Trew Roam ¾ Bib
Size Tested: Large
Blister’s Measured Weight (size L): ~ 708 grams
Materials:
- Membrane: Dermizax NX (40k breathable, 20k waterproof)
- Body: 40×40 denier nylon dobby weave face, 20-denier smooth knit back
- Knees: 80×70 denier plain weave nylon face, 20-denier smooth knit back
Features:
- Breathable stretch woven upper
- Stretchy abrasion resistant kick patch
- Extra height for crampon protection
- Adjustable heavy-duty stretch jacquard suspender straps with adjustable slip-lock
- Side vents with YKK Aquaguard zippers
- Three zipper sliders on vents for adjustable opening
- Zip fly and belt loops
- Internal boot gaiters with gripper elastic
- Laser-cut PU logos
- Polyester cord with rubber tips zipper pulls
- RECCO reflector
Pockets:
- Left-side horizontal zip hand pocket
- Right-side hand pocket designed for beacon with hanging internal pocket bag secured with triple stitch
- Cargo pocket on left thigh
- Vertical zip stash pocket on right thigh
MSRP: $419
Reviewer:
6’, 180 lbs
Days Tested: 19
Test Locations: Teton Pass Backcountry, Grand Teton National Park, & Grand Targhee, WY; Steptoe Butte & Elk River Falls, ID
Intro
The Roam ¾ Bib is Trew’s complement to their very good Wander jacket that we recently reviewed. The Wander and Roam represent Trew’s touring-specific line, with features and materials optimized for backcountry travel. So does the Roam ¾ Bib perform as well as the Wander jacket?
Fit
As the name suggests, the Roam ¾ Bib is not a full, traditional bib. Instead, it’s closer to those high-waisted jeans that are making a comeback, with a couple inches of stretch material and suspenders built in to the waist.
In my experience, this design still keeps out snow and keeps your pants up like a traditional bib, but also allows the piece to be lighter, and allows the chest area to breathe better.
I am consistently a Large in ski outerwear, and the Roam fits true to size. I generally wear size 32×34 casual pants, and the Roam’s length felt spot on—they aren’t so long that they bunch up under my boots while hiking, but they don’t lift up above my ankles, either. I have plenty of extra space around the waist, which I could cinch down with the included belt loops, but I found the waist is not so wide as to really require that.
The Roam has a slimmer fit than most inbounds pants I’ve used, but it’s nowhere near a skinny fit. It’s a touch baggier than the Arc’teryx Lithic comp pants, but not so baggy as to ever get in the way and restrict motion.
Overall, the Roam’s fit falls on the slim slide of average, which in my opinion, is perfect for a backcountry-focused pant.
Materials
Like the Wander Jacket, the Roam uses a 40D material for the body, and a thicker 80D material for the knees. As I mentioned in my Wander review, the fabric is surprisingly soft and quiet, and has a little bit of stretch. There’s none of that crinkling sound or feel that I usually associate with a 3-layer piece. And after 19 days of touring (and a couple of trips that involved ice axes or a whippet) I have yet to see any sort of wear on the face fabric.
The Roam also uses the same 20k waterproof, 40k breathable Dermizax NX membrane as the Wander jacket, and for a more detailed breakdown of how that performs, check out my review of the Wander.
I have had a similar experience with the Roam pant’s waterproofing and breathability as I have had with the Wander jacket. They are surprisingly breathable; I’ve made it much longer without opening the vents than I have in any other 3L pants I’ve used so far.
I haven’t had any issues with the face fabric wetting out (as I did with the Wander), and in 19 days in the backcountry, including one warm tour full of sleet, they’ve kept me perfectly dry.
Pockets
Most notable is the Roam’s dedicated beacon pocket that’s located on the right thigh. It features an internal mesh pocket for the transceiver, as well as a built-in clip to link your tether to. Before using the Wander I’d been firmly in the “beacons should always go in their harness” camp. But the Wander has won me over.
It fits my BCA Tracker 3 with plenty of room to spare, and although I expected it rub and bounce around on my leg, the pocket’s location and the slimmer cut of the pants mean it stays put very well. In this pocket the beacon is always just one zipper away, and doesn’t interfere with shedding layers like a harness does.
While I’m a huge fan of the Roam’s beacon pocket, there is just one thing I would change: it comes with a huge plastic clip attached to a fabric loop to snap your beacon tether to.
My tether already has a much smaller plastic clip that attaches very nicely to the fabric loop, rendering the bulky plastic clip useless. I’ll probably cut out that clip since I don’t use it at all.
There is another thigh pocket on the left side, perfect for a phone and wallet. There is also a velcro flapped cargo pocket on the left leg, just above the knee. I’ve found this to be incredibly handy for stashing gloves or a hat if you decide to shed them on the skin track.
Above the right knee is a side zipped pocket, big enough for a small snow-science notebook. However, because of its placement, heavier items in this pocket tend to move around and rub while walking.
NEXT: Vents, Cuffs, Etc,
A few comments as I bought a pair of these also to use as touring pants, but had to ultimately return them.
1) I disagree on size, I feel they run large. I’m 5’10”, 150#, 32×30 jeans, traditionally a medium. I tried a medium, and they were huge around the waist. Trew cross-shipped me a pair of smalls, which fit much better.
2) I agree on the oversized beacon clip. I spoke to them about it, and they said it’s getting shrunk for ’16/’17.
3) I disagree on the gaiter size – they were too small to fit over the tops of my Vulcans (27.5). I could barely get it over the top of my Intuition liners, and couldn’t pull it over the power strap / buckle. This was ultimately the deal breaker for me. That said, when I mentioned it to them, he apologized and said that it worked fine for his Maestrales. It will probably be revised for next season.
Overall though, they do seem like a very nice pair of backcountry bibs which I would have kept if they worked with my boots.
Sorry to hear that Andy!
I’m a little surprised, I’m a 32″ waist and the Large, while not snug around my waist, was in line with Large pants from other brands, while a little slimmer, and especially with a bib pant, I don’t expect waists to fit so well for us long and skinny types.
Stoked to hear the beacon clip is shrinking, as I said, I cut mine off and just clip my tether to the fabric loop.
Not so surprised to hear that about the gaiters on the Smalls. I’m actually a little impressed that the Small was long enough for you at 5’10”, my Larges fit fine over both Fischer TransAlps, and my much bulkier Roxa X-Face’s, with Intuition PowerWraps.
I’m planning on purchasing a pair of these + Wander Jacket soon. Both reviews reinforced my decision, so thanks. Being a long time chest wearer of transceivers I was also a bit skeptical about the transceiver pocket. In my unique situation, having Trew’s transceiver pocket to (actually) avoid wearing my transceiver on my chest is great. I recently received both an implanted defibrillator and a mechanical aortic heart valve (2nd one in 30 years). The electronics of the transceiver could actually interfere with my defibrillator if worn too close to it , as well as irritate the area around it. Also, after two open heart surgeries I avoid wearing anything on my sternum which will be sore the rest of my days. Eliminating the challenge of layering (with a transceiver) as well as the quick access to it is another bonus for me and should be enough of a benefit for everyone else. The unintended result of the design for me is pretty cool.
I bought these and really wanted to love them. They wear pretty well and aren’t too baggy (nice for long tours/ any time crampons come out). The things that make me think that the pants aren’t going to work out are:
1. The built in gaiter cuffs. As the poster above said with dynafit boots these are a pain in the ass. It is a wrestling match to get them over an open cuff. In cold weather I don’t like to take my gloves off to mess around with stuff like this.They do their job wearing old school gaiters over my pants would too and also possibly make for quicker transitions.
2. At 5’11 160# I usually wear a medium or small for pants that I ski in. The mediums fit good through the legs. However the waists are basically clown pants. Not the end of the world in it’s self but when combined with the suspenders that slip after a very short period of time and don’t really do there job. I’d rather not have the suspenders and just wear a belt.