Review: Men's Oakley TC Gunn Rc 3.0 Bib Pants

 

 
 

 
 

Price

£171 sale price 50% off

Gender

Men’s

Brand // Manufacturer

Oakley

 

What we liked

  • Comfortable, generous fit, if you like that sort of thing

    Robust build

  • Good selection of pockets right where you need them

  • Canny crotch level pocket

What we didn’t

  • Generous fit, M could be XL, if you want a slimmer / normal fit for Brits/Non US

  • Inner membrane makes them a little warm going uphill

    Suspenders too large, bit too loose fit on a 182cm male

  • No full leg zip


 

The Verdict

 

THE SHORT READ…

The TC Gunn bib pant is a generous fit softshell pant made from 'BioEarth' polyester, with some materials recycled.

The pants are comfortable with a super large fit, the main thing I noticed when putting them on before hitting the hill. The suspenders were so big I couldn't tighten them, which proved a problem on the hill when wearing the Ortovox Litric Tour 40L bag - the suspenders were easily pushed off my shoulders by the bag strap.


 
 
 
 

THE LONG READ …

Skiing with the bib pants on gave me loads of manouevrability and the one-piece construction kept me feeling snug in the light snow of late season Tignes and Val d'Isere.

These pants have a solid set of pockets to stash your phone (chest), wallet, snacks, alongside decent ventilation zips on the outside (although only waist to knee not full length), and vented ventilation zips on the inside. They also have a canny zip that goes down to crotch level that allows quick access for whatever you might want to do down there.

The pants worked fine in the snow going downhill, apparently they have a 2L FN Dry™ membrane, in combination with the Hydrofree DWR coating. I've no idea what this means but more importantly there's no way, without a common waterproof grading widely used, to benchmark waterproof ness of a garment. If I had to choose between a soft shell and a hard shell outer layer I'd probably go with the hard shell however, for no scientific reason whatsoever, just my assumption that they work better. After a quick desk research, the internet is torn on this point.


 
 
 
 

I did a little skinning in the pants to get a feel for ventilation, stretch, and warmth, and found they were a little warm. The temperature was about 2-3', and these pants have an inner membrane. This may work for you, but personally I prefer a single layer outer shell as it means I can stay as cool as possible in warmer conditions.


 
 
 

SUMMARY…

Overall the Oakley TC Gunn 3.0 pants would be fine as a park, piste and off piste pant when going downhill, but I'd opt for a single layer going uphill, and size down at least 1 size unless you are used to buying US sizes.


 

Words - Ben Atherton

Photos - Oakley