Breathable and Stretchy for Skin Tracks All Season: Stio Tracksetter Ski Pants Review

Dawn patrol, by definition, starts before sunrise. Skins on, boots snapped partially tight, I started striding into the darkness. Within 10 minutes, I had stripped down to my base layer sun hoodie. As the sun rose, casting orange light on the peaks all around me, I picked up the pace.

My softshell ski pants, Stio’s new Tracksetter Pants, were put to work. Between the stretching, breathing, and ongoing protection from the crisp morning air, I was impressed by the Jackson Hole brand’s new pants. 

You’re not grabbing softshell pants like the Tracksetters for every ski day. The “soft” in softshell implies that they’re not waterproof, but they’re typically breathable in exchange. That was exactly what I needed for dawn patrol that morning and for 80% of my ski tours in Colorado for the rest of the season.

A lot of companies botch their softshell ski pant offering for one reason or another. Sometimes it’s the waist fastening, sometimes it’s the cut, and sometimes the fabric leans too far into one side of the protective-to-breathable spectrum.

But I had a hunch that Stio might have put together something special with their new Tracksetter pants. I stuffed my legs inside and headed out into the backcountry to find out for myself. 

In short: Most ski pants flounder on the skin track and in the backcountry. That’s because ski touring comes with a few specific design requirements that don’t matter so much when the lifts are spinning. Stio’s new Tracksetter Pants ($229) address those skin track requirements head on. They fit, articulate, and stretch with the best of them and refuse to restrict movement during long strides or big compressions. Their PeakVert Stretch Doubleweave softshell fabric exchanges waterproofness for excellent breathability. The feature set is satisfyingly minimal. It adds up to a solid pair of backcountry-oriented softshell pants for earn-your-turns skiers.

Check out more ski pants in our Best Ski Pants buyer’s guide.

Stio Tracksetter Ski Pants Review

Stio’s ski pants have a reputation for great fit. The design team clearly takes their time to dial in the fabric patterns so they move naturally and look great. Their three-layer hardshell Environ Pants are a great example. But the Environs aren’t nearly breathable enough for fast-moving backcountry endeavors. As if on cue, Stio has cooked up a new pair of softshell pants that address that exact limitation — the Tracksetter Pants.

Fit and Cut

Stio’s Tracksetter pants fit like those special softshell pants you’ve been hanging onto for the last 10 years. By that I mean they fit like softshell pants should fit — comfortably with some room, but not too much.

Because of the fabric’s stretch, extra room in the waist and legs isn’t necessary to facilitate restriction-free movement. I also don’t want them to fit like spandex ski pants from the ’80s or a skimo skinsuit because frankly, I’m not moving uphill fast enough for that. 

The Tracksetters bridge the gap with their relaxed but relatively slim cut from waist to cuff. The legs had plenty of room for my base layers without engaging the stretch factor at baseline. The seat was fitted, but not so tight that it looked out of place outside a nordic track. And the inseam was thankfully long enough to fully cover my ski boot cuffs without creeping up when I sat on the chairlift. 

In addition to generous four-way stretch, the Tracksetters double down on mobility with a movement-oriented fabric pattern and articulated knees. I felt virtually no constriction while skiing, skinning, sitting, or even squatting.

The Tracksetter Pants come in 1-inch waist increments from 30 to 40 inches. I loved that Stio skipped any kind of integrated belt since they can be the Achilles’ heel of otherwise great pants. Instead they added tried-and-true belt loops that I paired with my favorite ski belt.

But, there’s a small catch and I found it quickly — the two belt loops in the front are weirdly close together. If you go a hair large on sizing like I did, it’s possible for them to “bottom out” in the front and make tightening more complicated than it needs to be. Call it a nitpick, but I think those two front belt loops should be a few inches further away from the center line. 

Pockets

Pocket design matters in the backcountry. In addition to having a lot of things that need to ride in my pants since I’m constantly shuffling layers on my upper body, full pockets shouldn’t infringe upon good movement. The Tracksetter Pants employ four pockets: two on the hips and two on the thighs. 

The zippered hip pockets are simple and compact. Most importantly, they can stow an avalanche beacon snugly and securely without it bouncing or flopping, though they do not offer leash anchors.

The left thigh pocket is roomy and zippered, plentifully large for all manner of things. A big, stretchy inner pocket divider adds organization and can hug a phone or avalanche beacon to your thigh to both keep it warm and prevent phone flop.

An anchor loop is included inside for attaching a phone or avalanche leash. With such a stretchy fabric, it was possible to overstuff the pocket and let it bulge. And it didn’t restrict my movement even at maximum capacity — this one right here is a gold star pocket. 

The right thigh pockets go a different direction. It’s an elastic drop-in style pocket that lacks any kind of closure at the top. “That’s unfortunate,” I thought to myself on my first tour. But then I couldn’t stop using it.

I loved how easy it was to slip my phone in and out as I was navigating through the woods using Outmap on my phone. It’s stretchy and deep enough that my phone never bounced out while I was testing the pants. But be warned — it definitely could with the right jolt. For that reason, it’s decidedly off limits for an avalanche beacon.

Cuffs

The cuffs on softshell ski pants typically fall into one of two categories — narrow cuffs that open up to accommodate ski boots or wide cuffs that can be cinched or buttoned in to take in the slack. The Tracksetter Pants employ the former strategy, and it’s the right one.

When zipped open, they accommodate even my chunkiest alpine touring boots, La Sportiva’s Sender, with the buckles opened and the cuffs relaxed in touring mode. And they were fitted enough when my boots were locked tight into ski mode that they didn’t look like bell-bottoms. 

I loved that the Tracksetter’s cuffs zipped to a narrow configuration for versatility’s sake. They were narrow enough to wear with mountaineering boots, hiking boots, and even trail runners. That’ll be great for long spring approaches that start on dirt trails with approach shoes and for folks who will reach for softshell pants for shoulder-season hiking and camping.

They even worked great for a day of ice climbing. The Tracksetters cover more bases than most other softshell ski pants.

It’s important to note that the Tracksetter Pants do not include an internal gaiter to fully seal out snow, relying instead on a grippy lining inside the main cuff to hug the boot’s cuff. While it may not be 100% sealed from the powder, I prefer this design for ski touring because it makes boot adjustments and transitions much quicker. 

Breathability and Waterproofing

I could feel the Tracksetters breathing as I powered up the ski resort one morning before the lifts started spinning. Even while my back and head were covered in sweat, my lower half was swamp-free. They breathe really well for softshells, and that’s important because the Tracksetters forgo any venting. That might be a dealbreaker for folks browsing the specs, but it shouldn’t be in this case.

Sans vents, the breathability praise lands squarely with the PeakVert Stretch Doubleweave softshell fabric. The 94% recycled nylon/6% spandex mixture lands right in the middle of the softshell weight spectrum at 295g/m². Not so light that they feel flimsy, but not overly burly, either. But most importantly, air moves through it. 

The flip side of breathability is protection from the elements. Given their strong breathability, I wasn’t expecting much in the water-resistance department. But they did fine when snow and even a light rain started coming down. The durable water-repellent finish did its job in deflecting light precipitation.

While kneeling in the snow, my knees got wet. They’re far from waterproof, but they’re protective enough for light storms in dryer climates like Colorado. You wouldn’t want to be wearing these on the chairlift while it’s nuking.

Warmth

As I trudged into the wind, I was impressed by the Tracksetter Pants’ protection from gusts. Again, nothing like a waterproof hardshell, but it was enough to take the icy bite out of the gusts without completely surrendering. I felt protected on a sunny but blustery day of lift riding with the right base layers underneath. 

The fabric adds a hint of insulation by virtue of being a moderately thick softshell, but the Tracksetter Pants are technically uninsulated. I dialed in the temperatures with base layers, especially Le Bent’s ¾ length Featherweight Bottoms. And I toured happily without any base layers on sunny days. They’re versatile in that way — just warm enough on their own without compromising breathability.

Conclusion

I spent many days slinking up skin tracks in the Tracksetter Pants, and that’s really where they shine with their mix of breathability, fit, and stretch. Stio isn’t claiming otherwise, but I’d call them ski touring specialists. Sure, they can work for a day of resort skiing in good weather, but most skiers will be better served in resort scenarios with a more relaxed fit hardshell pant like Stio’s own Environs.

The Tracksetter Pants can compete head-to-head with the best touring-oriented softshells on the market in terms of performance. And their attention to fit stands out from other touring-focused pants in GearJunkie’s Ski Pants Guide — the waist-tightening system is significantly better than the Black Diamond Recon LT, and the relaxed cut will resonate with more skiers than Outdoor Research’s Cirque III. 

The Tracksetter Pants are a solid new touring-focused entry from Stio that are worth a look for human-powered skiers needing excellent breathability, moderate protection, good fit, and great articulation for the skin track and deep backcountry adventures.