ProView – TREW Gear Men’s Tatoosh Jacket + Bibs

From first impression all the way to the final day of testing I must say, “wow”.  The Tatoosh bib and jacket are a high quality, classy, and fantastic kit. What better place to put this insulated bib/jacket combo to the test than Alaska! I’ve taken this jacket on a journey from the chilly single digit slopes of Alyeska Mountain Resort to a winter off roading trip in negative temps to a frozen glaciated lake, and back to the warmer and wetter winter temps of Juneau, Alaska. I can properly say I’ve tested this kit in some seriously demanding conditions, and I’ve been overwhelmingly pleased with the results.

When I first opened the package and inspected the garments I was really impressed at the quality of the material, ESPECIALLY the insulation on both the jacket and the bib. I was also impressed with how clean and stylish both pieces were together, and independently! The morning after receiving the kit we flew up to Anchorage for a ski weekend with local friends. The very next day we got a full day of riding in temperatures between negative 3 and 13 degrees Fahrenheit.  I had previously never skied in temps below zero, so I overdressed by wearing a 250 weight Smartwool top and bottom as well as Patagonia r1 pants and an OR Deviator fleece up top. I underestimated the warmth of the Tatoosh bibs and ended up taking off the R1 pants and being completely content riding all day. The next day we ventured out with some friends on one of Anchorage area’s numerous winter off-roading trails. We ended up cooking dinner and having a small fire on the frozen, iceberg strewn shores of Kinik Lake. To say it was cold would have been a vast understatement, and it was snowing heavily as the night descended. Thanks to the Trew gear, my legs and body stayed nice and toasty, though I could not say the same thing about my feet and my hands!  The third day of the trip was spent riding the thirteen inches of powder that Alyeska had received the evening before, and the kit held up well once again, this time riding in the continuous cold and dry powder. Sadly, it was time to head back home to the warmer maritime snowpack of Juneau where the real breathability and weatherproofing of the kit was put to the test. Juneau Alaska is NOT known for “blower pow”. Our local ski mountain is on an island, and the top of the mountain doesn’t break 3,000 feet, so we get that real wet and heavy snow. It is indeed not uncommon to have the mountain report encouraging folks to wear their Gortex or even Grundens rubber/PVC rain slicks. Since this kit is billed as an insulated, COLD weather kit, and is not Goretex or E-vent, I was concerned to brave the warm and wet snow of a Juneau storm cycle.  What I discovered is the weatherproof treatment on the fabric held off the half snow half rain very well.

Style

The Tatoosh Bib and Jacket are super clean and stylish; you could be out around town wearing these (at least these colors) and folks wouldn’t have a clue that you were wearing snow gear. Another thing I appreciate about the style is that the logos are subtle and not ostentatious.

Fit/Comfort

The Tatoosh bib and Jacket are super comfy, they stretch when and where they need to and the material that faces your skin is super soft and well stitched. I personally don’t like having bare skin contacting most synthetic insulated garments. I normally prefer to wear a long sleeve or long john layers as a buffer in between, but the material which they use to house the insulation and the way it is quilt/stitched is surprisingly comfortable against the skin. As far as fit goes, these things fit me great! But that might not necessarily help you, so let me clarify. They run a bit big and on the loose side. I’m 6 foot and about 175 lbs and I fit the medium perfectly. I have an annoying tendency to fall directly between a medium and a large with most products because I have an unusually long torso — many medium jackets are like belly shirts and medium bibs often ride up into rather uncomfortable places. Wearing a medium in the Tatoosh bib and jacket I did not have either of those issues.  Pro tip: if you’re on the fence about what size you should get, email the good folks at TREW gear like I did, they know the products super well and if you give them your measurements and what you intend to use it for, they can point you in the right direction.  It saved me from ordering a large and having to return it. Cheers guys!

Features

Most of the features of this jacket and bib combo I quite like. For example, the venting on the bibs is quite functional. We do a lot of hiking out to the “side country” at our home mountain which generally results in about 10-15 minutes of slogging through deep snow, slightly uphill, wearing all the layers you would normally wear to stay warm. I was afraid I would become a hot and sweaty mess wearing this insulated kit, but I opened the crotch vents, and the big single side vent as well as unzipping the jacket and the pit zips I didn’t sweat any more than had I been wearing my layers and gortex shells. I appreciate the number of pockets for both the bibs and the jacket. The bibs have a kangaroo chest pocket, two hand pockets and a 4^th exterior large leg pocket. The jacket has 4 large exterior pockets on the body/torso and another perfectly placed pocket on the left shoulder for a ski pass. One thing that I found a bit strange was that the hood was just large enough to encompass a large ski helmet, but the hood was not large enough to fully stick out past the helmet and therefore keep rain or snow off the face and goggles. I really liked the Velcro cuffs on the jacket, they allow the jacket to be closed securely around the wrists or around the outside of gloves without knowing that there is Velcro there, and without the Velcro catching on all of your wool or other Velcro bits. Another thing I really appreciated about the bibs is that the elastic shoulder straps are fixed onto the bib, therefore they can not accidentally come undone whilst riding, or wiping out… but mostly riding, of course. 

Weight and Packability

These certainly are not the lightest and most packable bib and jacket on the market, but that is not what they are intended to be. As these are not meant to be shells or an ultralight back country kit, I don’t intend to stand here and knock them for being big or bulky. Compared to competitor kits like those of Outdoor Research and Helly Hansen I feel like they are average in weight and packability.

Function/Performance

The Tatoosh Bib and Jacket do exactly what they claim. They’re a durable, water repellent fabric which has insulation to keep you warm, yet they also have enough space to allow for unrestricted movement whilst skiing as hard as you want.  So, for this, I give them a five-star rating!

Construction/Durability/Room for Improvemnet

Alright before I list a few minor things I feel like could be improved upon, I want to start this by reiterating that the construction, attention to detail, and quality of these bibs is top notch, and a welcomed experience in a market where a lot of ski kits are being mass produced and really feel like it. With that out of the way, there are a couple of gripes I have with this kit. First, and probably most irksome for me is that the fly zipper for relieving oneself does not zip as low as I might wish.  With long johns and layers, the more accommodating the zipper, the more user friendly. The second issue I drew with this kit Is a couple of the zippers are a slightly smaller gauge than is practical for using with ski gloves and mitts. About 80% of the zippers are covered by a flap of material and are perfectly fine, but there are 3 zippers which appear to be the exposed, waterproof zippers, which are a little more cumbersome. With that being said as the zippers have broken in with time, they are easier to open and close without using both hands or taking off gloves. I suspect with a bit of zipper lube like Tizip that this issue might be resolved.   

What sets this product apart?

I spoke about this earlier in the review, but I really believe it to be trew (sorry, I had to do it once.)  I believe from the construction to the style, it feels like a really high quality, not mass-produced jacket and bib. As a consumer I feel like its pretty hard to find that feeling in the market these days. Most of the big brands have their formulas and are producing gear that seems to cut corners and I didn’t get that feeling with the Tatoosh bib and jacket.

Who is this for?

I trewly (he did it again) believe that this kit is most at home as a cold weather, in-bounds set up.  It has GREAT ventilation, and it is as weatherproof as any of the conditions I tested it against. But when it comes to high output backcountry touring, I feel like lightweight and packable layers plus Gore-Tex shells still are the most functional for the purpose. All this is to say, since the Tatoosh bib and jacket have entered my wardrobe, I haven’t worn anything else whilst I’ve been on the mountain. 

The Final Word

In conclusion, I’m a huge fan of the Tatoosh bib and Jacket and would strongly recommend them to any friend who is looking for an insulated ski kit. I would buy them again in a heartbeat given what I have experienced, and I will continue to reach for this kit as my go-to in bounds ski kit (barring any torrential 37-degree rains storms so famous here in Juneau.)  

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