PNW Components has built a brand around offering quality bike parts and accessories that perform at prices that don’t destroy your wallet. They’ve recently added apparel and soft goods to their lineup of well-designed and reasonably priced components with the recent launch of the PNW Trail Collection. Samples of their new Lander Jacket, Ozone Trail Jersey, Shuttle Short, and a few other sweet items have showed up at Bermstyle HQ and like everything we’ve tried from PNW, we’re looking forward to getting out and spending some time with them.
Here’s the skinny on the three launch products (via PNW):
THE LANDER JACKET – A lightweight trail companion designed for densely forested descents and foggy
morning climbs. Designed with an anti-flop back pocket storage system, a helmet-friendly hood, and an
adventure accommodating fabric to keep you focused on the trail ahead. MSRP: $149 USD
THE OZONE TRAIL JERSEY – Woven from a smart mix of 20% wool and 80% polyester, this jersey is
luxuriously soft, breathable, moisture-wicking, quick-drying and anti-bacterial. Sleep easy knowing this
jersey is Bluesign® approved, guaranteeing the fabric meets the demanding requirements of the highest
environmental standards for the textile industry. MSRP $59 USD
THE SHUTTLE SHORT – Focused on comfort, this trail short features a lightweight and mobile fabric that
keeps the elements out and all your gear secure, including a cell phone pocket so good at securing your
phone you’ll forget you even brought it. MSRP $99 USD
First Impressions
For an initial product release, the collection is impressive. Our first impressions are quite positive as it’s clear these pieces were designed for riders by riders. The materials are well thought out and the clothing fits the way you’d hope performance cycling clothing to fit, while also having a cut that flatters.
Of the three pieces, the Lander Jacket may be my favorite (it’s also the season for it, so I’ve worn it the most to date) as there are a few design features that stand out.
Like many trail riding jackets, it features a hood that can go over a helmet. It also features a rear pocket, similar to some of my favorite cycling commuter jackets, which is great for stashing items like snacks. For a lot of shorter rides, one could feasibly stash items here and on the bike and just go, leaving the pack or hip pack at home. The innovative bit though, is what PNW calls their “anti-flop back pocket storage system.”
It’s pretty dang cool. Before I read the marketing materials, I actually thought it served a different – but equally kinda cool function of keeping the jacket from billowing too much, aka the “cape effect” when riding unzipped. Which it does… it also can serve to make the jacket more form-fitted and flapless while zipped up. What it’s meant to do though, is allow you to cinch the jacket up so your apples and bananas don’t bounce around while you’re boosting the jumps and shredding the turns.
The jacket is comfortable, has lot of stretch, is light, and has a water-resistant DWR coating.
In addition to the jacket, there is a jersey and shorts. The Ozone trail jersey is a versatile technical tee, which should perform well for cycling as well as any other athletic activities. The fabric is a polyester/wool blend which hopefully means it’ll feature the durability of the poly material with some of the odor-reducing features of the wool. I’ve been rocking it regularly and am finding it comfortable, and am fond of the fit as well. It basically looks like a gray tee, and you can really wear it anywhere. I’m expecting it to get a lot of rotation at the climbing gym as well as on the bikes.
Though we’re solidly into riding pants season here, (there are no pants in the lineup… yet) my first impression of the shorts is quite positive as they hit all the right spots; they feature four pockets, (hell yes pockets) including two well-placed zippered cell phone pockets. Most importantly, there’s one on each side, so it’ll work for you whether you’re left-handed or right.
Other than trying them on briefly, I haven’t worn them riding yet (again, it’s wet out so I’m in pants mode) but they remind me of the Patagonia shorts I recently reviewed, except they add the second zipper pocket, and cost a third less.
We’ll be following up with more in-depth reviews of these pieces plus more fresh gear from PNW Components.
Check out the new gear at PNWComponents.com
