Guest - Not logged in | ||||
Reviews > Clothing > Pants and Shorts > Norrona lofoten GORE-TEX Pro Pants > Owner Review by Richard LyonNORRONA
LOFOTEN GORE-TEX PRO PANTS
Owner Review by Richard Lyon March 19, 2020 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. Manufacturer: 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: 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]. 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 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.
Read more reviews of Norrona gear Read more gear reviews by Richard Lyon Reviews > Clothing > Pants and Shorts > Norrona lofoten GORE-TEX Pro Pants > Owner Review by Richard Lyon |