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Cloudwalker Ama Dablam Bib

rated 3.0 of 5 stars

Cloudwalker is no longer in business, and the Ama Dablam Bib has been discontinued. If you're looking for something new, check out the best soft shell pants for 2024.

An excellent piece with one really annoying flaw: Good things first: the fabric is nice: pretty warm, extremely breathable, pretty windproof, sheds mist and drops of water, excellent stretch -- it really moves with you well. Details and worksmanship are quite good.

OK, now the bad: it has a drop-seat design this company came up with themselves called their 'trapezoidal seat.' Essentially, it has two zips (maybe 4 inches long) that run vertically up each butt cheek; and a long horizontal opening across the back of the waist sealed with a strip of velcro. It does roughly form a trapezoidal opening if you unzip and unvelcro the fabric -- allowing you to answer the call of nature without totally disrobing.

In my opinion, this is the worst solution to this problem I've ever come across!!! Most companies put a zip that runs all the way down through the crotch and up the back side. Others put a 'rainbow' zip that runs up the thigh around and up to the waist and down the other side. Both are better than this. What you get with this is two zips on your butt cheeks that you feel as you walk around and a big clump of doubled fabric right at the lower back of your waist - where it can interfere with your backpack or climbing harness. One of the main reasons I buy a bib instead of separate top and bottoms is to get rid of the extra clumps of fabric around the waist! Also, it won't be compatible with any of the other clothing in my climbing kit. Almost all of the other layers I have use the long zip all the way down the front and part-way up the back.

Finally, (a minor point that may be unique to me), when I'm not wearing a climbing harness, the back seat areas seems to sag down as I walk. I constantly feel like I have ro reach back around and hike the works up. Maybe I just need a bigger butt to hold it all up, but my feeling is that the extra fabric of the 'trapezoid seat' is slumping down a tiny bit with each step.

My summary: They've pretty much ruined an otherwise brilliant piece with one really bad, over-engineered component. I'm either going to send it back, or see if I can get a tailor to cut out the extra overlap fabric and sew the whole thing shut.

Fabric: schoeller dryskin extreme
Price Paid: $300

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Price Reviewers Paid: $300.00

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