Snow pants

ClareBroommaker's picture

Don't know which Circle this best belongs in, but chose Money & Craft because it probably will involve some sewing.

I have my first ever snow pants, the kind that have no bib. They are very big on me and I know I'll need to add suspenders to keep them up. Adding suspenders is going to be easier than taking up the waist, plus suspenders could pull the crotch up closer to where it should be. So first, what configuration of suspenders do you think will allow plenty of movement yet keep them up? If someone could link a picture of a style of suspenders that you think are good, I'd appreciate it.

For women, might it be hard to find a way to strap them across/ beside the breasts. Have any women here used suspenders successfully?

Second, the inseam is way too long. I'm not sure where I want to shorten them to. Do people usually have them long enough to cover the ankle when sitting down? Would that tend to make them too long when standing? These are wide leg, open at the bottom, not elasticized, snapped, or tied at the ankle.

Hope yall can help. :-)

I've never worn snow pants so what follows may not work.

But thinking about it, I'd go with the classic suspender construction of an X across the back (to distribute the weight better) and two straps going straight down your chest in the front. An X there could turn into a cross-your-heart bra and would be hard to wiggle in and out of. The two straps would be troublesome too, but many less so.

Or, you could experiment and put the X on the front and the straight straps down your back!

As for the inseams. If you hike up the pants to the point where the crotch fits correctly, that MAY solve the length problem. Or you could cuff them.

Good luck!

Ken's picture

I find that tucking my snow pants INTO my neoprene muck boots works much better than outside the boots. The cuffs get completely caked with snow and crud outside the boots. Also tucked in they are warmer.

You can get clip on suspenders pretty cheap at thrift stores. What about trying those? Then you could experiment with positioning.

David Trammel's picture

With them inside the boot, I'd wonder about snow melt dripping into the boot, but I agree having them inside is often a lot easier than out.

When I was in the Army, we "bloused" our trouser legs. What that meant was we had an elastic band with a hook and eye, which you wrapped around your leg just above the boot, then you tucked the bottom of the pants leg under the band. This made a kind of false cuff. It kept the pants looking good, showed off your spit shined shoes well and incidentally kept dirt and creepy crawlers from traveling up your pants leg. I do something similar with a heavy rubber band in the rare occasion I go out into the heavy brush during warmer periods to avoid ticks.

Snow pants being heavy might be harder to do that to though.