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Reviews > Clothing > Pants and Shorts > Norrona lofoten GORE-TEX Pro Pants > Owner Review by Richard Lyon

NORRONA LOFOTEN GORE-TEX PRO PANTS
Owner Review by Richard Lyon
March 19, 2020
lofoten 1

PERSONAL DETAILS and BACKPACKING BACKGROUND

Male, 73 years old  
Height: 6' 3" [1.91 m]
Weight: 210 lb [(93 kg])
Waist: 38 in [97 cm]
Inseam: 34 in [87 cm]
Email address: Montana DOT angler AT gmail DOT com
Home: Outside Bozeman, Montana USA, in the Bridger Mountains

I've been backpacking for more than half a century, most often in the Rockies. I do at least one weeklong trip every summer, and often take three-day trips.  I'm usually camping in alpine terrain, at altitudes 5000 to 10000 ft (1500 - 3000 m).  I prefer base camp backpacking, a long hike in with day trips from camp.  Though always looking for ways to reduce my pack weight, I still tend to include my favorite camp conveniences. I always sleep in a floored tent and like hot meals. Winter backcountry trips are often planned around skiing opportunities.

THE PRODUCT

They're not just pants. With the zippered-in "removable bib," discussed below, the Norrona lofoten pants are a ski bib; without the bib they are "just" waterproof-breathable pants for any winter backcountry activity.

lfoten 2Manufacturer: Norrona A/S, norrona.com [See availability note below.]
Size: XXL [See sizing note below]. Also available in S, M, L, XL.
Color: Bright red [I think Norrona called it jester red] with bright blue trim, as shown in my photos. No longer available. At this writing available in five different colors: indigo blue, caviar black [a Norrona staple], bamboo green [another staple - see a couple of my other Owner Reviews on this site], roiboos tea [looks like orange], and eldorado [bright yellow]. A Women's version is available in caviar black and three other more feminine colors.
Other lofoten options:
Men's lofoten pants are also available in a more featured GORE-TEX Pro version; a lighter weight GORE-TEX Pro version; a version using Vectran, GORE-TEX's latest and greatest; and an insulated GORE-TEX version. Not all of these are available in XXL.
Related products: Norrona, a family-owned company headquartered in Norway, has many product lines, each pitched to a particular activity. [There's even a line for arctic surfing!] Several of the other lines include waterproof-breathable pants in various fabrics.
Material
: GORE-TEX Pro
Weight listed [no size specified]: 880 g [31 oz]
Weight, measured [size XXL]: 38 oz/1077 g
Dimensions, measured: Waist, 41 in/104 cm; inseam, 34 in/86 cm; outseam, 45.5 in/116 cm
Warranty: Five years against defects in workmanship and materials. This is extended to seven years for "loyalty members," customers who maintain an online account with Norrona. From the website it appears that a user can return the product through a Norrona retail store, of which there are two in the United States. The retailer who carries Norrona products in my area has assured me that he will process any requested warranty or repair.
MSRP: $649 US

Listed features, with my commentary in brackets, are:

  • Aramid lower leg reinforcement [A stouter fabric at the cuffs, visible in the photos. Helpful when hiking or bootpacking.]
  • Articulated knee construction [Keeps pants from bunching up during skiing.]
  • Snow gaiters [What I have always called powder cuffs - a waterproof liner with elastic at the cuff to keep snow away from the wearer's legs and boots.]
  • Soft brushed inside waist [I don't really notice it.]
  • Zip-seal systemâ„¢[A trademarked name for waterproof zippers that employ a film-coated tape. All zippers have small plastic pulls, so that may be part of the system.]
  • Zip-in Bib solution [Discussed below.]
  • Two thigh pockets [Large cargo-style pockets protected by waterproof zippers.]
  • My lofoten pants also have four unlisted features: full-length side zips, a zippered hip pocket on the right, a zippered key pocket at the waist on the left, and a means of adjusting the waist by two hook-and-loop fasteners on the back [pictured at right]. lofoten 3

    Sizing note: As I have found with several European clothing makers, Norrona tends to size its jackets and pants [I have bought three of each] a bit small. Norrona offers a sizing guide, available in centimeters or inches, on the website, but even that I find a bit on the slender side. I ordered my first pair of the Pants as XL, but found the waist too constraining and the length too short, so I went up a size.

    Availability note: Recently Norrona changed its United States marketing approach, replacing an exclusive distributor with direct sales through its own website and selected retailers. A Find Store tab on the website directs a consumer to the nearest store in which its products are sold. This had one unfortunate consequence for me, noted below.

    WHY I BOUGHT THEM

    I bought the Pants to replace another pair of Norrona bibs [reviewed on this site] that was lost in a freak incident. This coincided with Norrona's switching to direct sales, an event the company celebrated with a big sale, and I grabbed a new pair. lofoten [as with all product lines, always all in lower case] products are designed for snow sports.

    FIELD CONDITIONS

    These Pants are my go-to trousers for resort skiing. I have worn them for that purpose scores of times, in weather conditions from bluebird spring days to whiteout blizzards at -20 F [-29 C] and everything in between. Though I consider them a bit on the heavy side for hiking or ski touring, I choose them occasionally for those activities when off-trail or off-piste bushwhacking or ski descents through fresh powder snow are anticipated.

    Almost always the Pants go over a lightweight merino base layer bottom; on a bright sunny day when it's above freezing that occasionally is replaced by merino boxer shorts. 

    PERFORMANCE

    Fit is athletic - trim at the chest and waist but slightly baggy in the legs. Cuffs are wide, the better to fit over bulky ski boots. The rise is just right for me, with little movement in the seat. The XXL has an almost perfect length for this long-legged skier, giving a very small break over my heavy resort telemark ski boots. The cuffs almost cover my touring tele boots or standard Nordic boots, occasionally requiring pulling up the powder cuffs a bit.

    I don't consider myself svelte, but I'm not heavy-set or beer-bellied either, yet the fit at the waist doesn't leave me much room to "grow" there. Some of that I attribute to wearing a bulky sweater as a midlayer, and the adjustment straps help somewhat, but, as I have the largest size, here's a word of warning to big guys - try on a pair before making the substantial cash investment these Pants require.

    The Pants' features are my favorite things about them. Roomy and easily accessible pockets, the nifty bib, and full-length side zips top my list.

        - When wearing the bib, as I almost always do, the Pants sport five pockets: a cargo pocket on each thigh, a small pocket at the waist on the left, a rear pocket on the right hip, and a small pocket with a vertical zipper on the bib. My wallet fits neatly into the waist pocket, where it is easily accessible for lunch or a snack. Car keys go into the bib pocket. Balaclava, mobile phone, spare glove liners, and multitool fit into the other pockets without cramming. All pockets have small zipper pulls, making it easy to open or close them without removing my mittens.

        - I like a bib when skiing downhill, either in the backcountry or at a resort. It keeps out blowing snow and helps trap body heat. The Pants' bib, seven inches [18 cm] wide, is made of a stretchy fabric and attached to the trousers at the waist by a zipper and is then zipped up in the front. Adjustable sewn-in elastic suspenders remove any need for clip-on braces or a belt. The suspenders are comfortable; I almost forget I'm wearing them. They are another reason I almost always wear the bib.

        - The side zips are essential for my hiking or touring. As noted, I find these Pants overkill for straight-up hiking. [Norrona apparently agrees. Its own rating for "lightweight" is only 3 on a scale of 1 to 6.] The side zips allow ventilation in warmer weather or during uphill hiking. [My hiking and climbing are not limited to the backcountry. For those readers who haven't skied in the Rockies, many resorts here supplement their lift-served areas with readily accessible "side country" terrain - no lifts, patrolled, but requiring a skier to earn his turns by hiking uphill. A good third of my local ski hill, Bridger Bowl, fits this description.] The side zips also make it easy to don or doff my tele knee pads, or to cool off at the apres-ski bar or when bootpacking or skinning uphill.

        - I've mentioned the powder cuffs. To put it simply, they always work. They are simple to place over my ski boots and unlike gaiters they don't add a layer and don't move around. A great feature.

        - The Zip-seal system works just as well; they are genuinely waterproof zippers. Pocket contents have never gotten wet, nor has water seeped through the side zips. And they are easy to open and close even when wearing heavy gauntlet mittens. I can't recall more than one or two instances of a sticky zipper, and those were more likely due to my impatience than any construction fault.

    The fabric earns high praise too. GORE-TEX Pro is as effective a WPB barrier as I've ever worn. Sweat wicks away, but melted snow never penetrates.  My experience has borne out Norrona's ratings on waterproofing and windproofing [both 6/6]. Its 4/6 rating on breatheability is in my opinion too modest; I've had no problem with wicking.

    Like every other Norrona product I've owned, these Pants have proven to be astonishingly durable. They really look as good as new after several winters' regular use.

    I don't wash these Pants as often as I should. They tend to get dirty before and after skiing or hiking from contact with my car. GORE-TEX's performance improves with regular baths. I tend to ignore the dirt, washing the Pants only at the end of the winter season. This I do in an agitator-less washing machine on a delicate cycle using soap-free detergent, then tumble drying on medium heat. This accords with the directions on a hangtag on the product. I have not needed to apply a refresher to the waterproofing.

    WHAT I LIKE

    The bib feature
    Side zips
    Fabric - truly waterproof and breathable.
    Color. Bright colors are good when skiing. These Pants make me visible to friends in the lift line, and the ski patrol or search-and-rescue will have no difficulty locating my body after an avalanche.
    Many pockets, perfectly located.

    POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENT

    As far as performance and design go, very little. I'd prefer that the bib feature be sewn in, mostly for the suspenders.

    They're expensive. But then I have been spoiled on this score. At a ski clinic a few years ago I made friends with a marketing rep for Norrona's then-exclusive U.S. distributor, who kindly extended me a pro discount. That alas has been lost with the passage of time and Norrona's move to direct sales.  I hasten to add that I would have gotten more than my money's worth had I paid the MSRP.






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