The Rohan Dry Ascent / Dry Roamers trousers prefer their waterproofing to be a little more covert. Rohan amusingly describes the Dry Ascent as ‘waterproof trousers for people who hate wearing waterproof overtrousers’, and that’s about the size of it. The face fabric has one of those ‘it’s not really waterproof, is it?’ feels. The secret is Rohan’s Barricade, a 3-layer fabric consisting of water repellent-treated nylon outer and a soft-touch tricot inner, and between them the PU Barricade membrane. The fabric is comfortable but impressively breathable, and the trousers are very waterproof, with the only hint at this being a slightly ‘slippery’ feel when rubbed between the fingers. The trousers fit like normal trousers in every respect, which makes them more flattering than baggier overtrousers, and they are perfectly comfortable against bare skin. The legs are cut to be pre-bent to aid freedom of movement, and two large hand pockets (which sadly aren’t zipped) and belt loops add to the usefulness of the Rohan Dry Ascent / Dry Roamers. The only downside are that the zipped pockets – on bum and left leg – have no stormflap, and may therefore leak in driving rain.
Sizes M’s 30-42; W’s 8-18; reg leg
Fabric 3-layer Barricade
Functionality waterproof/breathable/windproof
Weight 398g (men’s M)
Pockets 2 hand pockets,
Website 2 zipped pockets