Snowboard Pants inside or outside the Bindings?

Pants inside or outside the bindings can be a preference thing, according to my personal experience. I have tried both and it worked for me every time. I have even ridden with pant legs under the straps but above the highback and over the straps but not over the highback. Which way is right for you is going to depend on the situation, your gear, and your level of experience. You can wear your pants both ways and it will work just fine. However, there are pros and cons associated with both methods and that’s what makes the difference.

Inside the Bindings

This is the way I personally prefer. I always ride with my pants under the binding straps. I just step into the bindings with the pants’ legs in between the binding back and it always worked fine for me. This is the recommended way as long as it’s not restricting your movement. Also, make sure there are no zippers and buttons in the leg area because it will create pressure spots, which make your ride uncomfortable. You can also tuck only the cuffs (the stretchy and elastic part of snowboard pants) inside the binding to check if it feels comfortable.

There are some downsides to this method. When you tuck your pants, it feels stuck and tugs down when you ride. It feels like you can’t stand and it’s constantly pulling down your pants. It can also damage your pants if you don’t know how to wear snow pants with boots.

Outside the Bindings

This is another way to go. You can pull the legs of snowboard pants over top of the bindings. So this way, there will be no pant fabric between the boot and binding. Some people will say that it provides a tighter fit and it makes things tight without having to do plenty of adjustments. I am an aggressive rider and I always have to adjust straps steep, fast, or technical runs. When you don’t have that extra fabric in between, you feel like you are getting more response. In reality, you don’t get more response, it just feels like you are getting. If you have really ugly-looking bindings, you can cover your pants around the bindings.