Anybody have tailoring done to ski pants?

[Vincent_Diesel]

I’ve often wondered why ski pants seem impossibly long. I’m a 36/30, which is a little short legged, but not uncommon. Most ski pants that fit my waist are easily four inches long in the leg. Apart from ruining my pant hems by walking on them, they frequently get clipped in to my rear bindings.

I know, first world problems.

These are my specs as well, a 36/30. I have managed to fit into most of the large (L) offerings in pants (usually around a 34 with an inseam that works for me), but have to say they are a bit too snug. In the morning the pants would fit well, and after a cheeseburger lunch I feel like I'm going to burst through the seams.

 

[Vincent_Diesel]

I had a pair of ski pants tailored this fall. Guy did a great job and only charged me about $20 or so. (I forgot.)
He actually let them out in the back. Found a nice piece of black similar material to the very nice OR pants and inserted a triangular piece that looks fantastic.

This is something worth thinking about. Buying pants that fit lengthwise and everywhere else. Have them let the waist out ^^^ and not mess with the pants important technical features from the pockets down.

 

[raytseng]

what brand?

if its a $500 msrp item, likely they have factory repair service for warranty. I'm bringing this up just to establish they have in house repair system setup, not about warranty policy. So it means they have people who work on repairing their items and would be capable and expertised to do shortening work for you. This is something you can inquire about and pay a fee to have done under the factory "roof". (although likely this is outsourced).

whether or not their warranty folks give better outcome then the standalone 3rd party tailor who is working on their own merits is hard to say.
It is just anothet option for you to explore and let us know.

I think you are in the right ballpark to expect a technical gear tailor will be about $100 quote for this to have a chance of being satisfactorily done.

 

[Steve]

This is something worth thinking about. Buying pants that fit lengthwise and everywhere else. Have them let the waist out ^^^ and not mess with the pants important technical features from the pockets down.

The large were too long and baggy around the legs. The medium were nice, just the waist was too small.

I need to lose weight.

 

[Vincent_Diesel]

what brand?

Arc’teryx. I should contact them.

 

[Jilly]

You could try this lady too!!

http://specialtyoutdoors.com/

 

[DanoT]

I bought new ski pants last Jan. in Sandy Utah and of course the legs where too long. I went to Best Alterations on State Street. I asked to have the outer cuff shortened 3" and the inner elastic cuff left as is. It was to be $12 for pick up the following week. But I was leaving town in two days so it was "rush job" $20, pick up in two days. Still very reasonable.

I prefer pants without a side zipper, however a tailor can shorten a zipper or if it is not a full zipper then shorten above the zipper and below the knee works for me.

 

[EricG]

It depends. I had a new set of regular length pants hemmed in 2017 since i didn’t want black ski pants. What I noticed was the overall length was better, but the articulated knee area was still too low. It just didn’t line up with where my knee actually bent and it looked funny. After talking to TNF & Patagonia their short size removes length in both the upper leg & lower leg so the articulated knee still lines up in the right spot.

Needless to say I don’t wear the pants I had hemmed and I now have black pants in short. TNF had a few pants in colors early in the season in short inseam.

 

[VickieH]

That's why it's not just cut 'em--fold 'em--stitch 'em. You really have to take into account the design and features of the pants and what the client will and will not accept. I would be fine with an extra horizontal -- or diagonal? -- seam to shorten ski pants. Contrasting or coordinating trim could be added to disguise it. Others expect their pants to look exactly as they did from the factory. In some cases, that may not be possible.

I need Short pants with a longer rise and sufficient space in the knee for my ACL brace. And I'm tired of black ski pants. I bought some colors in regular length. I have not modified them. But when I tried them on, I looked at how difficult it might be to shorten them. I think that's key for all of us who may need ski pants altered.

If you do take ski pants to be altered, you either need to know exactly what needs to be done or try the pants on and let the tailor look at the problem. The lady that @Jilly provided the link for does this work for companies that produce technical gear so she knows the landscape. If I was going to send something to her, I'd probably take pictures and send them to her first so we could jointly figure out what all needs to be done. Shortening pants 3" is quite different than shortening the upper leg 2" (to raise the articulated knee) and the lower leg 1".

Ha! This is starting to sound like forward lean and ramp angle in bootfitting!

 

[KingGrump]

Ha! This is starting to sound like forward lean and ramp angle in bootfitting!

Go to a good boot fitter tailor.
Often, it is not worth the trouble. Most major brands have "short" pants as part of their offering. Major brands like Arc'teryx, Marmot, TNF, Marker, Pataonia, Kjus, Bogner, Spyder, Vist, Karbon - to name a few. They do go on sale and comes in different colors also. Just have to keep an eye out.

 

[VickiK]

It's not cheap but is usually worth it. Specialty Outdoors is good. (http://specialtyoutdoors.com/)

You could ask if your mountain uses a local seamstress for their ski patrol/host staff uniforms. This person would be experienced in technical fabrics, seam sealing, etc.

 

[Fishbowl]

Go to a good boot fitter tailor.
Often, it is not worth the trouble. Most major brands have "short" pants as part of their offering. Major brands like Arc'teryx, Marmot, TNF, Marker, Pataonia, Kjus, Bogner, Spyder, Vist, Karbon - to name a few. They do go on sale and comes in different colors also. Just have to keep an eye out.

Sorry to put you on the spot, but where are these products?

I've been looking for years and have never found a ski pant in 36/30. It's very common in dress pants, even scrubs, but not ski pants. If I'm looking in the wrong place, please point me in the right direction.The House, for instance, currently has over two hundred pairs of ski and snowboard pants for sale, including the brands you list, but not a single one of them come in an inseam shorter than 32 inches (verified by their customer service). In fact, pant length is not even a search option on any of the sites I use. Maybe I'm just focused on the discount houses and these products are available at high end stores?

 

[VickieH]

In women's, I have had more luck with finding Short in Columbia and Obermeyer.

Columbia Men's Bugaboo II pants come in 29 and 32 inseam. Their sizing is S, M, L, XL, not inches.

Obermeyer Kron comes in Short Regular, Tall, and Long, also sized by XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL.

Not an exhaustive list. I just did a quick search before mentioning them to see if both companies also had Short lengths for men.

 

[raytseng]

Sorry to put you on the spot, but where are these products?

I've been looking for years and have never found a ski pant in 36/30. It's very common in dress pants, even scrubs, but not ski pants. If I'm looking in the wrong place, please point me in the right direction.The House, for instance, currently has over two hundred pairs of ski and snowboard pants for sale, including the brands you list, but not a single one of them come in an inseam shorter than 32 inches (verified by their customer service). In fact, pant length is not even a search option on any of the sites I use. Maybe I'm just focused on the discount houses and these products are available at high end stores?

See my post #15 above.
You typically have to order direct from the brand's website, and early in the season when they have this year's stock all stocked.

It won't typically be carried in distributors and esp. at end of season (all the short people have bought all the product?).

Prepare to shell out MSRP, at best there maybe a blackfriday or xmas promo, but often it only applies to closeout/last season's gear.

Example, for the northface, you can look up their sizing chart, which lists pants L (short inseam) as 36waist / 30 inseam

 

[Vincent_Diesel]

Prior to this ski season I was in at least 3 local shops. At all locations, I consider their inventory very well stocked. Tons of brands and every waist size available. Combed through every rack and hanger to not find a single “short” size. So the only place to find “short” sizing is online. Don’t get me wrong, I am an online shopper at heart, but for clothing I still prefer the traditional in-store experience.

 

[Noodler]

Prior to this ski season I was in at least 3 local shops. At all locations, I consider their inventory very well stocked. Tons of brands and every waist size available. Combed through every rack and hanger to not find a single “short” size. So the only place to find “short” sizing is online. Don’t get me wrong, I am an online shopper at heart, but for clothing I still prefer the traditional in-store experience.

I did what a lot of people do these days. Use the brick & mortar shops to figure out which sizes would work for me in each brand. Then hit the Internet sites. I would have bought from the B&M shops if they had what I was looking for exactly, but they did not.

 

[James]

Prior to this ski season I was in at least 3 local shops. At all locations, I consider their inventory very well stocked. Tons of brands and every waist size available. Combed through every rack and hanger to not find a single “short” size. So the only place to find “short” sizing is online. Don’t get me wrong, I am an online shopper at heart, but for clothing I still prefer the traditional in-store experience.

I've found a bunch and in non black. Where r u located?

 

[KingGrump]

Sorry to put you on the spot, but where are these products?

I've been looking for years and have never found a ski pant in 36/30. It's very common in dress pants, even scrubs, but not ski pants. If I'm looking in the wrong place, please point me in the right direction.The House, for instance, currently has over two hundred pairs of ski and snowboard pants for sale, including the brands you list, but not a single one of them come in an inseam shorter than 32 inches (verified by their customer service). In fact, pant length is not even a search option on any of the sites I use. Maybe I'm just focused on the discount houses and these products are available at high end stores?

I am short, fat & old. I wear a 34/28. My go to pants are Kjus & Vist. I've seen short pants on STP. They go quick. Bought couple pairs for my son last summer from Buckmans out of Florida. During the summer & fall, while I am in Vermont, I'll often walk through the ski shops for sales. Found lots of stuff that way. Startingate & Norse House in Bondville are two of my favorites. The Bogner shop up at Stratton also have them on occasions.

 

[mikes781]

Arc’teryx. I should contact them.

Which model? I got a very good deal on a Sabre this winter but they were a little long. I reached out to Arcteryx and they told me that they don’t do alterations. I decided to just wait to the off season to look for other options. I did a little research and rainypass was one that came up but I haven’t reached out to them yet.

 

[raytseng]

Are the "brick and mortar stores" you are visiting distributor stores or brand owned stores like the Patagonia store, the Northface store, MountainHW/Columbia store, Arc store?

The fact you said brandS probably means the former. The same inventory patterns apply to both, but what is different at the brand store is if you are early season and talking with a salesperson, they will always be cheerful enough to offer to order in a short size direct to the store ( or direct to you) with free returns (by mail or to store); whereas the distributor typically doesnt have access to any extra inventory of tall or short sizes to order in if their main Buyer didn't buy any.
So if you're a meatspace only person you can still get this done, but have to talk with ppl.

This is $200 and up piece of gear we're talking about, so it is fair to ask them to go out of their way to check if any in the warehouse and get it shipped in, its not an inexpensive item like a pair of socks that are too short or too long.