What to Wear Under Snowboard Pants?
You are ready to try your favorite snowboard pants, now the question becomes, how to layer your snowboard pants? People take this question lightly. But making the wrong choices can ruin your snowboarding experience.
Not wearing the right clothing under your snowboarding pants can leave you vulnerable to cold as we will discuss how that happens. It can also be tight and can restrict your movement during snowboarding which can be an unpleasant experience.
But do you have to wear something under your snowboard pants? And the answer is yes. But just because you have to wear something, doesn’t mean you can or you should wear just about anything.
Men’s snowboard pants often don’t have enough insulation to protect them from the cold. Brands make such pants because the limbs don’t need as much protection as the torso. Some pants have softer or even fleece lining like women snowboarding pants that don’t protect them from the cold.
Most of these pants are just shell pants anyways. Shell pants don’t protect against the cold winds. They only keep the snow out of your clothes. So, you would have to wear something under those pants to stay warm.
But that does not mean that you can wear your normal trousers under your snowboarding pants. Even though your snowboarding pants would cover anything you wear under it, but it’s what goes under your snowboarding pants that causes the problem.
During demanding activities, your body sweats under the layers. Normal clothes get soaked in sweat and take longer to dry. Wet clothes are cold clothes. Normal clothes are not meant to deal with extreme conditions.
Sliding downhill covered in snow in sub-zero temperatures is an extreme condition.
Understand the fundamental function of base layers. Their fundamental function is to keep you warm. One way of keeping you warm is to keep you dry and avoid sweat build-up. There are special fabrics that have moisture-wicking properties to keep you dry.
So yes, you can’t use your regular pants like sweatpants, chinos, corduroys, cotton leggings, and especially denim. Denim retains more sweat and takes a lot longer to dry. So, no jeans. Besides, it’s uncomfortable and restricts the movement of the body.
You can use synthetic fabric like polyester. Polyester wicks moisture away from your skin and it is durable. You can also use wool as a base layer. Merino wool is preferred because it can wick moisture and also has anti-odor properties.
Snowboarders sweat more than skiers because snowboarding is a much more demanding activity. Snowboarders should use synthetic fabric. Synthetic fabric is more flexible and durable. It is also capable of better managing excess sweat.
Wool tends to become itchy under snowboard pants. Many people also get an allergic reaction to wool. If you are one of the allergic people then you should stick to synthetic fabric.
So there you have it. After knowing the basic function of base layers and what kind of fabrics you need, perhaps, now you can easily choose what you should and shouldn’t wear under your snowboard pants. I hope I helped.