Arc’teryx Sentinel Pant

Arc’teryx Sentinel Pant

Product Weight: 574 g / 1 lb., 2.4 oz

Reviewer Info: (5’10”, 130 lbs., Inseam: 29”, Waist: 27”)

Size Tested: Medium

Color: Annabelle Green

Features:

• Waterproof, Breathable, Lightly insulated
• Durable
• DWR finish (Durable Water Repellent)
• Micro-seam allowance (1.6 mm) reduces bulk and weight
• Tiny GORE® seam tape (13 mm)
• GORE-TEX® three-layer construction
• Women’s specific design and fit
• Thigh vents
• Articulated knees and seat
• Gusseted crotch
• WaterTight™ external zippers
• Front fly with snap closure
• Hidden stash pocket
• Cargo pocket
• Hidden Recco® reflector
• Powder cuffs with gripper elastic
• Low-rise waist
• Belt loops

Test Locations: Big Sky, Moonlight Basin, and Bridger Bowl, Montana; Keystone, Vail, Crested Butte, Beaver Creek, Eldora, and Breckenridge, Colorado

Days Skied: 22

MSRP: $450

[Editor’s Note: Having spent more time in the Sentinel Pant, Morgan Sweeney has updated her review, in particular, the breathability and durability sections.]

The Sentinel Pant is Arc’teryx’s premier lightly insulated pant in their women’s outwear line.

Materials

Arc’teryx uses a Gore-Tex Soft Shell, three-layer construction as the main material of the Sentinel Pant, then seals the pant with a high-quality DWR (Durable Water Repellent) finish. The 3L construction (versus 2L) tends to be more breathable and more durable—this fabric is made to be extremely resistant to wind, rain, and snow, while also allowing sweat vapor to evaporate more easily. (If you are interested in learning more about the nitty-gritty details of waterproof/breathable materials, check out BLISTER’s Outerwear 101.) In other words, the Sentinel’s materials are top-notch, which in large part explains the $450 price tag of the Sentinel.

Fit

The Arc’teryx Sentinel Pant is made for freeskiing performance, meaning it is a slightly more relaxed fit designed for unrestricted movement. Still, I’ll admit I was a little hesitant to wear ski pants specifically designed for women. With some women-specific pants I’ve tried (e.g., Spyder, Isis), I’ve found the fit to be too restricting, specifically in the upper thighs, knees, and waist. With the Sentinel Pant, however, these are total non-issues.

For one, the Sentinel Pant sits slightly lower than most women-specific pants I have worn, fitting snuggly over the hipbone. That might sound a little too low-rise for snow pants, but I think it’s a perfect fit. Arc’teryx has made this rise possible by not only implementing a wide waistband (2 ¼” high), but also by increasing that width to 3 ¼” high in the back of the pant. This subtle but important feature helps keep the pants in place on the skier’s hips.

Also helping to keep the waist in place is a built-in belt. I’d never even given a second thought to wearing a belt until I tried on the Sentinel Pant, and now I don’t think I could buy a pair of ski pants without one. Reason being, a built-in belt has less bulk and is actually more functional than a separate belt—it secures the entire circumference of the waist rather than at just six contact points where belt loops usually lie. (Though if you can’t bear the idea of ditching your favorite belt, the Sentinel Pant does feature belt loops as well.) The buckle is also extremely simple—I could even adjust it without taking my mittens off—and stays secure all day.

Another reason I haven’t cared for women’s-specific pants in the past is that they didn’t allow for much layering, which I tend to be a fan of. In the Sentinel pant, I have enough room to wear two layers, or even three on particularly cold days, without them feeling restrictive, an issue I’d encountered with other pants like my Spyder Women’s Empress Full Side Zips.

Arc’teryx also created this pant with articulated knees and seat by adding more material in these areas for increased flexibility. The gusseted crotch of the Sentinel Pant is also a great improvement from the overly baggy Men’s Quicksilver Surface 8K Insulated Pant I had been wearing (an overcompensation for more room after wearing the tighter Spyder Empress pants.) This gave me a comfortable amount of room to move my legs freely, without feeling weighed down by the extra material of most baggy pants.