The selection of winter trousers has its specifics we should keep in mind. In this article, we will give you a few tips on how to choose a winter trousers. We believe, that after reading, you will know how to make a smart purchase.
Ask yourself a few questions :
Before you choose your winter trousers, ask yourself a few questions that will give you a hint. In most cases, we should be alright with our standard trousers. But that only is true until we go outdoors or trekking. Standard jeans will not really be the right choice over there. If we want to face elements like cold and snow, then only with proper winter trousers.
Think about
- what do I expect from them
- breathability - trousers must be breathable
- elasticity, stretch - they must not restrict movement
Non-insulated trousers
Non-insulated trousers are very common. The most used fabric is cotton, nylon and elastane. Often, we can see mix of various materials.
As for the water resistance and quick-drying, cotton has the worst properties. That is why we recommend cotton trousers for standard city wear. Nylon, however, is quite quick-drying and absorbs water much better.
Elastane is highly flexible - it can stretch to three times its length and return to its origin undamaged. Moreover, it doesn´t absorb moisture, which is in combination with another fabrics excellent feature.
With non-insulated trousers, the source of heat is the body temperature of the wearer. You have to warm up your trousers with physical activity, otherwise you will be cold. Some trousers have some practical features such as elastic drawcord at bottom, etc. This way you prevent escape of heat and maintain thermal comfort.
Insulated trousers
Insulated trousers have the advantage to warm up faster, maintain body temperature and you don´t need to perform any special physical activity to warm them up. The most frequent used material is softshell, nylon, elastane, down and other synthetic fabrics.
Take a look at the most widely used insulation :
1. G - Loft- material, that combines superb qualities of down and synthetic fabric. Thanks to this, the insulation remains on place. Such material warms up perfectly and maintain thermal comfort.
2. Insulation volume - Here it is quite simple. The more insulation( in gm2) the better thermal comfort. The insulation obviously affects the weight of the pants. The standard values are 40 - 120 gm2.
3. Surface material (technologies) - the most widely used is Gore - Tex, softshell or pertex. You won´t make mistake choosing either of them. Goretex is waterproof, windproof and breathable. Softshell is wind and water resistant. Pertex is windproof and water repellent. We can definitely recommend trousers with these properties.
Additional features
Winter pants may feature number of additional things. One of them are braces (suspenders), which prevents the trousers from slipping yet they help with covering our backs.
The pockets are also important as you can place your hands there and enhance thermal comfort. Another feature may be already mention elastic cuffs or drawstrings, which prevents escape of heat.
Highly important is fit of the winter pants, more specifically around the waist, where our back can be covered. If the pants doesn´t feature braces, then waist height is crucial, especially for the best possible thermal comfort, which is the most important thing with winter trousers.
Conclusion
Whether you choose insulated or non-insulated trousers, watch out for the material and insulation. You should be aware of the conditions for which the trousers are intended. If you are clear about these, then the selection itself will be easy.
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- Ondřej Krotil
- This explorer and a criminalistic book author was born at the foothills of Giant Mountains. His biggest hobbies include mysteries, history, criminalistics and much more. Ondřej is currently working on such cases as unsolved murders, unexplained suicides, kidnappings or mysterious disappearances. He had been cooperating with Czech and Slovak media as an investigative reporter. Ondřej would like to make good use of his knowledge in the field of literature.
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