The Women's Iceline pant is Outdoor Research's new ice climbing pant for winter 2015-2016. The pant boasts many technical features specifically designed for it's intended use of ice climbing in cold and wet conditions.

Outdoor Research Women's Iceline Pant
Size: XS-XL
Colour: Black
Price: $245 USD
Weight: 18.7oz/530g (Medium)

Internal belt system:

Instep lace system that keeps your pants down with a harness on and keeps the snow out on approaches.

Pros: These pants get me many envious looks at the ice climbing areas. The functional features and quality construction creates conversations with almost everyone I meet. 

The lower back flap is a bonus and is a smart design feature of the pants. I keep mine flipped up at all times and it's nice to know when you bend over to put your harness on no snow will be entering!

The front of the thigh vent zippers are useful on long approaches or hot car rides. They work well with a harness on and are easy to open and close with gloves on.  The vents and breathable Ventia fabric are able to regulate my temperature with ease. This fabric performs well in wet conditions - I have never felt moisture seep through.

The tapered legs are nice for ice climbing. They aren't too tight to constrict movement, but slim enough to not get snagged on crampons. The articulated knees are perfect for moving on ice.

The instep lace is like an internal gaiter strap that is fantastic for keeping the pants from riding up when you put your harness on. This feature is genius and I wish all my climbing/hiking pants had this feature.

The polyester grid fleece does in fact keep my system warmer in the winter. As a female who frequently gets cold thighs and butt, I can honestly say my legs have never been warmer ice climbing. I can layer underneath and don't feel any restriction in movement. I tested these pants down to -16C/3F.

The Ventia fabric has not shown any signs of damage or wear, even with ice screws and other sharps near the pants constantly. I generally wear gaiters when I ice climb to prevent crampon holes, but constantly doubt my need for them with these pants. So far, I haven't risked going without.

Cons:
I have never used the two pockets in the pants and wonder if others ever use them as well. Not sure what I would carry in them that wouldn't restrict my ability to climb.  

The cordura ankle scuff guards are great, but for my perfect climbing pant, they would have to come up mid-shin height. I always use gaiters and if I get a slash (normally from walking not climbing), it always comes just higher than the guard is. 

Best Uses: Ice climbing of all kinds.
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These are the BEST ice climbing pants I have ever owned. I would buy another pair in a heartbeat if these ever wore out, which I'm not expecting they will for a long time! Well thought out pants Outdoor Research! Great design!

Full disclosure: I was given these pants as part of Outdoor Research's #ORInsightLab. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The brand new Outdoor Research Iceline jacket is a technical ice climbing jacket new for winter 2015-2016.

Outdoor Research Women's Iceline Jacket 
Size: XS-XL
Colour: Black/Rio, Rio/Apple, Ultraviolet/Night
Price: $285 USD
Weight: 19.6oz/555g (medium)

Features: My initial impression of the Iceline jacket was positive. Right out of the package, this jacket has a number of features I have NEVER seen before on any technical jacket shell. The water-resistant and breathable nylon/spandex Ventia fabric is fused with an inner polyester fleece grid insulation. This allows both heat to be trapped and dumped at the same time! 

The Dynamic Reach Underpanels are created to stretch when reaching overhead. The hood has an interesting halo hood cinching system that tightens around the helmet, locking the hood in place. Another cool feature this jacket has are internal wrist pockets for handwarmers. The velcro around the wrists is also aggressive and the internal and external pockets are large.

Pro's:  The colour and stylie-ness of this jacket is awesome. When showing it off to other women, everyone wanted to try it on. It seemed like in every photo I took and everytime I went out someone complimented me on the how the blue (Rio/Apple) colour 'pops'.

The polyester fleece grid lining the inside of the jacket is soft and I can say it does add warmth to your system. I wore the jacket from -16C/+3F  to +2C/34F on my test days.

The underarm panels do stretch when ice climbing and there was no feeling of pulling when reaching overhead.  The aggressive velcro wrist straps work well cinched tightly when wearing my gloves that extend over the wrists of the jacket.

Many of my friends were super keen on the hand warmer pocket on the interior jacket near the wrist. I never tried this feature as I wear battery operated gloves, but an interesting feature nonetheless!

The hood easily fits a helmet underneath and the halo hood cinching strap does fit tightly around the helmet. With the strap snug, the hood seems to work like a cohesive unit with your helmet so moving your head in different directions is not cumbersome.

I like the positioning of the pockets, easy to use with a harness on. 

A few of my test days involved wet, drippy conditions. The Iceline stood up to all the moisture and I never got soaked. The waterproof breathable Ventia fabric shined in all weather conditions and was able to manage my varying levels of heat production with ease.

So far I have had no issues with durability of the jacket. The lighter blue colour is showing some discolouration from dirt, but there has been no signs of wear.

This jacket has become my 'go-to' jacket for ice climbing. It has permanently replaced all previous shells I was wearing and has far exceeded all my expectations.

Cons: I would describe the fit of this jacket as 'regular'. I would have designed this jacket with just a inch or two longer length at the back. I never had any issues with the jacket pulling out of the harness, but I like the longer length at the back at the winter for coverage and for warmth. Other than that, this jacket is perfect for what it's made for!

Best Uses: Ice Climbing

Full Disclosure: I was provided the OR Iceline jacket for this review as part of the #ORInsightLab program. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

After trying the Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody in Spring 2015, I fell in love with the Polartec Alpha fabric's ability to facilitate thermoregulation. The highly anticipated Outdoor Research Uberlayer Jacket is Outdoor Research's winter jacket with the same technology. Outdoor Research has designed it to dump heat on the uphill and keep you warm on the downhill, never having to take off the jacket or adjust layers. I was keenly interested in testing their claim and wondered if the hype was warranted. The jacket is Outside Magazine's 2016 gear of the year award winner so my interest was piqued.

Outdoor Research Women's Uberlayer Jacket 
Size: XS-XL
Colour: Black, Elderberry, Hydro
Price: $299 USD
Weight: 16.7oz/472g (medium)

Features: At first look, the jacket looks and feels like a mid-layer jacket of fleece thickness. The Hydro (blue) colour was gorgeous and immediately some key features started to stand out: