Review: 686 Smarty 2.5 Complete Ply Pants

Intended Purpose: The Smarty 2.5 complete ply pant offers a high waterproofing and breathability rating, fleece and thermal inner liner to help keep you layered on the mountain when you need it.

Fit: The 2.5 complete ply pants are a 686 regular fit.  At first when I got them I didn’t like the fit, I thought they were too fitted around the knees than I would have liked but a more fitted pant than the baggy fits I was used to.  At the end of the season, these ended up being my go-to pant and the fitted pants won me over.

Appearance: I have always had a black backup pant and the smarty 2.5 complete series was perfect as that go-to black pant for the season.  After wearing them in the sun all summer I did notice the color fading from so much sun.  Overall I like the cargo pockets on the pants since they close by zipper and velcro so nothing gets out.  The inner pants can be used as pajama pants which helps when you forget yours or don’t expect to crash somewhere and have pajamas.  In terms of material this was one thing I wasn’t a fan of when I got these pants, the material on the outside was super slick which mean you could slide down the hill on them with a running start.  That’s good and bad, it was definitely waterproof but more just something to get used to.

Features: The smarty 2.5 complete ply features 20,000mm waterproofing and 15,000mm breathability which is definitely more than I needed in CO but offered a great functionality to the pants just in case it was a really wet snowy day on the slopes.  Other features are fully taped seams, recco technology, water-resistant zipper thigh pocket, cargo pockets, venting on the inside of the leg.  The most useful feature for me was the zippered cargo pockets since I use them so much with holding cameras and camera pieces on the mountain.

Durability: These pants were my main pants during the summer riding at Timberline/Windells Camp and definitely got the hardest season with dirt/grime/snow and sweat involved for it.  A couple months into owning them when I rode them at Steamboat, I had the crotch zipper get stuck and so I ended up having my mom help fix the zipper (versus sending it in for warranty) since it was easier.  Since that was the only issue, they’ve held up for snowboarding.  The bottom cuffs are fully intact and still in great shape.  Overall the durability is quite strong and I’m keeping them around for this winter.

Thoughts: It definitely wasn’t love at first fit with these pants.  Coming from a baggy preference on snowboard pants, I had to adjust to the fitted nature of these pants.  They are still not a tight/fitted pant but for me it was the most form fitting pant I’ve worn.  Eventually I grew to love them especially the form fitting nature, fitted at the knees but still good movement in them.  Relaxed and comfortable for the slopes.  The quality and durability is standard 686, it’s built to last and meant to be ridden in.  The features were all stuff I wanted, cargo pockets, good gm/mm ratings and at the end of the day I fell in love with them.

Ready to buy? head over to evo for the 686 Smarty 2.5 Complete Ply Pants or shop their full line of women’s 686 snowboard pants

On-Snow Photos

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686 Smarty 2.5 Complete Ply Description

Review Disclosure: This product was given to me by 686.