Good Afternoon guys. For those of you that were really paying attention, you’ll notice I didn’t get round to publishing a blog last week. Fear not, as this week you can have two! How generous am I?!
I hope you don’t mind me cutting my three part blog about North Wales in half, but I got SO excited about the Trino Tights by Arc’teryx that I just had to share these with you as soon as possible! I’m going to level with you guys, I think winter leg wear is boring as hell. It’s far too cold for beautiful brightly coloured leggings and most softshell trousers only seem to come in two thicknesses – okay-for-slightly-cooler-weather and only-use-in-sub-zero-conditions. Great.
Until now!
So the Trino tights have been designed to fit into Arc’teryx’s Endorphin Performance Range – which is designed predominantly for Mountain and Trail running. However, I think that this puts this piece of kit into a very slim activity range. What I’ve actually found is that they are much more versatile then that. I’ve used them for climbing (both indoor and outdoor), outdoor yoga (a bit too warm for most indoor yoga studios), hiking, mountaineering, general commuting and daily use – as well as the trail running use they are intended for. So what makes these so damn awesome? The fact that they’re windproof, water resistant, highly breathable, durable and comfortable as hell. So how do they do it? Let’s look into the ever exciting techy stuff!
The Fabrics
And this is where Arcteryx blow me away every damn time. These tights feature Arc’teryx’s composite mapping technology – which is basically just a fancy term meaning they’ve put very clever fabrics in very clever places to maximise the garments performance. The front the Trino Tights house a Gore Windstopper membrane, making the front of the tights totally windproof (really important when you’re faced with a freezing headwind). The material on top of that membrane is coated with a DWR (durable water repellent) fabric treatment which means that the tights are also highly water resistant (if you do get caught out in conditions where you are soaked through, then these tights also dry exceptionally quickly), without losing their breathability. Then, on the back of the tights, Arc’teryx use their own air permeable fleece fabric called Atreus which allows sweat to escape, increases the ventilation and increases the freedom of movement. The combination of these two fabrics results in a pair of tights that can keep up with you throughout a really wide range of activities, including high-output training.
The Features
- Wide waistband with an adjustable elastic drawcord.
- Two zipped pockets on the hips (one with a media hole).
- 23cm zip at ankle with gusset so they can fit over big mountaineering boots.
- Flat Locked seams for increased comfort and reduced chafing (important!).
- Articulated knees
The Fit
Even though Arc’teryx brand these as ‘Tights’ they don’t fit as snug as your standard ‘sports leggings’. They are, however, slightly more slim fitting then some of their other trousers. We’ve started referring to them instead as ‘Trouts’ – feel free to do the same! The fleece material in the rear sits snug to your hips and bum, and then they sit loose throughout the rest of the garment for increased mobility and range of movement.
The Good
Everything everything everything.
I was pretty impressed by these leggings when I first read up on them, and then I was bowled over by them when I took them into the mountains. They’re much lighter than my other winter-weight trousers, so if I was going on a multi day trek then I could just roll them up and stuff them into my pack and they wouldn’t make much of a difference to the overall weight at all. Also, I know that I can pop these on and they’ll suit me in whatever crazy adventure I end up falling into (my plans are never set in stone!)
The Bad
The hip pockets are tiny (they don’t fit my phone) and barely fit a medium sized energy gel in them. So if you’re running in them then you may need to also wear a running belt. If you already do so and this doesn’t bother you then great. I, however, hate wearing extra bits on me when I run; I’ve never been a fan of running belts or vests. Their Sunara tight (summer weight training tights) feature a small elasticated pocket on the outer right thigh. It doesn’t get in the way when I run and my phone never falls out. It’s something I’d LOVE to see in future models of the Trino.
The Ugly
Honestly, I struggled with this one. If I was being nit-picky then I’d bring up the colour thing again. They are currently only available in black (If you work for Arc’teryx and you happen to be reading this then – Hey! I love them! Please give me more colours so I have an excuse to buy more!). Their price point is also a bit higher than other winter weight trousers (RRP £120), but when you weigh up the versatility of the Trino Tights in comparison to other softshell trousers, teamed with the epic fabrics and bomb-proof durability then it’s easy to see why that’s the case.
As a Whole
I think you know what I’m going to say after the vibe of this whole post- I love them. And if you can bite the bullet and invest in some winter trousers that’ll do just about anything (I’m sorry, I know it’s so close to Christmas!) then I can guarantee you’ll love them too.
As usually, if you have any further questions, or if you have these too and want to add a note about why YOU love them, then leave me a comment below or fire me an email!
Thanks guys!
H
The Feral Lady 