I bought some of those AlpKit coLAB jeans but haven’t worn them much. In fact I’ve worn them once, threw some water down them for novelty value and that’s about it.

Just wondering two things really:
1) is any wearing them regularly? if so, what for?
2) with the waterproof finish, articulated knee and boot fit – anyone got a good reason why I shouldn’t wear them skiing?

I bought a pair, wore them a few times, and liked the fit (and price) so bought another. They’re my only jeans now- I like the practicality- the finish sheds not only water, but most dirt seems to brush off as well. Great for playing with the kids, and I know it sounds banal, but I can put them on and no longer have to worry about what I’m doing, whether it’s going to rain, how long am I going to be running around in wet trousers, should I take overtrousers etc.
Skiing – if you’re competent and don’t spend half your day headfirst in drifts, or it’s snowing and the jeans are going to get a coating going up the chair, you should be fine- the cold will penetrate quite easily if they’re covered in snow, but then again when I was a kid we’d quite happily ski in jeans of the non-waterproof variety- it was fashionable for a while.

I reckon they’re ideal mucking around in jeans, and may be fine for bouldering, but at the end of the day they’re nothing more than jeans that are waterproof- they won’t really preotect you from the cold/exposure etc.

I cycled to work in them about a month after I got them and got very wet in about 10 minutes.

fine for walking the dog – i make sure i wear mine to work if the weather looks iffy, so when i take the dog out at lunchtime i don’t have to faff about too much, and they’re a bit more windproof than jeans. ’bout it. i likes ’em at 35 quid, whether or not i would at 55….
one pair’s enough for me.

Sorry to hijack but what’s the sizing like quite fancy a pair fit in Gap 36″ ok not sure I will in stuff built for skinny climbers.

I wear mine to ride down the local dirt jumps so I don’t get laughed at by the kids. In fact now I am cooler than all of them, in their garish motocross getup. It’s a 3 mile ride there, and my arse gets wet from the grit/spray off my back wheel when it’s raining. They do shed water very well but I’m not sure they have much of a “hydrostatic head”, to use the parlance of our times. So if they have a layer of snow sat on them I don’t know how waterproof they’d be.

Sizing wise, I am a bit fat now @ 5’10” and 13st, and just about squeeze into a 32. The legs are quite wide and flappy, so for cycling I don’t think they’d be much fun without a bash. Means I can get my Kyle Straits on underneath without any fuss though.

i’m 30 or 32, which in howies terms seems to mean ‘not a **** chance you fat git, who are you trying to kid?’ tight at 30″ and ‘blimey we always knew you were a fatty on the inside but clearly you’re aspirational’ loose at 32″. properly loose like i have to wear a belt to stop them falling off my ar5e and exposing the two badly parked volkswagens.
30″ alpkit’s fit very comfortably.
HTH.
there’s also a lot of feedback/reviews on alpkit’s forum BTW.

Reckon I’ll take them with me on my next skiing trip and give them a whirl on a good weather day.

I’d wear mine more often for everyday use but the cut around the hips is a bit too baggy and consequently they puff out a bit making me feel a little like a badly dressed mis-shape. However, for walking around the hills in the rain they are fine, especially with a long jacket that covers your hips. On account of the wide boot cut I don’t cycle in them ‘cos they’d get covered in chainlube and probably caught up in the drive-train.
I’m taking mine to Norway next month and i intend to test them out with some extreme sledging (the with the kids kind, not with huskies!). I won’t using them for cross-country skiing ‘cos they’ll be too flappy.

BTW they crease more easily than normal jeans when chucked in the corner of the bedroom and left there for several days. It pays to fold them up neatly. Something I’ve never been capable of.

I wore mine to ski indoors on artificial snow (with a pair of merino trousers underneath) – they were plenty warm and waterproof enough but don’t think I’ll be wearing them at the top of Avoriaz this March

robh drop me a mail – I’ve got a 36 pair that I bought and haven’t worn as I fitted the 34 instead. I’m usually a 34 in Gap too so the sizing should be about right – chris_read_3(at)yahoo.co.uk

Well I can answer my own question now and report that they’re great for skiing. I’ve just been for 6 days skiing. For the first three days I wore my normal (expensive) Eider ski pants, for the last three days I wore the CoLab jeans, both with thermals underneath. I didn’t notice any difference between the two pairs of trousers.

There was a lot of snow around this week so I got snowed on on the lifts and was in deep powder a few times (sometimes deliberately, sometimes not). They stayed warm and dry on the inside with snow and water just shedding off the outside.

One thing that did worry me, with a button fly and deep powder (or windchill) was ‘chilly willy’ but I’m pleased to report no issues there.

Nothing much more to say for now. They just worked.
I guess I’ll be looking to see how long the proofing lasts now, particularly as I’ve not washed them yet.

I found that regular washing really helps the water repallancy. I think that when sweat or grease gets on the outer surface it stops the beading working so well.

Have two pairs and been wearing them as my main jeans for 3-4 months now and they seem to be wearing very well.

find them great as my regular jeans / work trousers – worn and washed regularily and water repellancy is still good – which is great when traipsing around muddy fields and in wet grass.

I want another pair though – one pair is simply not enough

Mine are pretty much non-waterproof after having been washed regularly for three months. I’ve tried normal washing liquid, techwash and finally tried re-proofing them but they have only the merest vestige of hydrophobia left.

I dropped mineral oil down mine and it washed out no problem.

when’s the next batch being released I need another pair.

I wear mine for riding to work most days. As aP says the thighs will wet through in about 10mins of not particularly heavy rain.

I do wonder if this is more down to the continuous stretching/releasing as they seem to fair much better when walking.

“when’s the next batch being released I need another pair. “

I saw somewhere recently that they would be announcing the production batch at a show soonish. Have a look on alpkits website.