other keywords you can muster, but pants will be a constant.
You may have noticed that a lot of these pants were made for winter sports. When I’m looking for something warm or lightweight, I look to the most extreme sports and find the best performing gear.
Wheelchair DNA 