This past March I had the opportunity to fly over the pond to one of my favorite Telemark events called Polartec Scufoneda in Moena, Italy. This small village lies in the heart of the Dolomites, by far one of the most amazing mountain ranges I've ever seen in person. Upon arrival to my hotel room I found a nice pair of ski pants lying on the bed with a familiar FlyLow logo on them. I recognized the cut of the pants, but something was different about the fabric.

It turned out that these mysterious pants were a hybrid of FlyLow's popular Chemical Pants made with Polartec's new material NeoShell. The first thing I noticed when I put the pants on to ski was how supple the fabric was in comparison to heavier fabrics some ski pants utilize. In my opinion the more malleable material was much more comfortable when I was dropping knees.

I spoke with Dan Abrams of FlyLow to ask him how this interesting new combination came about. "Basically, Polartec contacted me last year to make FlyLow NeoShell pants for Scufoneda. They wanted to show the world that NeoShell was tough and he fancied our pants as the toughest ski pants around.  It was very flattering and it worked. The FlyLow NeoShell pants were the most breathable pant we had ever made and the fabric held up great. We thought it is was a pretty dope combo so we are calling it the Especial Pant." For those of you that like beer you'll appreciate Dan and the FlyLow crew giving the nod to their favorite après beverage Modelo Especial.

My entire week in Italy was spent skiing in not only the new Especial Pants, but also some jackets from Westcomb and Marmot that I really enjoyed. The weather was rain mixed with snow for the first couple of days, but I was pleasantly surprised not only by the water and wind protection, but also the breathability of the fabric. I wasn't overheating, but I was still staying dry.

"We should have some ready this winter for a sneak peak but the real production will be released in 2012," Dan told us. So although you may have to wait to slip into something especial this winter, there are still some other Neoshell products that are worth checking out that will be on the market this year. 66 North, Mammut, Marmot, Montura, Rab, The North Face (North America only), Vaude and Westcomb will all have products available.

-JM