Ain’t nothing but the Trew

How does Oregon-based outerwear company Trew fare? Will Robson puts their Pow Funk Jacket and Eagle pants to the test…

Trew’s a relative newcomer in the world of ski ‘apparel’, as the the US industry likes to call clothing. Hailing from the Cascades in Oregon back in 2007, the brand with the thumbs-up logo is now distributing its colourful technical apparel in the UK so Fall Line needed to test it, if only to show there’s life beyond the usual mass market brands.

Some FL testers seem wedded (welded even) to Scandinavian brands but the US also has a credible abundance of hardcore backcountry freeriding terrain that tends to spawn specialist clothing brands that really know what they’re doing.

Admittedly, smaller US outdoor brands may not bother with UK distribution, possibly because UK sales volumes equates to about 30 minutes on the production line, but Fall-Line readers like good gear and not always from a brand that everyone else is wearing.

So Trew has made it to the UK and definitely qualifies on rarity terms. The Pow Funk jacket and Eagle pants are roomy, bullet and waterproof but breathe thanks to Toray 3L Dermizax® NX, a fabric Trew has plumped for after years of ‘brutal testing’. If you’re based somewhere called The Cascades, this may be no idle marketing boast.

The ‘3L’ means three-layer and as you’re “hot-lapping your local mountain”, as Trew’s blurb blurbs, you’ll need a shell that can take some scuffing. And their’s really can: even the seam tape is three-layered.

This does give an ever so slightly so’wester stiffness to the jacket and trousers, a less than prevalent feel these days, but then the Trew’s tough, relaxed fit and bold colour panelling is aimed at riders who fancy perhaps they too are tough yet relaxed and colourful.

The Pow funk jacket is cut a little longer – freeride style – allowing plenty of articulation and protection in deep snow, along with a three-point powder skirt connection to the Eagle pants. The high collar has a microsuede chinguard, a necessary addition given the three-ply shell’s rugged construction. The Pow funk’s backcountry credentials include sewn-in Recco reflectors and a helmet-compatible hood.

The Eagle pants are also roomy enough for easy movement, with inner thigh meshed vents for letting off steam. They have reinforced cuffs and kick patches as well as cargo pockets with flaps and popper fastenings. The rugged waterproof zips and roomy pockets make for easy stashing.

Verdict: While not actually bullet-proof, this combo shell is tough, cool and technically up for handling anything you might throw at it in the backcountry.

RRP: Pow Funk jacket $399, Eagle pant $349.