Gear Review: Outdoor Research Women's Trailbreaker Pant (#ORInsightLab)

DISCLAIMER: As a participant in Outdoor Research’s #ORInsightLab, I am offered the opportunity to test seasonal gear in exchange for my honest review. This post is not sponsored but I did receive the gear for free.

Winter did not come to Western PA this year. And this winter-loving gal was so disappointed! Thanks to Winter Storm Jonas in January, we got one solid dump of snow and past that, there wasn’t much snow to write home about and certainly not enough to play in. It was so stinkin’ mild!

That said, I did find a few opportunities to get some snow time in to test the Outdoor Research Women’s Trailbreaker Pant. I took these pants to Colorado in December and Oregon in March to ski and the day after Winter Storm Jonas, I hit up the local ski hill here in Pittsburgh for a few hours of midwest runs. I’d hoped to get more snow adventures in before the official start of spring but the weather has not been on my side.

ABOUT THE PANTS

As you can see in the very top photo, these pants have a clear upper/lower separation and each portion was thoughtfully designed to accommodate snow adventures. The upper is made of a breathable, double woven soft-shell fabric so it’s super stretchy. The legs of the pants are made of waterproof three-layer Pertex® Shield+ so when you’re skiing, skinning or snowshoeing, your pants and legs stay dry. These pants run true to size and are fitted but still roomy enough to wear running tights underneath for the chilly days.

There are a couple of key features of these pants that I love:

Removable, zippered internal gaiter with power strap slot – Honestly, I used this incorrectly and did not put my power strap through the slot but I *did* use the zipper to access my boot buckles when I wiped out and my buckle unclipped. That said, the gaiter is removable, if you so choose, but they also make your boots easy to reach without having to readjust your gaiters.
Avalanche beacon pocket – For backcountry enthusiasts, avy beacons are a must. The Trailbreaker pant includes a zippered pocket with a mesh section and key clip to hold a beacon for safer backcountry play. The last thing anyone wants to happen is to lose an avy beacon if you’re caught in a slide so wearing one in a zippered pocket, clipped to the pants, is a pretty smart design element.
Zippered outter thigh vents – while I didn’t have much need for these this year resort skiing, I appreciate this element in thinking about previous backcountry trips. Having an easy way to cool down when snowshoeing many miles uphill into a hut would be phenomenal!