Norrøna Narvik Gore-Tex Performance Shell Pant - Women's

so i pretty much love these pants. they are very waterproof, and baggy enough to fit some polartec long johns when it's bone chillingly cold. i loooovvvveeee the fit. best fitting pants i've ever owned. i have what many call "a skier butt", and they are very flattering to the booty. i've owned these pants since about December maybe January, and they've been wearing great, until (gasp!), the button closure on the bottom of the gaiters came right out of the fabric. this is a pretty big deal, especially with a pow storm in sight! i think norrona did a good job on making these a lightweight waterproof pant, but there is something to be said for burliness. hopefully i can figure out a way to rig the gaiter back together and be a happy camper once again.

I got them on Medium, which is my usual size, but there were just too big. Exchange it for the small but waist is a little tight.Not that much so I decided to keep them. They are definitely water proof, not insulated though so you may get a bit cold.

Ok, first off I'll say that I haven't actually used these pants yet for anything. Actually, I haven't decided if I'm going to keep them. This is not a technical review - purely to try and clear up what I can about the rather confusing set of reviews, pictures, and tech specs about this product.

I wanted a pant with a full side zip, waterproof, preferably with a gaiter, primarily for ski touring. These pants were on sale in the Ebony colour, and they looked perfect.

I read the reviews, I examined the pictures in detail, I looked at the tech specs, I looked at the Norrona website, and I couldn't figure out what features these pants had. The pictures seemed to depend on colour, the tech specs didn't match the reviews, and the Norrona website wasn't very helpful. I chatted to a gear guru who assured me that the pants definitely had side zips, since that was the main thing I couldn't tell from the pictures of the Ebony colour. I ordered the pants.

Fast-forward a week. The pants I received look exactly like the picture of the pants in Ebony. They're grey, with pink zippers. They have 1 pocket in the back, 1 thigh slash pocket, and 1 front hip pocket. They have inseam vents with mesh backing. They have gaiters. They have some kind of tough cut-guard on the inside of the pant at the bottom (not visible from the outside, but I can feel it). They have a side zip, the zipper pull for which you can see at the bottom of the pant in the pictures. But the zipper only goes up to just above the ankle. No full side zip.

So those are the features that the Ebony colour has. I can't speak for Caviar/Blue or Biking Red.

As for sizing, I am 5'2", ~30" waist, ~39-40" hips, and I usually go for a 28" inseam. According to the size chart, I need an XS for length and a M for everything else. I got a small. They're about an inch too long, roomy but not too baggy in the legs and butt, and kind of big in the waist, but I can cinch them down and tuck in layers and make them work.

Without having used them yet, these pants look great. Material is nice, contrasting zippers are nice, they appear to be very well put together and great quality, sizing is close enough...but they don't have one of the main things I was looking for in a touring pant.

These are shells - so there is literally nothing but goretex fabric - size accordingly because you will have to layer something underneath.

These are basically waterproof. I couldn't get them saturated. Even in the shower. haha.

Vents are nice, they have a very thin screen that works to keep out snow.

Using them:
I bought these for snowboarding. I had to return them because I ripped the seat. Heelside edge lost it and I was sliding on my butt and going pretty fast. Tore a hole in the goretex which I guess originated at the back pocket zipper.

Only complaint is that these pants, while amazingly waterproof, really do feel kind of flimsy compared to other goretex pants I have tried. I ended up spending the extra $70 and getting Burton Ak 3L's. If you are a snowboarder and you go fast and still fall (because you're not learning unless you're falling....) go with something else.

This is a review on the ebony pants. I don't know if the caviar/blue ones will have the same problem or not- perhaps it's a design flaw which they fixed with the newer model?

The pant itself is awesome. I'm 5'7'', average build, and the large fit well, if not a little big at the waist. The velcro tabs on the back cinched them tighter over just a light base layer. The material is not a typical soft shell- it feels more like a hard shell. But it seems to breath like a soft shell, and isn't loud. The zippers are great- welded with good pulls. Pink trim color is bright but not overly so. The pants are on the baggier side, but this didn't bother me.

I wore these pants on Saturday for the first time, for a resort day, and that night, when I took them off, I noticed that there were two holes. In the back (see "back pocket" picture above), the snaps which are just below the belt loop tore out of the pant, leaving holes in the material. Since I loved the pants otherwise, I decided to ski in them yesterday as well. The holes got bigger, which is too bad, since I was thinking of keeping them even with the holes. I can't figure out why the snaps tore through the material. They fit me well, and my jacket comes down my back way below the waist. Has anyone else had this problem?

I'm reluctantly sending these back. I guess $100 gore-tex soft shells were too good to be true...

I am so glad I am a girl, my super awesome boyfriend bought these pants for himself and let them sit in his basement because he couldnt figure out why they looked so weird on him. duh, you have a penis. So I inherited these KILLER pants simply because I have no penis. Lets get nitty gritty.

As you can see in my photo I am 5'4" 118lbs and am wearing a size Small black version of these pants. These pants fit me a little big I would suggest an XS (but I like them bigger) on someone similar. These are welded seams, very lightweight and they are goretex so of course they rock. Contrary to previous comments, there are NO VENTS on the inside, (which i would suggest for the next version) but there are 2 large vents that run along the thigh but do not have webbing to keep the snow out. Great features is that there is a knee pocket (for my knife, in case it gets dangerous in the snowbird parking lot) and the bottom of the pants have that ski guard tuff fabric on the inside so I don't trash the bottoms when I go to the bar after.

Norrona makes some of the highest quality gear and I love their bright colors and contrasting zippers. I think Norrona and Arc'teryx are some of the only companies still making ski pants with GoreTex, and I really wish more companies would do so. While the other brands' proprietary waterproof and breathable membranes seem to do the job when new, they just don't seem to have the durability of GoreTex season after season in my opinion. For those of us who get to ski over a hundred days a season, GoreTex is worth the money. With the GoreTex and solid Norrona construction, I'm confident these pants will last me three or more seasons.

On to fit. I debated a lot on the sizing. I'm 5'5", 130lbs. with a 29" waist about 39"-40" hips. Normally I wear medium jackets and pants in outdoor brands (such as Patagonia, Cloudveil, Marmot..) and occasionally I am a small. I went with the Small for the Narvik. The Small fits me, and I have room for my long underwear underneath. That said, I think I personally would have preferred Medium as I prefer a looser (though not baggy) cut. I would not call these pants tight on me, but they are just more fitted than I am used to. I consider myself to have somewhat of a ski butt and bigger thighs. Someone with my waist but slimmer legs and a small butt would probably find the small perfect.

In regards to the venting, the pants I bought have the vent on the outside top of the leg, and along the outside bottom. I will note that the internal gaiter goes up quite high. I have them in Caviar/Blue, and the bright zippers in the photo make it quite clear where the venting zippers are. I'll also say that the "powder skirt" is a bit odd. I imagine it works well when zipped to a Norrona ski jacket, but not so much on it's own. It's quite baggy and there is no drawcord. If there was a drawcord I think I would use it, especially on deeper days, but without a drawcord it's floppy and useless.

These pants are VERY well made and look great as well. They run a little big. I'm 5'4", 130 lbs and the XS fit perfectly. Just a couple of comments on the Tech Specs: SIDE ZIPS-only go up to the ankle, POCKETS-2, 1 front and 1 back, VENTING-runs along the inner thigh with webbing interface. The above the waist zip-off is a nice touch for those pow days. Overall, I'm impressed.