How Are Snow Pants Worn?

Snow pants, sometimes called ski pants, are heavily insulated pants used for snowmobiling, skiing, mountaineering and other winter sports. To gain the maximum benefit from the ski pants, be sure to wear them in the proper way. In addition, when selecting a pair of snow pants, a general rule is to buy them one size larger than your street pants. This is to accommodate the layers underneath the snow pants, including tucking in shirts or upper layers.

Things You'll Need

  • Wool or synthetic long underwear
  • Wool or synthetic socks
  • Snow or ski boots
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Instructions

    • 1

      Put on one layer of long-underwear bottoms. Use non-cotton layers as cotton, when wet, has no thermal retention ability. Put on one pair of socks. If using the snow pants for skiing, do not tuck the long underwear into the socks, instead keeping it just above the top of the sock.

    • 2

      Pull on the snow pants. Tuck any shirts into the long-underwear bottom, not the pants. This is one extra layer to prevent the "devil's kiss"; this is when a shirt becomes untucked, exposing a slight bit of the skin on the back to the cold and snow.

    • 3

      Put on your snow or ski boots. Do not tuck the pants or long underwear into the boots. Pull the legs down over the boots instead. Tucking the pants or long underwear into the boots constricts blood flow and leads to frostbite.

    • 4

      Put on your upper layers like vests, jackets and outer shells. Pull them down over the hip on the snow pants.