“What do you have in your climbing pack?” I get that question fairly often. My daily pack is an overnight pack that I started to carry just so that I could fit everything in.

My answer to this common question: Mostly clothes.

Washington weather during the spring and fall sending seasons can vary widely. It can be wet, cold, or warm—some years it’s even dry. To be ready for whatever Mother Nature brings, I may need shorts, long pants, or rain pants, a puffy jacket or rain jacket. Sometimes several of these in a single day. Today I want to talk about the one thing that I have in my bag that many people don’t—a truly essential piece of gear: puffy pants.

I first got my Mountain Hardware puffy pants (mostly like these) 15 years ago. When I made the purchase, I thought they would be nice while ice climbing or mountaineering. But while my endeavors have changed over the years (see My Path to Sport Climbing), I brought them with me to sport climbing. I put them on over my shorts and harness and put the belay loop through the open zipper.

Does this seem like to much? Overcoming the temperature dichotomy is a serious challenge. When you’re climbing, you generally want cool temps (as cold as your fingers can tolerate), but those ideal sending conditions can be miserable while you’re belaying.

Plus, you want to stay warm so you can perform.

If you don’t currently own a pair of puffy pants, you should think long and hard about the life choices you have made to this point and ask yourself, “Why don’t I own puffy pants? Aren’t I worth it?” They will change your belaying life.

In fact, the wife and I have taken to just sporting them around the house. I mean, why not? They’d just be hanging in the closet, being underutilized, not fulfilling their purpose. We may as well team up and be comfy together.

As she reads and reviews this post, my wife is wearing the Black Diamond puffy pants (kind of like these), and has this to say: “I like ‘em.” What more do you need to know?