Review: POC's New Waterproof Dungarees & Pants
DIY, mountain biking, salmon wading... these dunga's can do them all.
A little while ago we received the literature for the new season's clothing from Swedish clothing manufacturer POC. There was one garment that stood out - the Consort MTB Dungaree. Before we get into what these are like to ride in, let's just address some things straight off the bat.
First, they're expensive at $500 USD. Second, the expression of ice-cold irreverence that the model wore in the promotional materials was not one that I felt encapsulated how I felt when I wore them. In fact, it would be hard to say that I felt the word "cool" would be representative of how I felt being seen in them. Ultimately, I'm not somebody that likes flashy things. Almost all my clothes are black, I drive a clapped-out Dodge Caravan and I'm more likely to spend money on nice bread than I am on an expensive round of drinks. So maybe they're not for me to begin with.
First, they're expensive at $500 USD. Second, the expression of ice-cold irreverence that the model wore in the promotional materials was not one that I felt encapsulated how I felt when I wore them. In fact, it would be hard to say that I felt the word "cool" would be representative of how I felt being seen in them. Ultimately, I'm not somebody that likes flashy things. Almost all my clothes are black, I drive a clapped-out Dodge Caravan and I'm more likely to spend money on nice bread than I am on an expensive round of drinks. So maybe they're not for me to begin with.
Consort MTB Dungaree Details
• Six sizes - XS - XXL
• 15 000mm waterproof
• 30 000gsm breathability
• 3-layer fabric Cordura reinforced fabric
• DWR treated
• Zipped sides for ventilation
• Shoulder & waist adjusters
• $500 USD
• www.pocsports.com
• Six sizes - XS - XXL
• 15 000mm waterproof
• 30 000gsm breathability
• 3-layer fabric Cordura reinforced fabric
• DWR treated
• Zipped sides for ventilation
• Shoulder & waist adjusters
• $500 USD
• www.pocsports.com
Functionality
I do, however, enjoy riding bikes and wouldn't describe myself as a fair-weather rider. If you ever go out puddle bashing or in generally sodden conditions, you may well find that the water coming from the tires is your chief adversary when it comes to staying warm and dry. In these conditions the dungarees are fantastic. In fact, on wet rides when it wasn't actively pouring, I'd often couple them with a long sleeve jersey and found them to work very well together.
They are very effective at covering all the splash zones.
When worn with a rain jacket, the dungarees are noticeably warmer than typical waterproof pants, and while pedaling it felt like I was losing a pint of sweat almost instantaneously. There are vents on the side of each leg, which helps, but I'd say these are best suited for cooler temperatures. Truthfully, I find it hard to ride for hours in most waterproof tops and bottoms, but the Consort dungarees do make long wet rides a far better experience and make bog-bashing a far less intimidating prospect. They are also truly excellent for bike-park or shuttle runs.
Fit
The fit is definitely more generous than typical riding trousers. I would normally ride a medium size in POCs trousers or shorts, and although they fit well around the legs, at 183cm tall I found I ran out of adjustment of the shoulders. Standing up they were fine, but when riding I found the back panel came under too much tension. This makes the baggy fit slightly more concerning, as the medium was already verging on being too large around the legs.
Both a long zip to get into the garment as well as zippers on both sides to access beneath the dungarees themselves.
Features
The dungarees, as you would expect from an item that costs $500 are certainly not short of features. The fabric itself is three-layered and Cordura reinforced with a 15000mm water column rating. The material also features a fluorocarbon free DWR treatment. It claims to be highly breathable, too, with a vapor permeability of 30000gsm/24hr.
The fit around the legs is made with knee pads in mind and it features fit adjustments via the waist and shoulders. There is a chest pocket, zipped hand pockets, and a zipped card pocket on the rear side of the item. There are also zipped sides, should you want to increase the airflow around your legs.
There is a certain amount of adjustment to the waist. Not much, but it makes a difference and secures it around your waist.
A chest pocket is just big enough to fit a smartphone in.
#activewear
Pros
+ Splash protection
+ Lots of useable adjustment, if you get the sizing right
+ Great for shuttle runs
+ Work well in showers combined with a jersey
Cons
- Divisive looks
- Slightly baggy around the leg
- Expensive
- Might be hard to get the right fit if you're in between sizes
Slightly more conventional looks.
The dungaree isn't the only new wet-weather trouser from POC. In fact, their Ardour All Weather Pants are completely the other end of the spectrum when it comes to the looks - although their functionality isn't totally dissimilar. The pants have more of an emphasis on mixed conditions and have waterproof material paired with stretch fabric to provide something that will keep you dry and also keep you comfortable. So far, so good. The black trousers also benefit, at least in my opinion, from more conventional looks.
M's Ardour Pants Details
• Five sizes - S - XXL
• 15000mm waterproof from the knee down
• 30000gsm breathability
• 3-layer Cordura fabric
• Elasticated cuffs around ankle
• DWR treated
• Velcro adjusters on waist
• $250 USD
• www.pocsports.com
• Five sizes - S - XXL
• 15000mm waterproof from the knee down
• 30000gsm breathability
• 3-layer Cordura fabric
• Elasticated cuffs around ankle
• DWR treated
• Velcro adjusters on waist
• $250 USD
• www.pocsports.com
The Ardour pant is an item that a lot of mountain bikers have probably wondered about or wished for at some time or another. Waterproof below the knee and around the saddle but blended with breathable fabrics everywhere else. This is at the core of the Ardour and it works very well.
Waterproof material from the knee down and around the saddle area seems like a good idea to me.
Personally, as previously mentioned, I'm rarely reaching for waterproofs top and bottom. I'm not saying there isn't a time or a place, but I find it often best to just accept you're going to get wet and make peace with it, especially when it's not only wet but also cold.
The Ardour pant feels like a garment far more suited to pedaling than the dungarees, and because they're more breathable you can combine them with a jacket and run cooler. I see the place of the dungarees for shuttling, but for general riding, I think the more traditional pant would be what I would go for.
On long pedals, they work well and they really feel like they manage to stave off the boil-in-a-bag feeling compared to some full waterproof trousers.
Plenty of adjustments available via velcro straps on the waist.
Fit
The medium size pant fits true to size in terms of the waist and length, at least by my reckoning. It's also consistent with POC's other items.
The fit itself is again slightly larger around the leg and knee than I would like. They're not baggy, but they're certainly roomier than I would like. I understand the need to have knee pads fit underneath but it feels like they've been taken a step too far. I would love to see the pant with a racier fit, akin to the one you might find on standard riding pants.
Zippered pockets on both sides.
Features
The pant has many features, some for fit and some for performance. As stated, the trouser features 15000mm water column rated fabrics around the areas you would most commonly get wet or splashed. Much like the dungarees, there is a fluorocarbon-free DWR coating. They boast vapour permeability of 30000gsm/24hr.
There are zipped hand pockets on both sizes and a cardholder at the rear of the pants. The fit also includes waist adjusters and elasticated ankle cuffs. I really like this, and they feel tight and secure around the base of the leg. I only wish that fit was followed up the calf further.
Pros
+ Breathable in key areas
+ Waist adjustment
+ Breathes well
Cons
- Slightly baggy around the leg
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What you get here for $500, are pants with a no-name membrane made by a company that does not seem to know how to make stuff that will last for years instead of months.
@norcalnomad: you can get stuff cheaper than that from companies like Arc’Teryx and such and their quality is X10 better and actually using proven materials and membranes that are far superior- Goretex Pro
Maybe because where I ride you just can't ride when it's wet... but to me this seems like a silly unnecessary product that the world just didn't need. Seems like good softshell riding pants will protect you well enough while being infinitely more comfortable and durable, no?
These aren’t aimed at bad weather mountain bikers- these are aimed at middle suburban dads, who “ride” MTB at weekends away from the family, in the local community forestry area.
Any true biker will either invest in a proper outdoor brand that cater for proper outdoor lifestyles or, they’ll buy a cheap set know that it’ll get trashed within a season or two.
@gerhards: yeah they sure are sweet!
Either way, it’s expensive but it serves a purpose. I don’t ride in the rain often, but if I get the chance to ride shuttles or a chairlift, I don’t want the rain to put me off.
As a longtime Arc'Teryx user I've had some amazing performance from their garments, and a lot of warranty work.
Mostly on my Alpha SV jacket which has been totally replaced three times due to Gore-Tex delamination.
I've also had so many glued seems come undone and had to be sent I for warranty.
Really the quality of Arc'Teryx a'd Gore-Tex isn't the reason to pay the price, but the ironclad warranty that means when it fail (not if) you'll be taken care of.
That's the problem with a brand like POC where their fabric might delaminate and you're stuck with a failed product.
Although in my experience I find it incredibly frustrating how my Arc'Teryx jackets always fail going into winter and then I'm stuck in the warranty loop for a month or so. So even though I get a new jacket every few years it can drive me crazy.
Anything with a waterproof membrane will have zero stretch and will breathe worse than a fabric without one.
Waterproof pants are meant for the kind of weather that a softshell can't handle. If you don't need that level of protection, then softshell is obviously the better choice for you.
I will say, I’m a fan of poc - longest running pair of gloves I own; however, the dungarees are a weird progression, a direction, including price, I can’t get behind.
There are actually a lot of really good 3 layer fabrics out there these days with very substantial stretch. If you've ever seen a membrane on its own you know the membrane is actually incredibly stretchy... it's the backer and face fabric that are the limiting factors. I saw someone mention TNF futurelight here, that's a great example of a true 3 layer with great stretch. You are clearly not up to date on technical fabrics if you don't think anything with a membrane can stretch, so I'm not sure why you are so opinionated about this subject.
So all my clothing goes to the washing machine when every ride is finish. Only exception is shoes if they are not dirty at all and it is not summer I wash them every few rides (3-4 rides).
I had like 4 complete ridding kits including shoes/helmet just to been able to ride a full week not going crazy my stuff.
(That should about cover all the bad pun options)
Be safe be well,
Incognito Robin
Be safe be well,
Incognito Robin
Be safe be well,
Incognito Robin
Not that I'm in the market for a pair of $500 overalls, but these statements in clothing reviews are frustrating: What on earth does that mean? I'm not asking for exact dimensions, but saying something like "I'm 1.7 meters tall and 68kg with a 76cm inseam, and a size medium fit me well" would be a lot more useful.
I mean, OK sure. I just automatically order XL in everything because I'm a tall fatass, but even then XL in Castelli and XL in Carhartt mean two /entirely/ different things.
www.cabelas.com/shop/en/white-river-fly-shop-rubber-boot-foot-waders-for-men?ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Shop%7CGeneric%7CAllProducts%7CHigh%7CSSCCatchAll&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsqOMBhDFARIsAFBTN3d0a1CRoLAHOT4Py-Lq8Zdr71TSEKqKfE0_gdtZlVOvKKx8tQWiDgkaAs89EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
These are a good idea though. I would deffo consider some Endura ones at £100
Also, I could just be cynical but it's hard to imagine them staying waterproof in the area that rubs the saddle.
The dungarees are probably not designed to sell any units but more to get people talking I guess? Why else would they be twice the price of the trousers for an extra square meter of fabric and two straps?
This doesn't seem like a $500 pant crowd, so questioning the review.
At that point, there’s FAR better options out there that can found and even made better with a seamstress doing a little work for you with zippers/hemming/etc
1) It'll hide their butt cracks
2) They can afford it after charging you several hundred dollars just to look at the problem.
3) At least the overall will provide some waterproof coverage if something goes wrong with the pipes.
Yeah, so these overall weren't really made for biking
2) Glad to see all 212 comments before me likewise instantly hate these and
3) To be honest - truly, why the f*ck would anyone need these and
4) Does it come with a trapdoor poop & piss flap because it looks like a dirge to have to pull those down to do either
For all those who wonder. They don’t stretch. They look way flimsier than my GTXpro skiing pants and I really don’t want to know how pooped they look after a few proper mudrides
I don't like tight fitting clothes, I don't care if on a WC DH level they're 1 second slower over a 3min course. I'll still be 15min slower than those folk even if you put me in a skin suit!
I'm shocked.
Still way over priced but I just got a pair GPX Pro trousers at £90, do everything I need on the bike and all other outdoor stuff.
The pandemic is serving well the industry....the prices are continuing to go up ( understandable) but i am wondering if they ever return to the pre pandemic values......prolly not.
i saw today the 7mesh jacket that Remy Metalier wears....500€......why not buy a regular Salomon????
A comparable Salomon Gore-Tex Pro 3L jacket would be their "OUTPEAK GORE-TEX 3L" and it costs... wait for it... €499.99
500€ is simply a "standard" MSRP for high end GTX Pro hardshells.
300€ for simple GTX Pro jackets with fewer features (a single pocket, no pit vents, not adjustable cuffs etc).
...also bike-specific clothes have a better bike-specific fit and usually have lots of nice little extra features that general outdoor clothes lack
When we show our top end jackets in new bike shops we often get asked about being expensive. When we show them to bike/outdoor crossover shops (especially in Europe) we often get asked what shortcuts we're taking to make them cheaper. [Before the flames - 'cheaper', not 'cheap'!]
Lol people that buy this kit for $500 are idiots.
Way betterer
+ Splash protection
+ Lots of useable adjustment, if you get the sizing right
+ Great for shuttle runs
+ Work well in showers combined with a jersey
Cons
- Divisive looks
- Slightly baggy around the leg
- Expensive
- Might be hard to get the right fit if you're in between sizes
Maybe on my Walmart coveralls .
they'll spend $200 on a stem which does next to nothing for performance and gripe about a pant that will
let you ride in any condition.....
but again, most here are obviously fairweather riders spending time commenting instead of riding
I read the product description again, and there is really some phrase which make you think it’s also waterproof on the backside.
Well I don’t know what to say. I’m really confused and disappointed
I just bought a pair of older MEC full length pants at Value Village for $10, and that's what they're worth.
Hilarious
No, no I checked again it’s still not April 1st
People will actually buy these