Baggy is in — but not all snowboarders want the baggiest end of the spectrum. Fortunately, the L1 Premium Goods Axial Pants serve up just enough swag while still being technical, functional, and having a slightly articulated fit.
Back in 2022, the brand L1 launched a looser-fitting, genderless collection of outerwear, including the Axial pants and jacket. After seeing several riders snowboarding in this particular pant-jacket pair, I was eager to test how the L1 Premium Goods Axial Pants perform alongside the jacket.
I typically wear lady-specific outerwear, so I was surprised I liked this design so much. Then again, L1 Premium has been crafting apparel for more than 2 decades, since 2002. They’ve built credibility and know a thing or two about solid outerwear.
In short: The unisex L1 Premium Goods Axial Snowboard Pants ($430) has a baggy-enough silhouette that allows you to move nimbly through the terrain park and various terrain without excess or heavy fabric. With a moderate weight, the technical textile is waterproof, breathable, windproof, and has a four-way stretch. I appreciated the ease and comfort of the elastic waistband and the deep, softly lined hand pockets. I liked the zippered leg gussets and elastic leg hems. These weatherproof pants have an equally clean look for ladies and dudes alike. I tested these pants alongside the matching Axial Jacket: check out the review.
Read the full review or jump over to The Best Snowboard Pants buyer’s guide.
L1 Premium Goods Axial Pants Review
I kicked off testing this non-insulated resort kit — the Axial Jacket and Pants — at Crested Butte Mountain Resort in spring 2024, logging 7 days in-bounds. With the start of the 2024-2025 winter ski season, I tested the outerwear for another 7 days at CBMR and Telluride Ski Resort.
In an eye-catching light lavender, dubbed Haze, countless compliments rolled in from friends and passersby on and off the corduroy, and from guys and gals. The jacket and pants have a heritage look that stands out. I found that the fit runs true to size.
While lapping these two resorts, I logged more than 53 hours, 322 miles, and 100,474 vertical feet in the kit. That excludes après and catching the bus to and from the mountain. All to say, there was ample time to test these layers in snowfall and cold temps.
Most days, I wore a medium-weight or heavyweight wool base layer beneath these snowboard pants.
Elastic Waistband & Integrated Belt
If you haven’t heard of L1 Premium Goods, the brand is led by pro snowboarder and designer Jon Kooley. And it’s held by Foundry Distribution, which houses Nitro Snowboards alongside Eivy Base Layers, Autumn Headwear, and Corduroy beanies.
The first thing I noticed about these snowboard pants was the unique elastic waistband: It’s among the most comfortable waists I’ve ever worn on snow pants. Plus, there’s plenty of stretch to pull these pants on over curvier hips or glutes.
These snowboard pants don’t stand a chance of falling or sagging off, even for riders with narrower waists. There’s a traditional zipper fly topped with a strong singular snap that’s bordered by a Velcro patch: smart! On other designs, I’ve had solo snaps like this pop open throughout the day, which is not an issue here.
There’s an integrated adjus-table belt with a plastic buckle, which I use every time I wear these pants. I don’t even notice the webbing while I ride. The waist would likely feel too roomy for me without the belt.
The interior waistband is lined with soft fabric, adding comfort. And there’s a roomy yet lean hang loop on the inner backside, as well as two exterior loops, to hang the pants up at the end of a sesh.
Windproof, Waterproof Fabric: Top Notch
Throughout my field testing, the weather ranged from freezing to very frigid temps with windchill and a couple of 0- to 10-degree days. I caught two full powder days with consistent, fluffy snowfall.
One day in Telluride, we experienced a bizarre mist that coated everyone’s goggles and outerwear with a thin sheet of ice for several hours. Fortunately, the Axial pants performed better than what my ski partners were wearing (sorry, y’all!). The fabric resisted absorbing the heavy moisture or becoming a pure ice sheet. (That’s not an exaggeration — the moisture blast was that bad.)
Despite all that weather, the pants remained dry and warm.
This fabric has a relatively high level of waterproofness and breathability — at 20K/20K — plus PFC-free DWR. The textile is also manufactured with 87% recycled polyester. All of the seams and stitchwork are heat-sealed with water-repellent tape, too.
While the fabric weight is not light, it’s not heavy, either. That said, I would personally only wear these snowboard pants at the resort and would not prefer to backcountry touring in them. The density is substantial, and they have a denser feel than a traditional three-layer fabric. While the fabric isn’t buttery, it feels relatively smooth compared to crunchier options.
Beyond adequately blocking precipitation and wind, I really appreciate the fabric’s pliability. I never felt restricted in these pants, regardless of bending over to strap in, reaching down for a grab, or getting low in the glades.
Pockets & Vents
If I was working up heat, the exterior leg vents offered a generous length and were easy to zip open. There’s no mesh panel, so the vents open directly to your base layer.
The Axial Pants have three pockets. The two hand pockets are spacious, and they are lined with a light, soft fabric. These are both roomy enough to fit a large phone, and the righthand pouch has an integrated key clip.
A third backside pocket is on the right, which I don’t tend to use but is a great place for a credit card, ski pass, or another slender item you don’t mind sitting on while riding the lift.
Zippered Leg Gussets & Baggy Fit
Another detail I love about these snowboard pants: the zippered leg gussets. After pulling the zips down, there’s no snowboard boot these pant legs can’t fit over. Even with the zips shut, the elastic hem is super stretchy: I was able to pull the pant leg down over a double BOA snowboard boot with ease, even without the zippered gusset.
The elastic hem also makes these snowboard pants adaptable. I could pull the leg up above my snowboard boots during après or while walking to the bus, wear the pants as capris at the parking lot while swapping footwear, or easily snug the legs up above super tall winter boots.
This baggy (but not super baggy) silhouette delivers just enough roominess without feeling bogged down, especially if you’re riding all-mountain and prefer to explore a variety of terrain. I personally prefer slightly articulated designs, versus straight or extremely baggy, so this was a happy medium in my book.
There’s adequate length and circumference, which I appreciated when bending over to tighten my binders, pulling up my knees on a jump, and generally getting low through the trees or other terrain.
If you’re stoked on rocking snowboard pants with even more droop, L1 offers those, too — like the unisex Ventura, Aysun, and Krush for ladies, or the Rankin for lads, to name a few.
Critiques
The biggest critique I have isn’t a dealbreaker and is something I hardly notice but slightly bugs me: When I tighten the integrated belt, there’s a pretty long tail, and there’s only one belt loop — but it’s relatively close to the buckle. So the tail hangs free, and I wish there was a garage to park it in.
Another drawback is more functional and changes how I utilize these snowboard pants. While the hand pockets can fit a large phone, the space is snug enough that the phone hits my hip crease. This happens when I’m in an athletic stance on moguls, bending over to ollie, and definitely when I lean over to adjust my bindings.
As a result, I tend to carry my phone in a hand pocket of the Axial jacket, which is also not my favorite place to carry a device, and the phone still gets in the way when I bend over to adjust my binders. Perhaps a thigh pocket could be added where a phone could be carried, or the size of the hand pockets could be increased to better accommodate a larger phone.
Not all folks like a non-mesh-lined leg vent, so that might deter some.
After 14 days on snow, the lavender color is starting to look a tad dirty, so keep in mind that lighter colors in general might require more care or general maintenance to preserve a fresh appearance.
Conclusion
Designed by riders for riders, the L1 Premium Goods Axial Pants are stylish. While they’re baggy, they’re not super baggy. They’re an entry gate for snowboarders that prefer a more articulated fit even within a looser design.
With a technical approach, these snowboard pants are made with a textile that barricades the wind, snow, and mist while riding the ski lift. They perform well while standing in long lines, rallying powder laps, and going bell-to-bell. The fabric’s four-way stretch enabled movement, whether I was bending over to fix my bindings or throwing a grab.
Most of all, I appreciated the elastic waistband, as well as the zippered leg gussets and elastic hems on the pants. I can always get my pant legs down quickly and with ease over the neck of my boots, even with a Double BOA design.
It’s easy to see why the Axial Pants, and the Jacket, get so many compliments on their steez. After testing, I think this snowboard kit hits the mark for riding the resort, from the park to the extreme terrain, no matter what the weather throws at you.
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