While this year has been a bit of a disappointment with the ski resorts shutting down early due to the Corona Virus I was able to get a day in with the new Decathalon Freeride 3-in-1 Ski Pants. I picked these out to test as I have struggled for years finding a pair of Ski Pants that work for me. I am short but have abnormally large calves and for years I have cut my ski liners off above the calf since having them under my boots is painful and bunching them up above them cuts off circulation. When I saw the liners for the Decathalon Freeride were already shortened I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them!
I can tell you that even without the brilliant mid length liner these are the best ski pants I have ever used. My 10 year old Arcterix pants are still great but definitely are showing their age. The Freeride not only fit great but have 3 perfectly positioned and zippered front pockets.
The 12000 mm rating fabric means these pants are nearly totally waterproof but still actually breath when you need them to. For me I tested them on a fairly nasty day up at Brundage Mountain. The day started out as a powder day but quickly turned into a sloppy mess when the temperature jumped up. My father was a drenched mess when we stopped for lunch but my leg’s were dry and comfortable. The mid-length liners were overkill for the day but I didn’t really notice them since they also breath better than I would expect.
The best thing about the Decathalon Freeride’s is their price. At just $120 these pants perform better than most of the $400 technical pants that I have tested and they include the liners! If you want an affordable ski pant with nearly perfect liners that aren’t bunched up above their boots then you need to try the Decathalon Freeride pants out.
Decathalon Freeride pants are available on their website.
https://practicaltravelgear.com/hotel-saint-bernard-trip-will-spark-generations-ski-weeks/