Walking Trousers

Montane Terra Guide Pants | Review

A serious bit of kit from Montane designed for hard days on the trails this winter

While we tend to mostly showcase the latest and greatest new releases of the season in the Outdoor 100, we’re not adverse to featuring a bit of an old timer. So long as it can still more than pull its weight amongst the newbies.

And this certainly applies to the Montane Terra Guide Pants; they’ve been around for a number of years now, but you can still bank on them being one of the best options in their field.

They’re a winter-specific alpine trouser designed to be worn during intense bouts of high-level walking, mountaineering or climbing; offering the wearer insulation, dynamic temperature regulation, and a high stretch construction.

“…if you’ve got some trips lined up and are looking for some softshell trousers that are as warm, comfortable and practical as they are durable, you’ve come to the right place.”

About that insulation. It’s made from a micro suede fabric called DryActiv that’s extremely soft, warm and comfortable against the skin and it’s also fast wicking, meaning that it’ll shift and spread moisture to the outer shell to make for a rapid drying speed.

If you’re really working hard, or if the sun unexpectedly breaks through, there’s still not much of a risk of overheating in these trousers. You can simply open up the foot-long ventilation zips on each thigh and let the air flow right through.

Added ventilation is built into the trousers. Photo: Chris Johnson.

A highly-technical and smart-looking trouser. Photo: Chris Johnson.

Built for the tough days on the mountain. Photo: Chris Johnson.

Zips perfectly placed to make life a lot easier. Photo: Chris Johnson.

The outer shell itself is made from a water resistant Pertex Equilibrium Stretch softshell which is layered down on the insteps by hard-wearing Cordura reinforcements to protect the fabric from crampon spikes. There’s also gusseting on the ankles so that the cuff volume can be extended to fit over chunky mountaineering boots or even ski boots.

The elasticated waistband with brushed microfleece inner delivers a type of comforting freedom not always evident in winter trousers. Other likeable aspects include the two zipped hand-warmer pockets, and single one on the backside, plus the integrated belt.

All-in-all, if you’ve got some trips lined up and are looking for some softshell trousers that are as warm, comfortable and practical as they are durable, you’ve come to the right place.