REI Mistral Softshell Pants User Review

Booting through the snow in REI Mistral Softshell Pants.

Wearing the Mistral's on White Baldy during the summer.

As mentioned during my coverage of REI as a Private Label Brand, here is the first of several reviews of REI label products. REI’s Mistral Softshell Pants have been my go-to pant for some time. They’re manufactured to include a host of excellent properties that suit them well for a wide range of weather conditions. They are not lined, which makes them ideal for human powered adventures, where the effort of keeping one’s body moving is generally a good heat source.

The Mistral Pants employ a clever four way stretch design which enables a wide range of comfortable, active movement. The fabric doesn’t bind the leg; it stretches to accommodate for movement. Additionally, articulated knees make for a pair of pants which were born to be active. If you’re wondering exactly what defines an ‘articulated knee,’ it’s a clever design in which the softshell material has been sewn so that the pants always have a slight bend in the knee. When you’re being active, whether that be hiking, running, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, climbing, or anything else, your legs are most often bent. Articulation helps cut down on fabric bunching uncomfortably at your knee. Quite nice.

Articulation means they arrive from the factory with a bent knee sewn in. That's handy when you're being active, unnoticed when you're standing still.

As for other construction details, these pants are composed of 91% nylon and 9% spandex, which is water resistant as it comes from the factory, and windproof to 23 miles per hour. If you’re the curious sort like me, you might wonder if a 27 mph wind just blows right through these trousers, and the answer is no. I’ve been out in some howling windstorms, and have always been impressed that the fabric seems windtight. It’s not impermeable, but it does keep body heat in and most of the wind out. With a proper selection of baselayers, these softshells will keep one warm in very cold conditions.

The last model of the REI Mistral Softshell Pants didn’t include rear pocket zippers, so I never put anything into those pockets. A wallet against Schoeller is a slippery proposition! Rather than accidentally drop my cash onto a mountain somewhere, REI got wise with the issue and included pocket zips for all four pockets (two front, two rear) on the latest model of Mistral’s. Also included are lower leg zips, which make zipping them over ski boots and their buckles much easier than trying to wiggle a zipperless leg over the obstructions.

The leg zip makes stepping into ski boots easy.

And it's easy to zip them down over the ski boot, sealing up the package.

On to the user review of the REI Mistral.

Pros include: Off the REI hanger and into the mountains, the pants do a good job of repelling water. Drops tend to bead up and eventually disappear, unless one is in a total downpour, in which case, think about finding shelter! In the wind, as I mentioned, this fabric keeps all but the gustiest of gales from penetrating the material. The waist fleece on the inside of the beltloop area feels good against bare skin. As most pants hang primarily from the waist, this detail is well thought out. Their black color increases the heat rapidly in direct sunlight, which can be great in winter. In warmer months, I tend to roll the pants up, which produces sufficient cooling for mountain wear. They breathe well, allowing sweat vapor to exit and my legs to stay dry, which is not the case when I use hardshell pants, unless they have vents. I usually wear 34 inch inseams, and with these pants, the 34″ inseam is a good fit. They’re long enough that I don’t worry about them rising up with each step, and they stay in place over ski boots no matter how deeply I bend my knees.

e REI’s inner fleece lining is super comfortable.

Some cons: The prior version of the Mistral was made with Schoeller fabric, a tried and true softshell material. This edition is noticeably thicker and less pliable, even just as one bunches them up in their hand. This makes them a bit stiffer and less form fitting. It also means that consumers are getting an off brand product for the same price as the formerly used name brand product. The pants now have a snap button closure rather than a push-through button. I’ve had bad luck with buttons tearing out on other items in the past, so I’m not a fan, but have had no bad luck with the button so far. I like that the pants now have four zippers over the pockets, but the flaps that come with them impede access to the zipper. The flaps on the front pockets face forward, which actually attracts, rather than repels, snow. Also, the stitching has tended to come undone in small sections of both pairs of these pants that I’ve owned. This is quickly repaired, but obviously should not be happening.

Good luck trying to open your rear zipper in a hurry, or with gloves on! The flap really hides the zipper.

Anything missing? Leg based cargo pockets would be a cool thing. Being in the mountains requires a good amount of small pieces of gear (gel packs, energy bars, bottles of iodine, sunglasses, sunblock, etc.) and one quickly runs out of places to put it all within easy reach. As I tend to backcountry ski in these pants on all but the coldest of days, the area on the inside bottom of the pants tends to get cut by both ski edges and crampons. I’ve taken to sewing a large (6” x 6”), tough, denim patch to the pants in this area to prevent premature retirement. It works well. I also tend to spray waterproofing on the pants for winter use, which keeps them watertight, rather than ‘resistant.’ That may somehow mess up the evaporative abilities of the fabric, but in winter, I don’t sweat as copiously as in summer. And after a winter’s worth of washings, the waterproofing wears off, so I’m golden by the time summer rolls around.

Overall, these pants are versatile, flexible, and well designed. They’re great for all the mountain activities in which I engage, which is why they’re my softshell pant for everyday use. Hopefully the next edition includes some minor changes; it would be easy to make these pants rise from ‘good’ to ‘outstanding.’