POC W’s Ardour All-Weather Pants are great for light trail splashes or deep snow. Just don’t wear them on a RAINY day…
- Brand: POC
- Product: W’s Ardour All-Weather Pants
- From: poc-sports.com
- Price: £230
- Tested by: Amanda for 3 months
Three things I liked
- The fit is close enough for technical riding, but not too tight
- The waist band is cosy inside, and covers my lower back
- Not heavily branded
Three things I’d change
- Waterproof sections should include the seat and back of the leg, at least!
- Pocket position could be further around (side of the leg is my preference on a bike, not the front)
- The ankle cuffs need tighter elastic
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POC W’s Ardour All-weather pants are designed to offer freedom, flexibility and protection in all-weather. We’ve had this women’s (W’s) pair on test through wind, rain, shine, snow and everything in between.
When it comes to winter riding kit, our top halves are extremely easy to dress. Clever layering of merino and a 100% waterproof outer allows for layering to suit the temperature, and it’s easy to find a jacket that can stand up to a strong rain shower. But when it comes to our legs, arguably the most likely to get cold and wet, it seems tricky to get right.
The POC Ardour All-Weather pants are waterproof from the knee down, where POC believes we need the most protection. The seat is reinforced Cordura for durability, and the rest of the trousers (can we stick with ‘trousers’ from here on?) is a highly breathable and mildly stretchy polyamide elastane blend.
POC W’s Ardour All-Weather Pants – fit and features
Before I get out into all-the-weathers, let’s take a look at the design. I am wearing a women’s size medium, my measurements for reference:
- Waist: 70cm/28in
- Hip at widest point: 107cm/42in
- Hip at belt level: 98cm/38.5in
- Inside leg: 84cm/33in
- Height: 173cm
The length is ideal for me. Many riding trousers barely cover my ankles (7Mesh, Fox, Royal Racing and Madison being the shortest in a women’s cut, Endura being the longest) but these do.
The Velcro adjustable waist straps pull forward, making sure the material sits flat against your lower back and hopefully keeps mud out. They cinch in enough to fit me perfectly, despite me often struggling with trousers. I have pretty wide hips and tend to get that gaping waistband at the back. The inside of the waistband is a thin fleece which is much nicer against your skin than the main fabric, and the band sits quite high up the back. There is a credit card sized pocket at the back.
The two front pockets are mesh inside, and are on the least waterproof part of the trouser, so anything in your pockets on a wet day will eventually end up wet.
The half elasticated ankle cuffs are great to get the trousers on, but not quite tight enough for me. For the bottom half of the trousers to be the only fully waterproof part, I’d hope for quite tight ankles to stop water from getting in. Unfortunately, it does.
On the bike
I find the POC W’s Ardour trousers to be a great tailor for pedalling, even with lightweight kneepads on. In temperatures above 8deg, they can be quite clammy, and below 5deg I have been wearing tights beneath.
Now, about the ‘all-weather’ claim… I really have worn these in every weather the UK can offer, and I’m not choosing them for rainy days. We all know that a wet trail splashes up and creates ‘rain from below’, and my bum is immediately wet. The back of my legs also get wet quite quickly, and I find myself frustrated to only have waterproofing on the section that generally has a knee-high waterproof sock below it anyway.
They are resistant to very light rain, and for making a muddy ride easy to clean up from they are brilliant, as are most trousers. But I just do not recommend them for rainy days.
Durability
It’s fair to say I have worn these enough to be two or three winters worth of riding for many people, so I’ve really worn them to death. The waterproofing on the lower legs has held up great, and I have recently proofed the entire trouser to see if it will stand up to rain better.
I’m disappointed to find wear in the seat that is bad enough to need patching before it wears holes all the way through, but if I consider what I have put these trousers through, I’m actually not surprised. I wore them for Hammers8 for example, which was 8 hours straight in the saddle.
The seam taping inside is as good as new, which I have often found a weak point on riding trousers. My Endura MT500 taping fully detached itself eventually. So overall, they are about as good as they were when I got them, if you don’t look at the worn-out seat.
Update: Future editions of these will have a different seat construction – check out this story for details.
Overall
If you’re after a pair of mud and splash resistant riding trousers that don’t tear easily but aren’t full-on downhill spec, these might suit you. If you want some all-weather trousers but your local weather frequently includes rain, you will struggle to justify spending £230.00 on the POC W’s Ardour All-Weather Pants.
The women’s cut is ideal for strong-legged women or curvy types. You will never get mud sneaking down your back because the high waisted cut is truly excellent.
