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FW Manifest Tour 3L Bib Pant | Review

If you’re after some quality ski touring pants, look no further than the Manifest Tour 3L Bib

Why We Chose The FW Manifest Tour 3L Bib WPS: Highly breathable, highly waterproof, and very comfortable. Perfect, in other words, for ski touring. They also look cool. 

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FW, pronounced “forward,” are a brand that really speaks to the idea that if you’re not moving forward you’re standing still. They’re all about looking ahead, and forging that path.

This progressive, proactive, approach has seen them build up quite a reputation for themselves in the ski outerwear market. The Manifest Tour 3L Bib Pant, which can be paired up with the Manifest Tour 3L Jacket, is another great example of the stuff they do so well. 

Materials

The fabric used in the FW Manifest Tour 3L Bib Pant is WPS-3L 4Way Stretch Nylon. This fabric has a 20k waterproof rating and a 20k breathability rating, meaning it’s perfectly well suited to getting outside the resort boundaries and into the backcountry deep stuff. Tour by name, by nature – these things will keep the wet out and also, very importantly in the backcountry, let sweat moisture escape when you’re skinning up the hill and pushing yourself physically. 

The stretchy nature of the fabric is another reason it’s so good for ski touring in. The last thing you want when you’re moving up and across extreme mountain terrain is a ‘boxed in’ rigid feel to your outerwear. You want your ski outerwear to work with the movement of your body, not against it. With that in mind, you definitely won’t have any problems here. 

The face of the fabric used here is 85% nylon and 15% spandex (told you it was stretchy). The membrane is 100% hydrophilic milky membrane and the backing is 20D nylon tricot. 

The pants have also been through a DWR treatment.

Features

Well away from the luxuries of a ski resort (i.e. basic shelter), ski tourers need their outerwear to feel like a trustworthy friend that’s got their back. All over the Manifest Tour Pants there’s a sense that these are ski trousers that want to be your mate, ski trousers that want your adventure to be hassle-free.

The articulated knees, for example, mean a more comfortable fit and provide heightened freedom of movement – something you’ll definitely appreciate when you’re marching through the mountains on a big old backcountry mission. Speaking of comfort and backcountry missions, the stretch cordura side panels on this bib pant provides durability and comfort in spades. 

The Manifest Tour 3L Bib Pant has ergonomic adjustable suspenders with comfortable flat buckles that won’t rub, or cause a nuisance, when you’re out and about. Some bibs can fall down on the suspenders front (pardon the turn of phrase), but here they feel nice and premium. 

We keep banging the drum on comfort but that’s because what we’re looking at here is something so comfortable. Yes, they’re ultra breathable. Yes, they’re extremely waterproof. But sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference, you know? There’s vents in all the right places, zipped ones in the inner thigh and laser-cut ones inside the large multi-entry thigh pockets for example. Combine that with the adjustable waist with non-slip silicon print, and zip and snap-button system that makes the bib cuff adjustable, and you’re left with a product where you can optimise the fit to suit you and the activity you’re undertaking (i.e. touring). 

Those multi-entry thigh pockets, by the way, have an expanding capacity construct – making them ideally suited for storing skins or wet gloves. 

Other features worth a mention are the hidden kick patches, the boot gaiters with non-slip elastic, and the YKK Aquaguard zips that’ll help to keep all your essential items dry. 

Conclusion

Pair this up with the Manifest Tour 3L Jacket and you’re looking at one hell of a good outerwear set up – particularly if you’re all about heading out of bounds and into the backcountry. Also, big up FW for donating 1% of their sales to NGOs acting against climate change. 

Ski tourers, is it time to treat yourself? 

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