The North Face Mammatus Bib - Women's - 2008 BCS

The Mammatus bibs are incredible all around mountain performance pants. TNF covered every single detail with these. They are reasonably lightweight, with good stretch for movement, and combine all that with solid gore-tex protection from snow, ice, wind etc to make these extremely high performance versatile ski pants. They have a great drop seat that many other ski/mountain pants tend to lack for women, excellent heighth adjustable sturdy straps, powder boot protectors with interior hooks, good pocket placement, crampon protection patches, and perfectly sized side zips for ventilation if needed. The pants also have a great feminine sleek fit and have a softer, stretch material for the upper bib that allows for chest expansion and upper body movement. These pants can be used absolutely for mountaineering but also for ski touring, ice climbing, and resort skiing as well. I'm 5'8 and wear a women's medium. LOVE them!

flattering and very functional. these dont always come together in the elusive womens goretex bib category. i use them ice climbing, ski touring. on cold days and hot - they vent well and the drop seat works flawlessly with harness or on the fly. i love these pants and have used different versions for over a decade. these are my favorites!

I bought this bib for my wife to ski & climb in. When I saw it, I wanted one. However there are features she didn't like. Fit is athletic so even an XL is tough to fit for a bell shape woman. She too thought the drop-seat wasn't large enough. I got this for a deal on sale or she would have shipped them back. They will work for skiing in light layers, but not for anything that needs an extra fleece layer due to the sizing = NF's and her shape. Use caution for the sizing, otherwise a great bib.

I bought these pants but returned them.
I really liked the fabric that these ski pants were made of- soft to the touch, and quiet - you could get dressed in a dormitory without waking everyone else up.
The drop-seat was a nice feature, but I'm slightly heavy in the rear and thighs (5'7", 145 lbs) , and the hole didn't seem large enough to accommodate my rear without potentially soiling my clothes.
The elastic in the waist would have been more flattering if it was tighter or adjustable.
I consider $400 to be a big investment for ski gear, so any pants with that price tag need to be perfect.