Gore C3 Windstopper Bib Tights review £130.00
A warm and substantial bib tight, but potentially baggy – and pricey
Liam Mercer
|
Apr 16 2020 |
Base layers
Overall
Quality
Performance
Value
What's good?
- Adjustable straps help with fit
- Zips everywhere make it easy to put on
- Windstopper tech works
What's not?
- Slightly loose fit
- Pricier than many alternatives
Buy if...
They fit and you don't mind the price
The Gore C3 Windstopper Bib Tight is heavy-duty, fleece-lined and keeps you very warm and mostly dry in bad weather. Adjustable straps and an abundance of zips mean it's easy to get on and off, but the fit isn’t quite there, plus it's noticeably thick and a bit pricey too.
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Windstopper involves a thin membrane that’s laminated onto the outer layer, and it's extremely effective at blocking windchill while still allowing vapor from inside to escape. The material is also water repellant, if not waterproof, and there’s fleece lining in strategic places to keep you warm.
At the top you find a zip with two wide, elasticated and adjustable shoulder straps. There’s also a zip on each ankle to help get the legs on and off – they’re super-helpful if you forget to put your socks on first.
The Gore C3 is noticeably easy to put on, thanks to the array of zips, and the adjustable straps do a great job of keeping everything together. Although the adjusters are pretty hefty, they don’t get in the way and as a result, the straps are comfortable and stay as such even on long hauls.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean everything is great with the Gore C3 Windstoppers. Following Gore’s size guide gave me a reasonably loose fit both around and down the leg, and while they're aimed at 'recreational' riders rather than the hardcore, that looser fabric is prone to bunching behind the knee. Not great for any style of rider. Consider sizing down if you’re short-legged, or try before you buy.
They perform really well in cold and wet weather. They're not as breathable as some – again, they're aimed at less intense efforts (and, oddly, cross-country skiing) – but they certainly do keep you warm and dry.
The Gore C3 Windstopper bib tight is a great base layer, and it kept me warm and dry in some seriously unpleasant weather. It's on the expensive side, it's true, though the upsides are the adjustability, the ease of putting it on and the excellent Windstopper fabric. If it fits without bunching the C3 is a solid choice – although there are cheaper options out there that perform nearly as well.
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Test report Gore C3 Windstopper Bib Tights review £130.00
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1 comments
These are the same bibs: it's just Gore renamed them C3. They got 4.5 stars. I rate them highly
https://road.cc/content/review/172007-gore-30th-element-windstopper-soft-shell-bibtights
My review: I have used the non-padded ones, and non-30th anniversary now 3 times, from 1C to 9C. 9C was a bit too warm. I noticed in the review the mention of using a non-softshell material behind the legs; actually it is Windstopper material used all over the legs and waist, but behind the legs and at the ankles to mid-way up the calves is non-fleeced Windstopper. The way to tell is simply blow hard on this part of the fabric and see if any breath gets through, regular fleecy/stretchy material (like used on the belly area and lower part of the back, air will get straight through. So if anything these should be more insulating and slightly therefore less ventilating than the Oxygen version (as they claim to have fleecy/stretchy material behind the legs), but like the reviewer I haven’t tried the Oxygen version. So found at 1C they were plenty warm, but my body temp. obviously runs a little hotter than the reviewer. I had to go for a large as I bought medium and could hardly pull them up over my thighs. I am 5ft 10" and 31.5" which should be the size chart mean the mediums would be a little big on me, which isn't the case. Considering the whole material is Windstopper there is a good amount of stretch in the material to mean there seems to be no restriction in movement. Very impressive. I used them in 4C, only for about 15 minutes of hail and then rain and the water beaded up perfectly. I went for the ones with the fluorescent ankle section; bit of silly place to put it because of all the road spray and oil flecks that hit right there, but after a wash it all came out. This same ankle section at the front is quite baggy, either to put the tights over overshoes (like the reviewer said) or maybe to pull the tights off whilst keeping your shoes on- why you would want to do that I am not sure.