Arc'teryx Stingray Pant Gore-Tex Soft Shell Review

Overall Rating

Was bloody cheap (well for me it was)
Fantastic quality
warm
Waterproof and Breathable
invincible
look cool

Not sure about this softshell idea (will explain later)
Way oversized (arcteryx allow for too many layers)

Firstly what Arc'teryx say:
'A loose snowsports styled pant designed for on-area riding and skiing. GORE-TEX Soft Shell Low Loft wears comfortably, while dual waist adjustment straps ensure a great fit. Featuring a drop seat design, WaterTight zippered side vents and wide lower leg patterning. '

Now what I think:

Well these had to be the best implulse buy ever they appeared on ebay brand new with tags on buy now for £120, yeah really!!! They had a price tag of £299 in november when snow and rock were selling them (but then stopped). It took a while in getting them but i was really chuffed when i got them! Firstly if you ever buy any arc'teryx snow wear buy it a size down, A large tall aka 36"waist 33"leg happens to have a 40"waist and a 33" leg.. eek. They do have waist adjusters but this takes them down to about a 37" waist. The best solution i found was attaching a square d-ring between the two waist adjusters and tieing the fly cord to this (stops the crotch from sagging) they now fitted and have to funky pleats down the front ~_^ hehe. The only other final gripe about these pants is that the soft shell fabric has way to much friction against baselayers and is even worse when worn alone! I suggest wearing a powershield baselayer to reduce the friction and not a plain fleece one. Other than that these pants are amazing! They come with some fantastic features, pockets, thigh vents, schoeller keprotec instep patches and a wide lower leg for skiboots. Even better they have a full inseam gusseted crotch which isnt stated on the arc'teryx website which is an added bonus! The Gore-tex softshell is bascally the original gore tex membrane, think a three layer gore tex fabric but has a thin fleece instead of the shiny mesh on the inside. with 20,000 g/sm/24hrs breathability i have no worries about these performing on snow! I'm off to Canada soon so will comment and let you know how well they really perform! I would as arcteryx say use these purely for on the pistes as they don't have a recco and aren't cut for swinging through trees, they would however work well for ski mountaineers as they are suprisingly light and warm and they work well with a harness! Reconmemnded to anyone who wants the best for everything including simplicity! Damn that heavy price tag though!