Mont Overpants

[dee_legg]

Hi all,

Thinking it's time to upgrade my overpants and looking at the Mont Siena/Austral or the Tempest models...

Does anyone have experience with either of these two models?
I'm mainly interested in what you like and what you dislike about them and whether you'd buy them again and if not, what you'd buy instead.

Thanks in advance!

[Maelgwn]

I think I must have the older version of the Austral. They are reasonably hard wearing which is good but I don't like the bulky elasticised waist belt. I normally find a flatter waist suits me better and gives me less pain from waist belt rubbing.

They also let don't give a good closure around the boot for snow but this isn't a problem if you always wear gaiters.

Simple and not a fiddly design though, which is good.

Also, not heavy but not light (380g+)

[ollster]

Thinking it's time to upgrade my overpants and looking at the Mont Siena/Austral or the Tempest models...

I had a look at the Tempest, and decided they were overkill. I tried putting them on in one of the local shops and got annoyed with them pretty quickly - too much mucking around with the side zips and stuff. They are also huge when packed as they're made of pretty thick material. Having said that, one of the guys I walk with has a pair and he reckons they're very durable and waterproof.

I found for me the fit of the Austral and Siena just didn't feel right - but that's personal.

I ended up going for a pair of Macpac Endeavour OPs, which are lighter weight than the Tempest. I've done a bit of walking in them now, and they're pretty good. Water repelency is good, toughness is good (think I've exclusively taken them scrub bashing) and they breath well.

[dee_legg]

Hi Ollster,

Thanks for your input, I looked at the Macpac Endeavour pants and they felt great on... but i was worried about how the reflex pro material would preform... but you've just said they are durable so that's a good sign. Maybe i'll look at them again!

[Ent]

Hi

I have a pair of PP lighter weight Gore-tex pants (Pack-lite material with normal weight Gore-tex in high wear areas) and they have proven to be brilliant. Not cheap but they are one of the few products that performed far better than my expectations. Only thing is like all elastic waist types is the can struggle to stay up as my weigh goes down on a walk so invested in a pair of braces. They have survived tumbles and slides while breath-ability has proven outstanding but normally I only wear them in winter as I normally wear Mont shorts in summer and a long rain coat.

Cheers Brett

[abowen]

Hi D,
I have a pair of Mont overpants - can't remember which ones - but would definitely buy another pair (if I wore them out). Been through some pretty heavy scrub, snow and mud and they sail through - very tough. I am also impressed with Mont's after sales service. I scrubbed out the inner layer around the knees on one walk - the gaiters of another brand scratched and tore the inner layer away. I went back to the retailer to ask how I could repair it (I was prepared to pay) and he rang Mont. They ended up placing a patch of their material bonded to the inside of the knee and charged me nothing, despite it being my problem and was caused by another brand product. Pretty good service in my book!
Cheers
Andrew

[ollster]

Only thing is like all elastic waist types is the can struggle to stay up as my weigh goes down on a walk so invested in a pair of braces.

Yeah, I get a bit of the same. Some of them (like the Macpac ones) have a compression strap belt thing which works pretty well.

[ollster]

but i was worried about how the reflex pro material would preform... but you've just said they are durable so that's a good sign.

I think I wore them first on a 15hr off track epic I did with some of the guys, and the pants were great. They haven't gone through a winter season wearing them every walk yet... we shall see how they last long term.

[stu]

Hi Dee,

I am onto my second pair of Australs, they have been very durable, the first pair lasting probably around 100 walks, a lot of which were hard off track.
They finally started to fall apart but I think they lasted longer than I initially expected, the fabric is very burly.
Like all outergear in Tasmanian conditions the WR outer coating only lasts so long & the myriad of prickly alpine vegetation soon punctures any fabric.
These are my scrub pants of choice in summer or winter & I usually only wear board shorts under them even in winter.

A zippered fly would be nice, not such a huge fan of the elastic waist, takes some fiddling to deal with nature calls, but a minor down side.
They area also quite light, much more so than the other models you mentioned. When not used on a longer trip the weight is thus not such a factor.

I had a pair of the Mont Light Speed pants which were touted on the tagging as 'Very Durable', they lasted maybe 20 walks before exploding in shreds of fabric, far too light weight for hard Tasmanian walking & probably more suited to Alpine endeavours.

The Macpacs which Oll mentioned looked good, I just have trouble finding a good size in Macpac pants as I am between a size small & medium (ie. one too big, the other too small).

Cheers.
Stu.

[north-north-west]

I have a pair of Mont overpants...I scrubbed out the inner layer around the knees on one walk - the gaiters of another brand scratched and tore the inner layer away.

Similar area - back of the knees - wore away on mine within ten days of walking. Hasn't made any difference so far, as it's the front of the right knee that leaks. Maybe they don't like people kneeling down in them.
Pity the stormflap insists on folding back the wrong way, too.