The North Face Apex Mens Trekking Trousers

I used my recent purchase of these mountain pants in the dry and quite hot Picos de Europa in Spain in November, Lake District in wet November and and recently (february ) on the wintry North face of Pen Y Fan doing a couple of snow+ice climbs.
The fabric and cut are brilliant. Stretchy, comfortable and light. Warm yet not clammy which is what you need when your active. Water repellent and almost like teflon keeping snow off. Quick drying in the wind or hanging near heat. Also very classy, but not loud and look at me branding. The design at the leg bottom is great as you can get to your boots/lacing easily with the zip at the bottom and stretch fabric. I did not wear gaiters and with the powdery conditions up to my knees, regularly had to empty out snow build up under my trousers and at the top of my boot. Wearing gaitors would fix that but I don't like wearing them when I am wearing crampons as I like to see where my front points are clearly. An improvement would be to have an elasticated band at the bottom of these pants like Ron Hill tracksters have to keep them tight under shoes/boots. Otherwise a great piece of kit and still looking good after being hammered in the hills under various hot/cold/wet conditions.
I'd buy another pair when these are shot.