Over the last few years we tested several snow pants for snowmobiling, and found that it totally depends on the needs of a user, and how much they want to spend on their snowmobile pant.
We found that for the majority of the people who will ride their snowmobile on warm sunny days, an affordable snow pants will work just fine that will cost $100 or less.
We found that Arctix Essentials Men’s and Arctix Insulated Women’s Snow Pants are great and budget-friendly options for most snowmobile riders.
But if you want the best, we found Klim Powerxross Snowmobile Pants to be the top performing pants during moderate to extremely cold weather conditions.
That said, we have some more options for you to help decide.
Changes We Made in the Article: On November 3rd, 2023, we tested one 509 snowmobile pant, and included that in our review article, and removed Castle X pant from our recommended list.
Our Team’s Top Picks
- Best Snowmobile Pants for Men – Arctix Essential Snow Pants
- Best Snowmobile Pants for Women – Arctix Insulated Snow Pants
- Best Value for Money – Amazon Essentials Snow Pants
- Best Premium Snowmobile Pants – KLIM Snowmobile Pants
- Most Comfortable Snowmobile Pants – 509 R-Series Snowmobile Pants
Best Snowmobile Pants for Men
Arctix Essential Snow Pants
The Arctix Essential Snow Pants are the best snowmobile pants for men that we recommend.
This pant comes with 85g insulation which is clearly less than the other expensive snowmobile pants.
But, when we were riding snowmobiles in the 20°F to 40°F with these pants, they were warm and comfortable.
When the temperature dropped further, we wore a medium base layer, and this pant kept us warm and comfortable.
One really good thing we found in these pants is that it’s available in many different sizes as compared to the expensive pants from brands like FXR or Klim which are available in only a few sizes.
The material of these snow pants is resistant to wind, water, and snow.
These pants kept us dry during our whole ride. You can sit in the snow, ride a snowmobile in the deep powder snow, these pants will keep your legs dry.
One thing to note is that these pants don’t come with removable suspenders. Sometimes you need pant suspenders because during activity your pants may seem to slide down.
But, it’s totally understandable that at this price range, it is not possible for them to provide suspenders because their pants are still one of the best snow pants for snowmobiling for general audience.
Pros
- Budget friendly.
- Warm and comfortable.
- Available in differen colours and sizes.
- Water, snow and wind resistant material.
Cons
- Don’t come with removable pants suspenders.
- Under extremely cold tempratures need to wear a base layer to stay warm.
Best Snowmobile Pants for Women
Arctix Insulated Snow Pants
The Arctix Insulated Women’s Snow Pants are our recommend pick for women snowmobile riders.
Women snowmobile riders in our team took a ride in the deep powder snow and they clearly felt that these pants kept them warm.
The 85g insulation was good enough to keep them warm in a good warm sunny day, however as the temperature dropped further, they had to wear a base layer underneath them.
This women’s pant is available in multiple colors which is not the case with other big branded snow pants, while the waist strap gives a more comfortable fit even if you’re wearing a big size.
A good thing about these women’s pants is that these are designed for the women’s body. Our female riders really liked the fitting of these pants because many times women wear men’s winter pants, and they do not get the desired fitting.
Another great thing about these pants is that they’re not expensive.
They cost much less than the expensive Klim snowmobile pants that cost more than $200.
However, they’re not as durable as the expensive pants, and they have decent insulation for normal riders, but if you’re thinking about riding in the extreme cold temperatures, you’ll need to buy Klim or 509 pants.
Pros
- Budget-friendly and affordable
- Warm and comfortable for moderately cold tempratures.
- Available in different colors and sizes.
- Nice fitting for women
Cons
- May not be as durable as more expensive pants.
- Under extremely cold tempratures need to wear a base layer to stay warm.
Best Value for Money
Amazon Essentials Snow Pant
The Amazon Essential Snow Pant offers good value for money because at an affordable price, you’ll get a good quality warm pants that you can use for snowmobiling.
We found that this pant is good for riding snowmobile in warm to mild cold temperatures. But, as the temperature dropped further, they had to wear warmer base layer.
You should note that this pant is available in only 6 different sizes. The 6 sizes are good for many people, but having more sizes gives you more freedom to choose a size that gives you a comfortable and perfect fitting.
They’re water resistant, but during the testing, we also noticed that their water resistant ability is not that good as compared to the Arctix Snow Pants. But, still, they do a decent job for such an affordable price.
This pant comes with hand warmer pockets, but for snowmobiling, we didn’t test them as we were using our gloves while riding.
We liked the fitting of these relaxed pants. You can easily wear a thin to medium base layer thermal pants underneath them, and you’ll be ready to for a comfortable snowmobile ride.
But, as mentioned above, they’re good for a warm to mild cold temperatures, but if you’re riding in the very cold temperatures, these pants don’t provide enough insulation to give you a comfortable experience.
Pros
- Very affordable.
- Good for warm to mildly cold temperatures.
- Come with hand warmer pockets.
- Moderately water resistant
Cons
- Need to wear a base layer underneath in very cold weather.
- Available only in 6 sizes.
Best Premium Snowmobile Pants
KLIM Snowmobile Pants
The Klim Snowmboile Pants are one of the best snowmobile pants you can buy in the market.
We tested multiple pants that can be used for riding a snowmobile and snowbike, and the Klim were the most expensive one.
We had high hopes from these pants. After testing we found that these were the best indeed.
They have all the important features like velcro waist adjustment, full length side zips, hand warmer pockets, moisture wicking liner, belt loops, waterproof material, and velcro boot gaiters.
Means, they have every feature you’ll need in your snowmobile pant.
They were also the warmest snowmobile pants we tested.
In the good warm weather, we didn’t need to wear a base layer pant underneath them.
We also tested these pants in the extreme cold weather, and they kept us warm, but we had to wear a base layer which was kind of expected.
They guarantee to keep you dry during your snowbike backcountry excursions. This was a big claim, so we had to put special efforts to test the waterproofness of these pants, and they are truly waterproof.
One feature we really liked in these pants were the removable suspenders, which were not present in other snowmobile pants we tested.
There is a common problem with the suspenders.
Whenever we had to sit or stand, we had to adjust the suspenders everytime because sometimes, they were too tight but sometimes, they were too lose and falling from the shoulders.
We really liked that you can remove the suspenders and you can easily use them again if you want.
Overall, these were the warmest and most practical pants we tested for snowmobile and snowbike riding. But, it’s clearly more expensive than the other pants.
Pros
- Features like velcro waist adjustment, full length side zips, hand warmer pockets, moisture wicking liner, belt loops, and velcro boot gaiters.
- One of the warmest snowmobile pants.
- Waterproof material.
- Removable suspenders.
Cons
- More expensive than other pants.
Most Comfortable Snowmobile Pants
509 R-Series Snowmobile Pant
The 509R-Series Snowmobile Pant are the most comfortable snowmobile pants we tested so far.
There are many things that made these snow pants as the most comfortable in our list.
The zippered thigh vents did a great job to keep us warm and comfortable. There were times, when we were riding aggressively, and we were getting too warm in this pant, then we opened the zippered thigh vents, and it regulated the temperature.
If you’re thinking about riding long hours, these can be a perfect choice.
If you ride the whole day, you’ll need the warmth in the cold mornings, and as the temperature increases in the afternoon, you can just open the zippered vents, and you’ll become comfortable again.
The Over The Boot design of these 509 R-Series pants is one of the best we tested so far. With this design, you can ride in the deep powder, and snow will not enter in your boots. The velcro adjustment at lower leg further gives you a cleaner fit.
The warmth of these pants was also quite good. If we compare the warmth of these pants with the of Klim Powerxross, clearly, Klim did a better job, but at the same time, the Klim pants are way more expensive than these.
Pros
- Zippered thigh vents.
- Great overall design for comfort.
- Velcro adjustment at lower legs for better fit.
- Over the boot fit to prevent snow from entering your boots.
Cons
- Moderately warm but not the warmest.
How We Tested Snowmobile Pants
We tested these snowmobile pants in Colorado and evaluated how these pants work for snowmobiling.
To test these snowmobile pants, we rode our snowmboiles in the good warm sunny day when the temperature was 20°F to 40°F (-7°C to 4°C) when snow was well packed, and not too powdery which is perfect for a good pleasant ride.
But, we also rode our snowmobiles when wearing these pants in the cold weather when the temperature was in the range of 0°F to 20°F (-18°C to -6°C).
We tried testing these snowmobile pants using the base layer because generally riders wear base layer when riding their snowmobiles.
We also tested the fitting, durability and comfort of these snowmobile pants.
How to Choose Pants for Snowmobiling
Warmth
The insulation of snowmobile pants is very important.
Generally, 200g insulation is good for extreme cold temperatures. But, if you’re riding on a sunny warm day, a 50g to 100g of insulation can also work for you.
If the insulation is not that good in your snow pants, you’ll need to wear a good thermal base layer underneath if you’re riding on a cold day.
Water Resistance
Your snowmobile pants should be water resistant.
That’s important because when you’re riding a snowmobile or snowbike the whole day, you want to stay dry.
In a snowmobile, there will be numerous cases when you will be riding in the deep wet snow, and the water resistance ability of your pants will protect you from getting wet.
If your pants are waterproof, it will give you an added advantage.
When we were testing the snow pants for snowmboiling, we clearly saw the difference between the pants that were water resistant and pants that were waterproof.
The waterproof pants did their job of keeping us warm and dry much better than the water resistant pants.
Zippered Vents
The zippered vents are optional but they give you more comfort as compared to the pants without them.
But, the zippered vents will not be available in affordable snowmobile pants.
If you want zippered vents, you should expect to spend at least $100.
But, this is an optional feature. It’ll help you a lot if you’re riding a whole day.
As we tested multiple affordable pants without zippered vents, we were getting too warm in the pants when we were riding aggressively.
Klim and 509 pants have zippered vents. When we were getting too warm during the ride, we just opened the zippered vents depending on the needs, and it regulated the temperature.
The zippered vents also helped us to stay dry, by preventing too much sweating in the pants which is a common scenario.
So, if you can afford snow pants with zippered vents, you should definitely consider buying them.
Conclusion
As you can see, the choice of the pants for snowmobiling depends heavily on the temperature of the day you will be riding and other conditions.
But you should consider all the likely situations you will face during your ride, and then decide which pants are the best for you depending on your budget.
