Burton AK Hover Pant, Review – The Gear Locker
These pants are built specifically to withstand the daily abuse of pros and guides alike. If they’re good enough for Mikey Rencz and the rest of the team, they’re good enough for the rest of us… Image:: Burton
Mountainwatch | Alex Horvath
ED: Welcome to The Gear Locker. We’ll be putting products through their paces and reporting back on how they stack up. Got some gear you think we should check out? Get in contact via alexh@mountainwatch.com
WHO: [ak] by Burton
WHAT: 3L Hover Snowboard Pant: A three-layer pant that is manufactured with the highest quality, fully taped, GORE-TEX® 3L fabric with in-built stretch. It is also available in GORE-TEX® Pro Shell for extra breathability.
Image:: Burton
WE THINK: There’s really only three qualities a good pair of snowboard pants need to possess: warm, dry and comfortable. Most pants will achieve two out of three quite easily, but as anyone who’s settled for sub-par outerwear will tell you, they won’t all stay dry forever. The only real way to ensure that you’re one hundred percent sealed is to buy a pant that uses GORE-TEX®. Burton employs the fabric across all of their high-end [ak] range, and we’ve now spent close to 50 days testing out their top-end 3L pant, the Hover.
The Hover utilises a three-layer GORE-TEX® Pro Shell construction; this is really what sets it apart from any other pant I have used. Firstly, GORE-TEX® keeps you dry in any condition. I’ve used it in pouring rain in Australia, and on a -25ºC powder day in Japan; never once have I had any issues with moisture. In addition to this, the 3L pant also has an ever so slight in-built stretch, which is the feature I appreciate most when on my splitboard or hiking – particularly when needing to make an awkward kick-turn on the skin track.
The pant has zippered vents on both sides, letting you easily regulate temperature. As expected, the pant is super breathable, which is appreciated when hiking on warmer days. At $499.95 these pants are certainly not on the cheap end of the price scale, but when compared to similar pro-level pants from other large outdoor brands they are surprisingly good value for money. Best of all, like all GORE-TEX® products, they’re backed by a lifetime warranty.
PRICE: $499.95
