Editor's Picks: The Best Ski Pants & Bibs for Women of 2026

Ski pants and bibs aren’t all made the same. When it comes to choosing, there’s likely hundreds of options on the market at this point, and between insulated, hardshell, and softshell pants and bibs, we’ve been busy testing the year’s best products. Here are our Editor’s Pick choices for the year’s best ski pants and bibs for men.

Bibs vs. Pants?

An age-old debate amongst skiers, the question of bibs vs pants comes down to one main factor: preference. However, while there’s no "right" answer, there are certainly pros and cons to both. 

Bibs add a bit of protection from the elements with extra fabric to cover your low back, waist, and chest and keep you warmer and waterproof on extra weather-y days. They often have more pocket space for things like a beacon, snacks, your phone, or whatever else you want to have on your body while skiing. Bibs also typically mean no waistband and for those of us who experience bloating or other changes to our bodies throughout the month, this is a very real consideration.

On the flip side, not all bibs are created equal, and some can make taking a leak mid-ski day a real chore. Pants mean easy access when you do have to use the bathroom and generally mean fewer weird layers to bunch up or move around under your jacket. Bib straps can sometimes be cumbersome under a ski pack, especially if they have buckles that rub in weird spots and pants alleviate that issue completely. However, pants don’t offer as much protection on super snowy days, which could mean snow down your pants in a less-than-ideal scenario. If you are someone whose body changes throughout the month, you know there’s also nothing worse than a waistband cutting into you while on the bootpack or chairlift because you’re a little bloated. 

Insulated vs Hardshell 

You’ll notice that none of these pants offer insulation, and that’s because just like jackets, we’re convinced insulated ski pants are not the most effective way to stay warm on the hill. Instead, shells offer the ability to layer more easily, and allow you to take advantage of more purpose-built insulation pieces like a fleece pants, or down puffy pants for really cold days. Shell pants also breathe much better than insulated options, keeping you dryer (and ultimately) warmer on high-output days. 

Materials to Consider

Like shell jackets, shell pants come in a range of material options that have different degrees of waterproofing and breathability. The key things we’re looking for in these fabrics are waterproofing, breathability, durability, and harmful chemicals.

Because our Gear Editor, Max Ritter, said it better than I ever could (and that’s why he’s the editor), here’s the run down on shell materials: 

The principle behind how these materials work is actually pretty simple. Inside, there’s a membrane made of a microporous material, with thousands of pores per square inch that are much smaller than water droplets. That means snow or liquid water (which has surface tension that keeps it in a droplet form) cannot pass through, making the material waterproof from the outside. That waterproofness also happens to make the material windproof, meaning the garment will also protect you from biting cold winds. Breathability comes from the fact that water vapor (trapped on the inside of the material thanks to sweat evaporating from your skin) can pass through the membrane. While too small for liquid water, those tiny pores are large enough to let water vapor through. 

The breathability works best when there’s a stark temperature change between inside the garment and outside. That means it works best when you’re generating lots of body heat and sweating on cold days–exactly when you’d need it to keep you dry the most.

The super-thin membrane is typically sandwiched between an inner fabric layer and an outer face fabric (hence the 3L or “3-layer” nomenclature on lots of jackets) to allow it to be sewn into a jacket and add varying levels of stiffness and durability. The face fabric is then usually treated with a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) coating, which causes water to bead up and simply slide off the front of your jacket–further adding waterproofing. DWR coating eventually wears off, but can be easily reactivated by simply washing and drying your gear. Here’s how to best do that.

Perhaps the most widely-known fabric option is Gore-Tex, which was recently re-engineered to get rid of environmentally harmful PFAS chemicals–but Gore-Tex is far from the only option. We tested jackets using similar materials called Dermizax, Xpore, Pertex Shield, and other proprietary membranes offering varying degrees of performance. Depending on what you’re intending to do with your jacket, different materials might be better suited for the job at hand. Choose Dermizax, XPore or Gore-Tex Pro for the ultimate waterproofness and durability, Gore-Tex ePe or Gore-Tex C-Knit for a better balance of breathability, waterproofing, and packability. 

Stellar Equipment | Free Shell 2.5 Bibs

Stellar Equipment has flown relatively under the radar as far as outerwear brands go. Their gear, however, is not to be overlooked and comes in at an almost sneaky good quality. Part of Stellar EQ’s ethos is to build products that truly have all the features skiers want. It’s clear how much attention to detail the brand has when it comes to things like pocket placement, fabric, and fit.

Their Stellar Free 2.5 kit is geared towards freeriders who want a high performance kit that’s also timelessly styled and the bibs are a truly stand out piece of gear from the brand. The Stellar Free 2.5 bibs are made from a 3L Dermizax NX fabric that is every bit as durable as it is breathable and also stands its ground in the wettest of conditions. I took these bibs deep into the Georgia backcountry and spent six days in wet, cold, conditions, walking uphill, and basically living in these bibs and they dried quickly, stayed breathable on the uphill, and took the abuse of winter camping and backcountry skiing with little wear and tear.

From the waist up, the Stellar Free 2.5 bibs are made of a meshy fabric, keeping them nice and breathable around your core while still adding more coverage from snow. There are belt loops if you prefer to wear a belt with your bibs, but the aforementioned velcro straps are also great. Both legs have roomy slant pockets as well as thigh pockets with a beacon hardpoint and little meshy inner pocket on the right leg. For walking uphill, the fabric was super breathable and even in a bit of an oversized fit, I never felt like I was inundated with extra material. Most importantly, the 2.5 bibs have a zippered bathroom flap–whoever designs bibs without that feature in 2026 should be imprisoned. I truly loved these bibs and they will undoubtedly remain a staple ski piece for me.  

Peak Performance | Vertec 3L HIPE Pants

The Peak Performance Vertec 3L HIPE pants have proved to be a special piece as the only pair of pants on this list, the only pair of ski pants I’ve owned in years, and the pants I’m wearing more than anything else this season. Peak Performance does make a Gore Tex kit but after wearing the Vertec kit a fair amount, I’d be hard pressed to switch unless I wanted bibs over pants or a different colorway. Their proprietary 3L HIPE membrane is remarkably soft for a hardshell and not as ‘crunchy’ as some ultra-weatherproof layers tend to be. It also proved to be breathable enough to off-gas any extra heat without allowing too much of a breeze through it on warmer days. When worn in snowy, wet, and rimey conditions, it kept me nice and dry, even when ice built up on my layers, as it often does on storm days in Oregon.

Past the fabric, the thing I appreciate most about the Vertec pants is their simplicity. They have large, zippered slant pockets, belt loops, and a velcro adjustable waist band, zippered leg vents, and that’s it. For some folks, they might not have enough features without more pockets for storage or a beacon, but in a day where ski outerwear is inundated with features, I find that I have a ton of appreciation for a pair of pants that’s simple, comfortable, effective, and looks good.

Armada | Pascore 2L Bibs 

Armada’s outerwear has had a bit of a renaissance in the last couple years. In a sea of overpriced shell bibs that all kind of look the same, Armada has quite a few options for bibs and pants that are unique, won’t break the bank, and are still super high quality. The Pascore bibs in particular stood out to me as a high quality pair of thoughtfully designed bibs, perfect for everyday resort skiing, and are under $400. Are you gonna summit some gnarly mountain in them? Probably not. Is there a ton of value to a do-it-all resort bib that’s not $600? 100 percent.

Unlike the other pieces on here, the Pascore bibs are made from a 2L fabric instead of a 3L fabric. The advantage here is that 2L fabric tends to be a touch warmer than 3L and usually comes at a more stomachable price point, which brings me to two of my favorite things about the Pascore bibs. These bibs are cozy. Even without any insulation, these bibs shine on those chilly days we get particularly in the PNW where layering a puffy pant or short under your bibs isn’t a bad idea. The added warmth from the 2L construction goes a long way in these.

Other features like zippered, mesh-lined leg vents, fleece lined hand pockets, CORDURA reinforced cuffs, and adjustable suspenders are further proof of the thoughtful design elements that make them a perfect daily driver bib. 

Mountain Hardwear | Boundary Ridge GORE-TEX Bibs

Mountain Hardwear set out to make an incredibly durable Gore Tex bib and that they did. The Boundary Ridge bibs are by far the most beefy pair of ski pants I’ve ever owned. These bibs are made from Gore Tex ePE, which as we discussed earlier is kind of a gold-standard 3L waterproof fabric. As most Gore Tex things do, they hold up in the rain, wind, snow, against oil dripping from old lifts, beer sprays, you name it. The Gore Tex stops at the waist and gives way to a stretchier upper body panel with a massive mesh pocket on the chest. There’s also a zippered pocket underneath the mesh pocket for anything you don’t want falling out. The legs have two more hand pockets with a static loop for a beacon and two large flapped pockets on the thighs.

An integrated ladder lock belt at the waist allows you to keep the bibs up around your waist (or wherever) or just from moving too much under a jacket or backpack. Dual side zips make for easy access if you need to use the bathroom and act as outer leg vents for uphill days. These bibs are essentially made to keep you warm and dry on the longest, biggest, storm days cat/heli/resort skiing, and trust us, that they will.