Arc'teryx Sabre Pant Review

These pants offer excellent weather protection, top-notch comfort, and style, and they ventilate well.

Performance Comparison

Weather Resistance

The Sabre is built with Gore-Tex in the shell for top-notch weather resistance. All seams are sealed, and the zippers are all waterproof. The sleek design of these pants means that there are no extra flaps of fabric that can catch snow or wind, and they easily shed all precipitation. Powder cuffs prevent snow from entering the legs of the pants, and the powder cuffs also feature two slits for the boot's power strap to be fastened over the powder cuff. This allows easy transitions for backcountry skiing.

The thick shell fabric easily protects against the wind, and the weather resistance of these pants is only surpassed by bibs. We reach for these pants for any day of the winter, from touring in the backcountry to deep days at the resort, confident that they will keep snow, wind, and rain out. They even have snap clips where a Sabre Jacket can clip to the pants to create a weatherproof full-body suit.

Fit and Comfort

We have come to expect excellent tailoring from Arc'teryx, and the Sabre Pant upholds this reputation. These pants fit like a glove. They are perfectly cut through the hips and legs and allow a full range of motion.

They are also comfortable to wear. The interior of the shell fabric has a fleece-brushed liner, which prevents the fabric from feeling plasticky, as other 3-layer pants often do. In a testament to their comfort, we find the burly and resort-specific Sabre is also excellent for backcountry touring, as long as the pace isn't too fast or the weather too warm.

Ventilation

Ventilation in the Sabre Pant is provided by long external leg vents. These vents don't have mesh backing, which is great for maximizing airflow. The Gore-Tex fabric is somewhat breathable, but the brushed fleece lining will trap some heat and make the pants feel hotter. We took these pants into the backcountry, where the vents provided excellent airflow for hot uphill travel, but the thin fleece lining added some heat and made these pants feel a little more stuffy than we would have liked.

On warm uptracks and bootpacks, these pants aren't as breathable as we want them to be. They are suitable for 90% of days at the ski hill and 80% of days in the backcountry. But on the warmest days at the resort or warmer-than-average days on the skin tracks, their ventilation comes up short.

Warmth

These pants don't provide much in the way of warmth or insulation. We don't mind this, as we prefer shell pants that allow us to layer underneath as necessary. Our lower bodies aren't as sensitive to cold as our upper bodies, and as such, most skiers prefer shell-only pants for their lower legs.

These pants feature a brushed fleece lining, which provides a minimal amount of insulation power as warm air will be caught between the fleece fibers. On the coldest days of winter, layer properly, and these pants will keep you warm. However, if you don't know how to layer for the cold, we recommend an insulated ski pant.

Features

The Sabre is decidedly light on features. These pants offer two zippered leg pockets, each located on the thigh. One pocket has a loop for attaching car keys or a transceiver leash, and the other has a mesh slot for a cell phone. These pockets are located in a great place on the thigh, not too far to the side and not too far to the middle. However, there are no waist pockets.

There are also powder cuffs that keep snow out of your ski boots and an integrated belt with a secure fastener so that you don't have to bring your own. Other than that, these pants are pretty bare-bones in terms of features. Most expert skiers we polled think this set of features is adequate for most days at the ski hill, but unless you have your pocket plan dialed, you might think these pants don't have enough of them.

Style

The Sabre pants have a neutral yet refined style. Their cut is perfectly articulated to match our body shapes when we are skiing, and this refined style is evident when our testers zipped past us on the slopes. The cut is form-fitting through the thighs, and they open up enough to fit easily over ski boots. The zippers are clean and discreet. We wish other pants would take style cues from these pants. We think these are among the best-looking ski pants on the market.

Style is subjective, and many people want their ski pants to be the least noticeable part of their ski kit. We understand this sentiment and must report that these pants don't stand out much at all. Rather, they offer slight style cues that suggest a sophisticated look. They aren't loud, but they are refined. They certainly cost a lot, but this price comes with great looks.

Should You Buy the Arc'teryx Sabre?

These pants are not cheap. For the high performance and durability that Arc'teryx guarantees, the cost is worth it for the most hardcore and serious skiers. Many other pants on the market almost match the performance of the Sabre and cost a lot less. But for those who want an excellent pair of pants that will perform day in and day out through many winters, these are worth it.

What Other Ski Pants Should You Consider?

We love the performance of the Norrona Lofoten Gore-Tex, which is very similar to the Sabre and has more useful features, but its DWR treatment wears off faster. If you want good hardshell pants but don't want to spend a lot of money, the Flylow Chemical performs well enough for most days at the ski resort, but it doesn't lack the versatility for the backcountry. And if you're looking for a hardshell better suited for backcountry skiing, the Patagonia Stormstride is a great choice for users who spend most of their time away from the resort.