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Why aren't ski pants capri length or pedal pusher length by default?

TsuKata

TsuKata

Certified Ski Diva
So, it seems like ski pant makers use the same inseams as are used for standard pants. But, ski pants should use a shorter inseam. On regular pants, you want there to be a break at your shoe level, and you want the pant to just sit above the heel of your shoe...with some tolerance of course. With ski pants, you almost certainly want it shorter...with the powder gaiter hitting just below the top of the ski boot ideally or maybe hitting at the boot ankle joint area...but certainly not so long as to break on the toe or go down to your heel.

This is even more true for baselayer pants, since you absolutely don't want those long enough to go past your boot top. I can't find capri-length baselayer pants anywhere (well, short of the CW-X compression ones...and those are even tough to find), but a full length baselayer pant means a bunch of it ends up bunched above my boot.

I started wondering why in the world capri-length ski pants weren't more popular/common? Or pedal pusher length? It just seems to me like a ski pant inseam should and could be about 2-5 inches shorter than a normal pant inseam, but that doesn't seem to be what pantmakers do.
 
For your base layer, have you tried a yoga or aerobic tight? That's what I wear!

My Obermeyer pants have zips on the bottom and they do go down over my boots. I like that. I can keep them unzipped so they look like bell-bottoms! :D
 
Some are. It's a shot in the dark, agreed. I think, when I was seeking ski pants sizing advice (which I believe was the title of the thread, you might be able to hunt it down), I got some replies from people who said certain brands (Cloudveil was one, I think) tend to run shorter than others - by quite a margin. At any rate, if you find something you totally love and the inseam is otherwise wrong for you, we have a terrific diva member who does fab alterations. PM for details. (No, it's not me, I can't even thread a needle :( )
 
I don't seem to have problem with my ski pants. The "inner" pant had a little elastic griper so I put it above the boot top. Once I put the boot on, the pant's leg can't go under anyway.

I do the same with base layer too.

Yes, they do end up above the boot, but not by all that much... Argh yes, I'm a bit longer leg than people of the same waist size (or people of my height have a bigger waist?:confused: ). So yes, my "outer" pants are not quite reaching the ankle. On powder days, snow do get in and sit on the boot top...
 
LL Bean has a capri length base layer - I think it's the middle weight.

As for ski pants - I like 'em long. Mainly because, at 5'9" with a 33 1/3" inseam, I've had floods all my life!

But I also don't ski in powder, being in Michigan, so the bottom of the pants isn't interfering with anything, or scooping up snow, etc.
 
If anything, I wish most of my ski pants were longer, but normal pant length works for me to keep the snow out. Some run a little short IMO. And as long as I have CW-X tights or some such thing with a nice flat seam at the bottom, I don't like capri length base layers either, though I know some do. And I've seen those all over the place, so they're available if you prefer it. I just prefer full length - if they're flat seamed and thin (i.e. compression layer), it's no thicker than a liner sock.
 
Well I have to shorten the outer pant on just about any that I buy. As for base layer, I just cut them off, maybe hem or serge the bottoms. I get the outer cuff/pant shortened by a seamstress that I've used for years. She will replace snaps, buckles etc on the lower cuff even. I'm 5'5, so just above petite, but not quite regular.
 
I guess I wasn't complaining about my particular length issue (although I definitely have one at 5' tall), nor wondering how to find shorter pants (I did another thread for that). I was moreso wondering why the ski industry goes with full length vs. a length that sits higher on the boot...like I was wondering if there was some reasoning that I was missing. :smile:
 
abc -- do you mean you get snow inside your snow pants up on top of the boot cuff? and that you're putting the gaiter on your leg rather than on the cuff of the boot? If so, put the gripper around the top of your boot, just above the top buckle, and you'll find that you keep the snow out a whole lot better.

The question of why do snow pants come "regular pants" length: maybe it's so we don't go around looking like we're waiting for a flood when we take the ski boots off?

Kano
 
Smartwool makes "boot-top" length base layer bottoms. I've got a couple pairs.
 
Underlayers definitely I agree, I don't understand why any of them are ankle length. This is only ski-specific stuff though, I know people wear thermal underwear for other purposes than skiing.

I don't have much problem with ski pants while I am wearing ski boots, and I am only 5'5". With shoes on (North Face boots with a fairly thick sole) it's not an issue either, but they do drag on the ground when I am barefoot.

I know some manufacturers (North Face?) make ski pants in long and regulars lengths.
 
being a sewing diva, I tried this. I made some nice fleece pants just boot top length. All they did was crawl up my legs under my shell pants. I've thought about putting some elastic in them but I think I may just cut them off to boxer length.

gg
 
geargrrl said:
being a sewing diva, I tried this. I made some nice fleece pants just boot top length. All they did was crawl up my legs under my shell pants. I've thought about putting some elastic in them but I think I may just cut them off to boxer length.

gg
Click to expand...

That's exactly what happens when I've tried using capri length base layers. They end up all bunched around my knee and it's not comfortable at all - and doesn't keep my calves warm either. And I feel like if they had more elastic to make them stay in place, they'd cut off my circulation.
 
geargrrl said:
being a sewing diva, I tried this. I made some nice fleece pants just boot top length. All they did was crawl up my legs under my shell pants. I've thought about putting some elastic in them but I think I may just cut them off to boxer length.

gg
Click to expand...

Try using ribbing around the bottom (like the cuff of a sweatshirt). This should keep them in place better without adding any bulk or cutting off your circulation like elastic will. Some of the online stores that sell "outdoor fabrics" may even have a synthetic ribbing instead of the cotton that most fabric stores carry.
 
Just throwing it out there that Burton makes capri length baselayer pants.
 
I wouldn't want them to be capri-length, but I am short (5'2" on a GOOD day) and I hate how long many ski pants are. Especially the more *modern fit,* low rise type pants. Which are more flattering. . . but even with a belt, I end up with snow down in the pants on a powder day, and the hems tend to drag without a tailoring.

I have some of these:
https://www.skipro.com/detail.aspx?ID=1490

They are expensive (although I bought mine on a last-season-sale deal, so they weren't this $$) and they are ever so slightly shinier than I would normally pick (not shiny, really, just not matte, either), but they also have a nice, short inseam. They look perfect with my boots and don't drag when I switch to snow boots at the end of the day. They are also quite stretchy and very flattering (and warm). . . oh, and the rise is high enough to *repel* snow, but manages to remain relatively flattering.

And for anyone in the Boulder area, there is an outdoor repair/alterations shop in the same shopping center as Neptune Mountaineering. They have kind of funky hours, but they have done an excellent job of shortening ski pants for me, as well as repairing scuff guards and shredded hems. (And even, er, *manipulating* a pair of tighter pants for me, post-baby. Which is to say that they came up with an ingenious system of extra snaps, so I could loosen the old waistband around the extra baby padding. . . and then return to the original snaps when I didn't need the adjustment anymore.)

:laugh:
 
The thing about "boot top" length for various under layers is the shape of legs. As mentioned, they tend to creep up and bunch at the knees. This is cuz knees are usually a bit smaller, and the elastic or ribbing wants to be small, so it migrates. What I found is working well for me this year is to have the long pants and fold up a really deep cuff. The ankle area is happy just below my knees (no elastic, just knitted a big smaller there) and the calf area is staying put, since it's calf sized.

Kano
 
That makes sense...it just being physics, I mean. And it makes some sense to me, too, that for people who get to ski powder, having a longer pant leg is more important. For me, on midwest hardpack most of the time, it's not so important. :smile:

Thanks for the thoughts, all.
 
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