Pants+Rain Shell vs. Just Softshells

I'm planning a weeklong hiking trip through Scotland in May. I've been told to expect anything as far as the weather is concerned, especially rain. I am familiar with winter/snow hikes and summer hikes, but cant seem to find the perfect pair of pants to handle both.

I cant decide weather to bring some basic trekking pants and carry a rain shell, or try to find a suitable soft shell that would do it all (so I can carry less and not have to worry about srcambling into a shell) without being over-kill.

Basically, I'm looking for one pair of pants that are waterproof/breathable, not made of cotton (obviously), offer some protection from the wind, wont overheat me, and that will be comfortable for a hundred miles with a heavy pack on.

Any suggestions?
Cheers,
Eric

Don't want much, do you? Well, what I have found is that soft shells (and different companies have very different ideas as to what "soft shell" means) breathe well, are warm when dry in no wind conditions, but are only water-repellent (NOT waterproof) and only somewhat windproof (except Windstopper and WindBloc fabrics, which don't breath very well). If you are in a slight drizzle, my Schoeller jackets and pants work well enough (also in snow that is cold enough to not melt). But you say "Scotland". Hoot, mon, Scotland is where they invented real rain! None of this nambypamby stuff you see in the Rockies, New England, or Florida hurricanes. And it is COLD rain. I swear the raindrops are at least 20 deg below freezing. And it rains all the time in Scotland. See, those who told you to "expect anything" lied to you - in Scotland any time of year, it is simple - expect lots of cold, blowing rain.

Ok, I exaggerate a little bit. It only rains 90 percent of the time other than when everything is icing up. But remember that MacIntosh was a Scotsman (inventor of the first real raincoat in the world).

Semi-seriously, Scotland is one of those places where you really do have to practice layering. It's been a while since I have been in those conditions, and Schoeller fabrics didn't exist at the time, but I would suggest a pair of Schoeller pants and a jacket (or one of the knockoff fabrics that are very similar) with a eVent or Gore outer shell for pants and jacket (Schoeller in my experience is the best of the soft-shell fabrics, and is a family from quite light weight to fairly heavy). For the pant shell, get a pair that have full side zip so you can put them on and off without having to take your boots off. I would favor the eVent shell over the Gore, again based on recent experience (hiking and climbing the past few weeks in the Dolomites with several rainy days).

Thanks, sounds like I'll definitely need the hard shell pants. So, here's my next quandary. If space and weight weren't an issue, I'd be bringing along (in the pants department only) a base layer, a pair of nylon convertible pants, a soft shell, and a hard shell. That would cover all the weather bases, but space and weight are an issue. So what could I get leave behind and still be comfortable in the weather extremes? The nylon convertibles or the soft shell?

I'd get rid of the soft shells. They seem the most redundant of the bunch. With the others pants in varying combinations you should be able to be comfortable in a wide range of weather conditions.

I agree with alan that the softshell is the first layer that I would give up, but are you sure that you won't need all four? With my Patagonia base layer, NorthFace Paramont trousers, and Marmot PreCip Fullzip pants it still gets chilly during a cold rain. I'd recommend keeping the softshell as well.

I like my Marmot PreCip pants; they are extremely lightweight and waterproof, but I am carefull not to charge through the brush in them as they will probably tear.

And don't forget your head, feet and hands. You can wear all the layers you want, but if your boots and gloves get soaked, you'll still be miserable. Keeping your head warm and the rain out of your face is a whole different issue.