Mountain Hardwear Synchro Pant Review

by Shannon

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Finding a good pair of waterproof-breathable ski pants can be a difficult task for many women, including myself. Thankfully, the gals at Mountain Hardwear gave me a chance to test out their updated Women’s Synchro Pant and made my job a tad easier. In this review, I hope to give you all the information to help you decide if the Synchro pant is what you are looking for.

For starters, the Synchro pant is made from Mountain Hardwear’s proprietary Conduit™ Soft Shell fabric that has proven to be an excellent barrier to the elements. The pants feature AXF Super DWR finish which is said to repel water-snow-etc 5 times longer than your typical DWR finish. I can’t say whether or not these pants have performed 5x’s better than my other pants, but I do have to say that I have never had saturated pants after a long day on the mountain. The soft shell fabric allows these pants to move with you as they are not overly rigid and has been my choice pant for backcountry skiing and snowshoeing. I have remained cozy in these pants when the temps have hovered around the teens when teaming the Synchro’s with my favorite base layers. If you are riding lift served terrain, you may need to add an extra layer, as these are not fully lined; however, during aerobic pursuits, such as skinning, these pants are perfect with a simple base layer. The inside of the pants are super soft against the skin when you no longer need base layers during spring ski season.

The Mountain Hardwear Synchro pants are designed to follow your curves, not bind you up. With that said, I am not all that curvy and found these pants to still be a great fit. The pants feature a zip and snap closure at the waistband, which is lined with super soft fleece. The Synchro’s feature belt loops to help you get your ideal fit; I throw on a brightly colored Chaco belt to add a bit of style to these pants. There are 2 horizontal-waterproof zippered pockets both in the front and rear to stash items. These pockets keep the pants streamlined and don’t add a lot of bulk, which I liked.

The Synchro pants run true to size and feature a long enough inseam of 32″ for all sizes, which in turn allows you to truly seal out the elements with the easy pull elastic cuff and added snap. The pant cuffs were able to fit over and worked well whether I was wearing alpine, AT, or regular winter boots. The inner aspect of each pant leg features laminated Ambush® edge guards, in layman’s terms, heavy-duty fabric that protects against wear and tear from ski tips, crampons, and snowshoes. The pants also feature full zips, with one zipper around mid-thigh and one zipper at the bottom hem. Together these zippers allow you to air out as much or as little as you want when working hard; I found this feature very handy when skinning or snowshoeing uphill, or shall I say up-mountain. The full zip also makes it easy to put on or take off the Synchro’s.

The Synchro Pants, by Mountain Hardwear, were a top performer, while also going easy on the pocket book with an MSRP of $200. For more information on the Synchro Pant and other Mountain Hardwear products, please visit www.mountainhardwear.com or www.amazon.com/mountainhardwear.

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