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Looking for pants

Latetotheparty

Certified Ski Diva
I am a 62 year old woman, broad shoulders, long torso,small waist, big hips, short legs with huge calves, and I am so uncomfortable in my skiwear. I am 5’6”, 140 lbs, and I cannot find gear that fits. I call myself late to the party, because after an adolescence and very young adulthood skiing, not well, I lost 20 years to fibromyalgia. I came back, and the new ski design changed everything, and I am so happy to be skiing again! Yet, in the cry of women throughout the ages, I have nothing to wear! Is there anyone out there who has similar issues? Honestly, I am looking for recommendations in boots, pants ( in particular) and jackets. Big calves are a problem in boots, long torso and small waist are a huge problem in pants, and shoulders are a problem in jackets. I have been getting along for the “re-introduction“ years- but I am serious now, and I need stuff that fits. Please, if you have any help to offer, I would deeply appreciate it.
 

Scribble

Angel Diva
I have just gone through the same struggle with boots and it will depend on your feet, but the Rossignol Pure Elite/Pure line of boots has a lower, more flared cuff that fit my calf pretty well. I have recently upgraded to Lange rx110's, but these took a bit of customization to get them stretched out enough at the calf that they'd work.
I am long in the torso and thigh and hippy, with a small waist. I had trouble finding pants that weren't loose all over or overly snug at the thigh and hip. I found a pair of Free Country softshell pants that I love, they're nice and stretchy and comfy. I have a pair of Columbia bugaboo pants in large that work OK but are a little more snug in the thigh than I'd prefer. When the weather is awful and I don't care that I'm wearing a sack, I pull out a pair of Gerry fleece lined snow pants I got from Costco. They are pretty big all over but the waist is easily adjusted to fit and they have nice big pockets.
I have two jackets that work pretty well, a stretchy softshell Dynafit jacket in size XL for warm days, and a longer length and lightly insulated Dakine one in M that has a nifty two-way zipper that lets me loosen up the fit at the bottom. I layer under them with either a fleece pullover or down puffy depending on the temperature.
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Look for pants that might be considered "snowboard". The big thing is to find pants with lots of adjustments. When I was instructing the suits were always men's. So adjustable waist bands were a must. Length can always be fixed with a local seamstress or alteration place long as they know about outdoor gear.
 

TNtoTaos

Angel Diva
Another thought is to not limit yourself to Women's clothing. With broad shoulders, etc, you might find some Men's that fit you better. It being late in the season, definitely check out Sierra Trading Post, Moosejaw, etc, for deals. If you live in an area that gets cold, you might try out T.J. Maxx as well; I never have the patience to look, but a friend of mine always finds good ski stuff there - even jackets and pants.
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
Look for pants that might be considered "snowboard". The big thing is to find pants with lots of adjustments. When I was instructing the suits were always men's. So adjustable waist bands were a must. Length can always be fixed with a local seamstress or alteration place long as they know about outdoor gear.

Adjustable waist bands OR belt loops, IMHO. Arcade Belts are super comfortable with ski pants, and take waist sizing out of the discussion.
 

Latetotheparty

Certified Ski Diva
Thanks very much for all the suggestions- regrettably, tailoring is not an option here. I have yet to find anyone who works with outdoor fabrics. I hate ordering multiple things online, only to return a lot of it, but I guess I need to. I appreciate very much the brand suggestions.
 

Latetotheparty

Certified Ski Diva
Perhaps try out some bibs? I got a pair this year and love them! They at least take your waist size out of the equation as well.
I had bibs years ago- but perhaps they have changed? I hated having to virtually strip to go to the bathroom, but I see that many now have zippers down the sides. Do those work?!
 
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newboots

Angel Diva
Thanks very much for all the suggestions- regrettably, tailoring is not an option here. I have yet to find anyone who works with outdoor fabrics. I hate ordering multiple things online, only to return a lot of it, but I guess I need to. I appreciate very much the brand suggestions.

@geargrrl ? She does repairs on technical gear. Maybe alterations too?
 

Latetotheparty

Certified Ski Diva
I have just gone through the same struggle with boots and it will depend on your feet, but the Rossignol Pure Elite/Pure line of boots has a lower, more flared cuff that fit my calf pretty well. I have recently upgraded to Lange rx110's, but these took a bit of customization to get them stretched out enough at the calf that they'd work.
I am long in the torso and thigh and hippy, with a small waist. I had trouble finding pants that weren't loose all over or overly snug at the thigh and hip. I found a pair of Free Country softshell pants that I love, they're nice and stretchy and comfy. I have a pair of Columbia bugaboo pants in large that work OK but are a little more snug in the thigh than I'd prefer. When the weather is awful and I don't care that I'm wearing a sack, I pull out a pair of Gerry fleece lined snow pants I got from Costco. They are pretty big all over but the waist is easily adjusted to fit and they have nice big pockets.
I have two jackets that work pretty well, a stretchy softshell Dynafit jacket in size XL for warm days, and a longer length and lightly insulated Dakine one in M that has a nifty two-way zipper that lets me loosen up the fit at the bottom. I layer under them with either a fleece pullover or down puffy depending on the temperature.
I have to thank you for all the great info in your post. I will be looking at your boot recommendations, especially. I have Salomons, our local ski store has limited selection, and I spent hours getting them fitted. And they still make my toes fall asleep and my calf cramp- only on the right. Nice to know that I am not alone in having these issues! Thank you so much!
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi and welcome to the forum. I have same issue (s) I buy men's jackets and tops. I like Northface and CB pants and YES to look at snowboarder clothing. much looser. I have a helly hanson coat is a Snowboard jacket and I often by women's jackets 2 sizes larger than needed. I have long arms and most ladies clothing the sleeves end above my wrists (brrrr)

Boots I have large calf too- Solomon work and now I'm in Atomic Hawk 100's they are very nice. I never buy boots that my toes touch the front- when skiing downhill naturally you will be forward and if my toes hit it will be painful. Hope you have luck in finding the right fit!
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Hi and welcome to the forum. I have same issue (s) I buy men's jackets and tops. I like Northface and CB pants and YES to look at snowboarder clothing. much looser. I have a helly hanson coat is a Snowboard jacket and I often by women's jackets 2 sizes larger than needed. I have long arms and most ladies clothing the sleeves end above my wrists (brrrr)

Boots I have large calf too- Solomon work and now I'm in Atomic Hawk 100's they are very nice. I never buy boots that my toes touch the front- when skiing downhill naturally you will be forward and if my toes hit it will be painful. Hope you have luck in finding the right fit!


I have long monkey arms and find North Face, Flylow, Arcteryx, and Helly Hansen have particularly good length in my normal size.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
I have long monkey arms and find North Face, Flylow, Arcteryx, and Helly Hansen have particularly good length in my normal size.

Ditto, and my North Face jacket has length to spare in the arms!
 

Latetotheparty

Certified Ski Diva
@Latetotheparty -- where do you live? Someone here may be able to recommend some stores near you.
I live in Grand Junction, CO. A fabulous place to live, but not to shop, unless you’re looking for mountain bike gear, hiking gear, canoes, kayaks or paddle boards. In spite of having a sweet ski area (Powderhorn) less than an hour from town, there are no ski shops. Unless I want to drive 2-3 hours away, which may be necessary! If anyone has specific store recommendations for Aspen, Beaver Creek, Vail- I hate to go and wander aimlessly.
 

Slayer

Certified Ski Diva
I'm looking for ski pants recommendations as well but I'm a relative newbie to the forums. Not sure if I should I post my question here or start a new thread. (If the latter, someone let me know and I'll move this!) I mainly need a better waist fit and while I'm at it I'd like to swap the fitted-at-the-ankles style for the hangs-over-your-boots style. I'm 5'3", 130, fairly aggressive skiier, and finally ready to acknowledge that it's better to be comfortable now than to keep suffering til I lose that last 5-10 pounds to get back to what I weighed when I bought the pants (25 years ago!). I'm interested in the idea of bib pants (that's basically overalls, right?) but curious how they've engineered them to make going to the bathroom easy. I don't want to always have to take my coat off, y'know.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
I'm looking for ski pants recommendations as well but I'm a relative newbie to the forums. Not sure if I should I post my question here or start a new thread. (If the latter, someone let me know and I'll move this!) I mainly need a better waist fit and while I'm at it I'd like to swap the fitted-at-the-ankles style for the hangs-over-your-boots style. I'm 5'3", 130, fairly aggressive skiier, and finally ready to acknowledge that it's better to be comfortable now than to keep suffering til I lose that last 5-10 pounds to get back to what I weighed when I bought the pants (25 years ago!). I'm interested in the idea of bib pants (that's basically overalls, right?) but curious how they've engineered them to make going to the bathroom easy. I don't want to always have to take my coat off, y'know.

A lot of pants have waist adjusters now, so you can let out or take in that area as needed. I'm currently 5'4" and ~118lbs, but last season and for years I was ~137lbs and the same pants fit me then and now due to velcro adjusters on the sides of the waist. Most notably I'm a fan or Northface pants for how they fit my proportions, but there are plenty of others to choose from. Where are you located? Folks might be able to recommend somewhere near where you live or ski to try stuff on. Ski clothing is like any other piece of clothing where some people gravitate towards certain brands that fit them better while others don't work for them at all yet everyone else might love them.

On the bibs, I just got the Flylow Moxie this season and LOVE them! They have a zipper on one side that you pull down allowing you to sweep them to the opposite side and pull down anything else you're wearing underneath to use the restroom. It's hard to explain without a visual, but I can attest to the fact that it's super easy and intuitive once you do it! :smile: No need to remove any top layers etc. I'm not sure that every bib has this ability though, so make sure you look for it in the descriptions or seek out some crowdsourcing if it's something you're ordering online and you aren't sure. I definitely wouldn't get a pair that didn't have this ability, I have a pair of pants with suspenders that don't have an easy out for the restroom and it's super annoying!! I'll usually just avoid using the bathroom if I can when wearing those because I have to take off whatever layers are on top of the suspenders and it takes forever.
 

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