This may sound like kind of a silly question, but are snow pants designed to be worn over regular pants, or by themselves?

I only ask because I have a pair of thermal underwear to put on under my normal pants, but I'd like to get a shell of some sort to use over top of them (in conjunction with snow boots) to help serve as a water barrier when tromping around in shin high snow (I had the pleasure of experiencing winter in Minnesota instead of the more familiar Tennessee!)

I suppose it may vary with the particular brand, but in general, they are made kind of loose so that clothing can fit underneath. The ones I use have full side zippers, so that they can be donned and doffed without removing boots and crampons, etc. I believe a lot of people wear thick, insulating full length underwear so as to have maximum freedom of movement, as well as warmth.

Done it both ways depending on conditions outside. Alway had long johns under.

depends on the condition.

The intention of most snow pants is to be worn over the normal pants.

But I have been known to not include the normal pants due to the cotten factor in the normal pants thatI had on hand at the time.

I'm kinda like him. Usually if it's cold enough for snow pants I've got some long johns or running tights underneath. But I really never wear them other than skiing, when it's just those 2 layers. If I was camping, it'd probably be over whatever pants I wore to get to the base camp, when I'd don the snow pants.

I've always worn snow pants with something underneath them -- it was long johns when I was a kid, polypropylene baselayer nowadays, maybe sweat pants if I'm just running the snowthrower and can duck inside if I get wet and/or cold. I've learned the hard way not to wear jeans under snow pants.

Definitely designed to be worn over another layer -- polyester fleece pants, wool long underwear, et al. As previously stated, not heavy cotton, kinda defeats the purpose.

i got a pair of cheaper snow boarder pants that i pull on over my street clothes for the evening dog walks,at sub zero temps,and find they work great.nylon with some sort of poly insulation.i have no idea how they would work out for camping as they are sort of bulky.

The term "snow pants" covers a really broad range of stuff. Everthing from heavily insulated pants, to shell garments. What works best really depends on what you will be doing.

For emergency gear to carry in your vehicle, insulated pants that go over one's regular street clothes might be a good choice. Another option would be insulated coveralls, such as Carhartts. This sort of gear would be great to protect you while you dig your vehicle out, or put chains on, or wait for rescue. But it might be rather constricting and maybe too warm for active hiking or skiing.

For back country skiing I prefer shell type pants, made of gore tex or similar type wind and water proof fabric. I wear these over smart wool or polypro long underwear. I use the side zips to ventilate if I'm getting too warm. If it is really cold I substitute lightweight fleece (instead of long underwear) underneath the shell. This set up is very versatile for a wide range of temperature. It is also not too binding or constricting for skiing.

Whachever choice you make, it is important to size them to easily fit over any layers you might wear underneath. Remember, that each layer you add makes you bigger for the next layer on top! Before paying for expensive gear, it is always a good idea to try it on in the shop, over whatever layers you might wear underneath. My shell gear (jacket and pants) is all quite big, to give me plenty of room for layering. I'm not very stylish, but I'm comfortable in a wide range of conditions.

We do it both ways at our house. My son wears them over his clothes and I often do too by if we're going to be very active outside, I usually wear thermal longjohns underneath. Sometimes I'll double up on the thermals. I find them a little uncomfortable to wear with regular pants underneath, especially if hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, etc.

Thanks guys!

I use to snowmobile In Longjohns + sweat pants + Jeans. Jeans got a bit wet here and there but worked fantastic and most importantly I looked cool =D

Looking cool is important!

Of course there is always the chance that your wet jeans and sweats will leave you way too cool, forever.

Out of curiosity, are the what is causing the jeans to get wet? Insufficient seal between snow boots and the snow pants, or does the water eventually just get in through the snow pants material?

If you are in fairly deep snow, you should be wearing high gaiters to help keep snow out. The fact is that snow eventually just seems to work its way inside. You can also get your jeans wet if you perspire, a real no-no in cold weather.

Jeans are about the worst possible things to wear in these conditions.

In deep snow, jeans will get wet and freeze from the knees down. When snowmobiling, the snow swirls around and gets onto the seat of the snowmobile and then melts when you sit on it.

Denim jeans are a remarkably poor choice for wet or snowy activities or emergency winter use. I believe that in really cold conditions if you don't keep your legs warm, there's nothing you can do to keep your feet warm.

Snowpants, or my preference, bibs with full side zippers, will serve as an outer layer. You have the choice of insulated or non-insulated. You can adjust by wearing long-johns, sweats, or cargo pants underneath.

The upside is protection from cold, wind, and moisture. The downside is that snowpants and bibs can make long-distance walking more difficult (especially combined with the ubiquitous pac-boots that even ballerinas wear in Minnesota). Gaiters or nylon outer shell pants would be better for this.

long johns+ insulating layer ( fleece?) plus wind/water shell

Good thread. One thing that's been lacking in my winter kit are serious cold weather pants. I have fairly robust nylon canvas pants that would do a good job over the top of wool long u/w, but nothing specific to that purpose.

In order to get the most bang for the buck from REI's latest 30% off sale, I now have REI Shuksan Pants. Not cheap by any means and probably not very useful in most of SOCAL, but anytime the winter kit goes in the truck (ie., anytime I leave SOCAL) I will now have serious cold weather pants available. I already have fleece pants and Smartwool long underwear -- the layering is complete.

OT: Is a RECCO Reflector of any utility outside an avalanche? (The REI description says "Embedded RECCO® detector", but that's the other side of the RECCO system.)

I doubt very much if the technology is particularly useful outside of avalanche situations.

I'm not so sure; the RECCO system has a 200 meter range in air, 30 meters in snow, shorter in wet snow -- but that 200 meter range says that it may have other uses (still thinking). Neat technology though -- no moving parts, no batteries to die/change, just a tuned cavity that responds to the RECCO detector and reflects a signal back. Whatever, they're embedded in the pants and per the website video the reflector requires no maintenance and has an unlimited lifespan.

Not affiliated with RECCO, just interested in elegant yet simple to use technology.

RECCO reflectors are commonly embedded in ski clothes. However, the only way to detect one is with the special detector unit. Many ski areas have these on site, and in case of an in-area avalanche the ski patrol can grab the detector and go find you. Some SAR groups in avalanche country also have detector units. I have had the opportunity to play with one, and they do work. However, the detector units are rather large, clunky, and expensive (at least in their present configuration), and are not something most people will have available.

RECCO a good idea for ski resorts, but if you are doing any off-area or back country skiing, snowshoing, or snowmobiling then you need to have a proper avalanche beacon and know how to use it. In a back country avalanche, by the time a RECCO detector could be brought to the scene, you are likely looking at a recovery mission.

This discussion has diverged ... but to get back to the original question.
I usually found that when trekking in deeper snow, I mostly just needed some good waterproof pants. The outer shell should be waterproof. And under that I usually wore some warm fleece pants.

The important thing is to make sure you have a good set of gaiters ... otherwise your socks get soaked from loose snow that creeps into your boots and melts.

These comments don't apply if you are walking around on snow that is well tramped down. If the surface is firm ... no problem. But if you are postholing - that takes a lot of work and your gear needs to be waterproof.

Have fun.

cheers,
Pete 2