Tested: Montane Mountain Salopettes

Montane’s Mountain Salopettes are single-layer winter mountain trousers designed for use in extreme environments. Windproof and water-resistant, they have a Pertex outer layer and a deep-pile Dryactiv inner. Polardri Mini-rip reinforcements at the knees, ankles and seat protect the most vulnerable areas.

Articulated knees and externally baffled full-length leg zips, combined with Velcro calf volume reducer straps, mean they’re as comfortable to wear as they are easy to take on and off. These are, make no mistake, heavy-duty salopettes aimed at the professional explorer, mountaineer, or Alpine guide. So heavy duty, in fact, that they’ve been worn in Antarctica by the Catlin Arctic Survey as well as the British Antarctic Survey Lake Ellsworth Expedition.

This makes their £160 price tag seem pretty reasonable, especially when you consider that they come with Montane’s lifetime guarantee.

They aren’t a lightweight option (they weigh a pretty hefty 1.122kgs), but they’re practically bulletproof, and I’ll trade weight for durability at -30°C every single time. Minus 30°C? Yup, they’re way too warm to be worn when the temperature is just hovering around the freezing point, so save them for periods of prolonged cold. They’re designed to be worn next to the skin, where the pile lining not only traps body warmth it also wicks moisture away from your skin to the outer air. This makes them ideal for strenuous activities like man-hauling sleds as well as more sedentary activities like nature watching.

You can vent them really easily by undoing the full-length leg zips, and even wear them on top of a pair of Merino wool long johns if it’s going to be super-cold and you’re not going to be especially active.

The salopette design keeps your stomach and lower chest warm too, and the braces keep them in place and looking sharp. You’ll need to buy them close-fitting because that will maximise their insulating and wicking properties. And please don’t buy them larger than normal because you plan to layer them; you’ll just get heat stroke if you wear anything thicker than thin long johns under them…

Carlton Boyce
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