Waterproof, Stretchy, Breathable: Black Diamond Recon LT Ski Pants Review

My ski touring partner and I kicked steps into the imposing west face of a classic Gore Range peak. I paused to look up at the first rays of morning sunshine fanning over the ridgeline. The ascent was a mix of waist-deep facets under a breakable crust, front-pointing the face, and scrambling abrasive granite. On climbs like these, ski pants are put to the test. 

It was a complicated day for layering, especially for the lower half of my body. We had to move fast, so I needed something breathable. Plus, I would be crawling over wet snow for hours and getting hammered with ridgetop winds, so I’d need something protective. But given the abrasive nature of the climb and the miles of bushwhacking, I also needed something durable.

The Black Diamond Recon LT Stretch Ski Pants showed up the day before, and I decided to give them a shot. If they could hang on a day like this, chances are I could take them just about anywhere.

The Recon LT ski pant was designed to be a lightweight yet durable hardshell built for skiers and snowboarders planning to wear them in the backcountry or at the resort. The design is supposed to not compromise waterproofing, breathability, or durability. 

In short: The Black Diamond Recon LT Stretch Pants ($350) blur the lines between softshell and hardshell, backcountry and resort functionality, and breathable versus protective. The designers managed to tease out the key characteristics of each while maintaining a low overall weight and a competitive price point for waterproof pants. The best part? They can stand up to the rigors of backcountry skiing, rocky scrambling, and getting beat up at the resort. Just double-check your sizing — the integrated belt leaves room for improvement.

Black Diamond Recon LT Stretch Review

After many days of skiing deep in the backcountry and lapping the resort until my legs fell off last winter and spring, the Recon LT Stretch ski pants stood out for many reasons. They also took home an award in the Best Ski Pants Buyer’s Guide.

Easily the best thing about the BD.dry fabric is the four-way stretch. Many other waterproof fabrics, including GORE-TEX Pro, do not stretch at all. That’s a big deal in pants since it can seriously impede movement. The Recon LT stretches so well in all the right places that they almost feel like softshells in that regard. 

Even with all the functionality and bomber fabric, the Recon LT weighs in at 479g. That’s competitive for pants in this class.

High Waterproofness and Breathability

Black Diamond’s proprietary BD.dry waterproof-breathable four-way stretch shell fabric is easily the highlight of these pants. The membrane is a very good alternative to GORE-TEX, which just happens to drop the price point. I was impressed after several days of back-to-back storm skiing that the wetness outside never got inside.

Even after kneeling in wet spring snow pits, the Recon LT proved to be plentifully waterproof. According to Black Diamond, BD.dry has a 20,000mm waterproof rating — less than GORE-TEX Pro’s 28,000mm rating, but hit the mark for skiing in just about any winter weather, at least in the high alpine of Colorado. 

That’s the easier part, though. Breathability is what sets waterproof fabrics apart from each other, in my opinion. While these snow pants don’t quite breathe like softshells — like Black Diamond’s exceptionally breathable Dawn Patrol Hybrid ski pants and ski jacket — they’re very good for hardshells. This design has a moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) of 20,000 g/m2/24hrs, which is well suited to high-output aerobic activities.

Zero Insulation, Layering

With a 40-denier fabric, the Recon LT is just thick enough that I tend to forgo base layers for most touring days, which is the same strategy I take with softshell pants. Even during light and fast ski tours with my speediest partners, the inside of the pants never felt clammy, and man, can I sweat when I’m moving quickly uphill. Between the breathability of the BD.dry and the generous vents, I was able to maintain a sustainable temperature on the climb. 

The Recon LT ski pant is non-insulated. For ski days at the resort, I didn’t hesitate to wear my fairly thick ¾’s Woolf merino baselayers and even my Fjallraven Keb Fleece Trousers when it was really cold outside. I wasn’t wishing for anything more with those base layers, even for chilly chairlift rides. 

The Recon LT employs two waterproof zippers down the sides of the pants from hip to knee. They provide big vents that can expel a lot of body heat quickly.

But be warned — they’re not mesh-backed, so snow will pour in when you’re wallowing in deep snow with the vents open. The nice thing about these vents is that when they’re open, the pants stay low profile and don’t billow out, and are therefore less prone to getting snagged on branches.

Fit and Ski Boot Compatibility

Black Diamond defines the Recon LT as a regular or “classic universal” fit that offers comfortable ease. The pants might feature slight body shaping but have a predominantly straighter fit that will accommodate midlayers more comfortably, says the brand, which I generally found to be true.

But for touring pants, they’re very wide from the knees down, in my opinion. Between that and the stretchy fabric, I felt no restriction with long touring strides. I could take high steps while bootpacking without any issues, which is not always the case for hardshells.

I did, however, snag my crampons on the inner leg (even up by the knee) several times. There’s a lot of loose fabric there to get caught.

The short, very wide, and flared cuffs are purpose-built for ski or snowboard boots. They don’t pair well with other mountain footwear or nordic boots, and they’re even on the gaping side for ski boots. The durable patches inside the lower legs help fend off crampons, ski edges, and rocks close to the ground. They’ve kept the pant cuffs remarkably fresh over the test period.

Elastic cuffs underneath the outer shell are taut and stretchy. They easily kept the snow at bay, even after an hour of bootpacking, by creating an impressive seal on my touring boot. It worked well for leaner boots like my SCARPA F1 LT, bigger La Sportiva Vanguard, and my alpine ski boots, Dalbello Cabrio LV 130.

Plenty of Pockets

I’ve always been a big fan of the integrated avalanche beacon pocket, which is on the right thigh of a number of Black Diamond’s ski touring pants. Inside the pocket is a small pouch that feels like neoprene that’s universally shaped to hold a beacon like a holster.

Why not just have a beacon loose in your pocket? Because it’s annoying when it bounces around and flops sideways. The beacon pocket fixes that. My Mammut Barryvox S stayed put for the duration of every tour I went on. There’s also a loop in the pocket for attaching the beacon’s elastic cord so it’s impossible to lose if it’s dropped.

The beacon holster is not removable from the right thigh pocket, which could be annoying for those who prefer a chest harness or who are using these pants entirely in the resort. It works great as a phone holster, though, so that’s a great option for those users.

On the other side, the second thigh pocket is big enough to accommodate large phones, snacks, maps, and a handful of ski straps. And even when it was stuffed full, it stayed low profile on my thigh.

Most importantly, both pockets are positioned high enough that they don’t interact with your knees when you’re touring, which was not the case with some of BD’s pants in the past. The Recon LT pant pockets are refined in all the right ways. 

Room for Improvement

My first adventure in the Recon LT ski pants quickly revealed their main flaw, and I should have known better.

As my ski partner and I toured through the morning darkness, the Recon LT started sliding down my waist. I paused and moved the hook farther up the webbing ladder that’s built into the waistband to what felt like was tight, buckled my backpack’s hip belt, and kept skinning.

Within 20 minutes, the pants were sliding down. I stopped again and this time hooked them all the way tight, but the problem persisted. By the time we were halfway up the face in crampons, I had rolled the waistband over itself twice to stop them from slipping down. 

The pants weren’t too big. My waist measures right in the middle of the 31.5-34-inch waist range for men’s size medium, but I’m mostly square from shoulder to thigh without much hip.

Still, the integrated belt should have much more range, especially for users opting to use the avalanche beacon holster pocket. An even better solution? Add low-profile belt loops for users who want more options, more security, and less slippage. 

Conclusion

Rarely do I come across ski pants that transition between resort skiing and the backcountry as seamlessly as the Black Diamond Recon LT Stretch Pants. They’re durable and waterproof. They’re breathable and movement-oriented for human-powered days.

A lot of that versatility comes from Black Diamond’s outstanding BD.dry 3L waterproof fabric, which makes all these great qualities possible. And these snow pants sit at a very competitive price.

My main gripe with these pants is the insufficient waist fastening options that will require a DIY solution. Fit is subjective, though. Backcountry skiers and splitboarders that do find a good fit in the Recon LT are in for a very versatile pair of ski pants that are at home inside the resort boundary or out on the skintrack.