POC Consort MTB Dungaree review

While I’ve yet to resolve the shoe problem (they keep stopping making the shoes I like, just as I discover them), my trouser difficulties have been addressed by dungarees. I love them. Held up by the straps on my shoulders, I no longer have to find that magic ratio of waist/hips/thighs/length. They are forgiving of many desserts, and my bum never sticks out of the top of them. Apart from in a portaloo at a bike race, dungarees are wonderful, and whenever I’m not in shorts, it’s dungarees I reach for.

Imagine my delight then when I discovered that POC was making dungarees (or ‘overalls’ to the US market) specifically for mountain biking. I simply had to have them. But, oh my, the price. At nearly a quarter of the value of my car, I doubted whether I would ever be able to lay my hands on such things. Thankfully, the folks at POC recognised my qualifications in the world of dungarees, and sent me a pair to test.

POC Consort MTB Dungaree Features

They are designed to be fully waterproof dungarees, with taped seams throughout and a 3-layer fabric waterproof to 15,000mm. You zip yourself into these dungarees with two long side zips that extend to the thighs where they can open up for ventilation. A popper faster ensures the dungarees stay done up at the top of the zip, and an adjustable waistband across the small of your back gives some waist adjustment. Further zips on the thighs reveal pockets for a phone, and a teeny tiny pocket for a credit card or uplift pass. A zippered pouch on the bib of the dungarees offer further storage space.

The legs are cut to make room for a pair of knee pads – I’ve comfortably worn them with both slim Fox Enduro knee pads, and bulkier Ion K-Pact Zip ones. The tougher cordura fabric over the knees leads down into tapered calves with stiffened cuffs around the ankles, keeping the fabric of the trouser legs well away from your drivetrain. Up top, two straps with Velcro adjustment clip to the bib front, keeping your dungarees up. These clips only fasten one way round – I feature I like as it helps stop you having twisted straps.

On the trail

Despite all these features, and my love of dungarees, I wasn’t sure whether these would have a place in my riding wardrobe. How bad would the weather need to be to justify dressing up like a North Atlantic fisherman? Testing called, and for my first ride the skies were blue – though the trails were slop. Wearing the dungarees with just a long sleeved jersey, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the temperature regulation was good. The dungarees kept me warm enough to not need a jacket, but with my upper body in a technical jersey rather than an outer shell, warm air could vent off me. The thigh vents added a little extra cooling on the longer upwards slogs.

Turning downhill, there was no faffing to stop and put on extra layers – the front of the bib stopped the wind cooling my core, just as a gilet would. Riding without a mudguard, the back of the bibs also stopped me getting an unpleasant wet behind. For making those days where the water is already on the ground that bit more comfortable to ride, the dungarees are great – removing the need to wrap yourself up in gilets or jackets that you have to add and remove as you climb and descend.

On really foul days – and there have been plenty – there’s a lovely feeling to being all wrapped up like a toddler in a onesie, with no gaps for the elements to get into. If only there were also riding wellies. Even on one particularly shocking ride beset by hail, rain and gale force winds (we did eventually turn round and go home) I never suffered with cold except for in my feet and face.

They are waterproof, but as with all that I’ve ever encountered these do wet through and especially so at the bum where you’re grinding all the muck and wet of the trail into your saddle and bum fabric. Nonetheless, they are probably as good as I might hope for on that front. I noticed a slight quirk when riding in high-top shoes – the water would run straight off my legs and directly into my shoes – whereas with just a shoe on the stiff cuff tended to guide the water over the tongue of my shoes. Perhaps for use with with boots or high tops, some sort of heel strap or lace hook would be welcome to prevent the shoe filling experience.

I’ve been testing the small – these are a unisex dungaree, and I am a 5 foot 9.5 woman. I suspect that if you’re more than an inch shorter than me you’re going to find these too long in the legs. With my body shape, I have no need of the rear waist adjustment to nip them in. They fit me nicely, and I wouldn’t want to go up a size for fear of baggy legs, but those with a belly might like to note that they are not terribly roomy. If I put a riding hoody underneath I struggle to get the side zips done up.

To date, the dungarees have held up well, though at the price you’d hope so. I’d love to see some extra reinforcement or super tough material around the seat area, as this is where all my other waterproof bottoms tend to fail first, by rubbing away along the seams. I’d also like a different colour – the desert sand colour is not a great match for trail mud and they’re rather stained.

I’m torn – I love these, but I can’t imagine ever spending this amount of money on them. But then, I can’t imagine spending a similar amount on skiing waterproofs either (and that’s easily done), and people clearly do. I’d certainly get more wear out of these than I would many get from snow gear worn for an occasional holiday. In fact, I think I will likely wear these for almost every ride that isn’t warm enough for waterproof shorts or just shorts. They’re super comfortable and practical for anything short of multi day bike packing, when going for a wild wee might get tiresome (though guys get the benefit of a fly). 

An added quandary I find myself in is that these are the only mountain bike dungarees I’ve worn. I do wonder whether I might trade off the top notch waterproofing for something more like a cheaper softshell fabric. Would that deliver many of the cosy benefits without the price tag? Maybe… Could I trade off the breathability and some of the technical features like zips for something a touch more basic? Probably… I reckon I could compromise on having something cheaper that I only wore on epically foul days.

Value is in the eye of the beholder, and depending on your perspective or your disposable income, maybe you’ll be happy to fork out for these. I do love them, but before I could ever justify buying these at RRP I’d need to have bought a new boiler, figured out why my car starts second time – or third, and allowed the kids to turn the heating up above 18 degrees.

Overall

If money is no object and the fit is right, I think you’ll be glad of your purchase and be surprised at just how practical these are for riding in the UK. So far as I’m aware, they’re the only waterproof MTB dungarees on the market right now, and I’d love to see other companies have a go, in the hope of making them available at a lower price to more people. As a nice to have, or a means of staying cosy on a really grim ride you just can’t avoid, these are great, and a big step up in comfort and fit from any waterproof trousers I’ve tried. I will be wearing these until they die – or summer comes.

Update:

After two more months of wear, Hannah had more to say. Check it out here.