So whats the definition of soft shell, in my mind its something that is much more comfortable to wear than a full hardshell (Gore-tex, eVent etc.) due to better breathability and less restricted movement, the downside being that they don't offer the full weather protection of a proper shell.
The soft shell concept has been around for a lot longer than people think, perhaps not in its current guise of sexy stretchy fabrics that have been popular for the last five years, the original soft shell was the combination of pile and pertex by Buffalo in their smocks, and similar things from companies such as Montane and Mardale. Shortly after this shelled-micro-pile became very popular, with the most famous incarnation being Marmot's Driclime fabrics. These consist of a windproof and water resistance outer fabric with a high wicking linear hung inside and are in my opinon one of the best options for a soft shell options out there, Rab popularized this design even further with the introduction of their Vapourise line which works on the same concept.
Sporting a Montane Pile/Pertex Extreme Smock, where it belongs, in Scottish Winter.If we step away from the above and look at the types of fabrics that most people at present would consider stereotypically 'soft-shell', soft to touch stretchy fabrics they can be roughly divided into two categories, those built with a membrane and those without. Membrance fabrics such as Windstopper, eVent softshell and other all other a lot of protection but often offer little advantage in breathability over a conventional waterproof. Fabrics without a membrane are usually a lot more breathable but don't offer the same level as protection.
So how does all this crap relate to what to wear on your legs in the Alps, wells lets look at what you want a pair of pants to do. Full on waterproof salopettes like we'd traditionally see being worn in the depths of scottish winter are overkill for the alps, you'll get far too hot so breathability is key. You want them to have a degree of weather resistance, to be windproof to a degree, be able to shrug of snow and maybe some light rain as when you've got your harness on (which 90% of the time you will have) you won't be putting your over-trousers on that easily. Alpine climbing is hard on your clothing, particularity on the knees and ankle cuffs so you want them to hard wearing, reinforcement in these areas is a good idea. Finally your going to be wearing these pants for climbing so you want them to have good movement, this can be through stretch or just pants that are cut really well.
So what are good options that are out there?
I personally prefer a softshell pant without a really heavy membrane, and am quite happy to sacrafice some of this protection for breathability. I own a pair of membrane pants, Mountain Equipment G2 Ultimate Mountain pant and they are good pants but I find there uses limited, and generally not suited to summer alpine climbing (I use mine for Scottish Winter and cascade ice climbing where the temperatures are cold and its often wet, many people don't realize it but the wind-stopper fabric by Gore is effectively waterproof).
The two pairs of softshell pants that I've owned that I've found have worked particularly well in the alpine arena are the well known Patagonia Guide Pant and the much more elusive Montura Vertigo Light Pant. The guide pant has been around for years, and theres been a few different incarnations but in general the design has stayed roughly the same. They use a stretch woven fabric which gives a good freedom of movement and is DWR treated, if you look after this, washing it and re-activating it regularly it will keep beading water and shrug off snow without a problem. One feature I liked in the pair that I owned, circa 2006/7, was the gathered ankles which had a nice burly piece of hard wearing material on the inside to protect them from errant crampon spikes or sharp ski edges, they also had a zip though which meant you could still get them over bigger boots, and another good feature were two webbing loops on either side which allowed you to fit a piece of elastic you put under you boot, reducing the need for gaiters. I found the pants very hard wearing, despite them actually not having the reinforcements I mentioned originally, they did a lot of miles of rock routes, scrambles and actual alpine stuff and if they still fitted me I's still be wearing them now. From a UK perspective they're actually pretty dam useful once you get back from your trip to the alps as due to the breathability, and weather resistance there the perfect pants the UK hills in spring and autumn, and for some aspects of winter.
Wearing the Guide Pants in the Jostedal, Norway. So lets move on and talk about the second pair I mentioned, Montura Vertigo Light Pants. I'm guessing that a large proportion of the people reading this won't of heard of the brand Montura, and until a few years ago I hadn't either. Its an Italian company and from what I can see there are very few places outside of Italy that you can purchase their stuff, the shops of Cortina of full of it, and I think Cham3s in Chamonix, France stocks some. I picked mine up from Matterhorn Sports in Zermatt, Switzerland in 2008. Simply put, there amazing, the best alpine pant I could want. The cut of the pants is fantastic, its very tight and athletic so may not suit everyone, think technical ronhills and you won't be far off. The ankle cuffs and lower leg are particularly close fitting and form a nice seal at the top of your boots stopping snow from getting in, due to this theres no excess fabric flapping about to catch on your spikes either. The next box in my list of things an alpine pant should do is that there hard wearing, the seat, knees and inside legs are all made with a Kevlar weave material which is incredibly tough, I've worn mine on Skye, Scotland and for anybody thats climbed on the Gabbro there this is a definite testament to them. So this leaves us with breathability and weather resitance to deal with, and the designers of these pants tackled this really well. The front of the pants are constructed of a stretchy, fairly waterproof ripstop material whereas the backside is made of a simple stretch woven material that is much more breathable. Climbing pitches of ice, or steep snow sections its the front parts of your legs that are going to need the protection, these pants give that but allow you to dump heat out the back at the same time - its a great idea.
Vertigo Lights in action on the Nadlegrat Ridge, Valais Alps, Switzerland.So that my two cents, there are a lot of other pants out there that I've not had personal experience with, when I wear out my current pair I'd be keen to try out Arcteryx's Gamma AR Pant, and Mountain Equipment's Liskamm Pant also looks like a good contender.
