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Over the years I have had the opportunity to try a lot of various outerwear, but time and again for a heavy storm day, or a day of bush whacking, I have gone back to my tried and true Trew gear (now in its 4th season). No matter how much abuse I threw at it, the jacket and pants just kept taking it with zero complaint. This year I had got an upgrade to the 2015 version of the Cosmic jacket, and expect nothing less.
Besides some minor cosmetic changes, very little has changed over the years. Design is no nonsense, which I very much appreciate. The cut has slimmed a bit over the years it seems, but still leaves a ton of room for layering on cold days, without leaving it flapping in the wind on warmer ones. They’ve included a great variety of pockets on the exterior, hand, chest and sleeve pockets are all well laid out to be functional, with or without a pack on. Inside, the large mesh pockets are great for anything you want to keep warm, with lots of room for gloves or skins. Cuffs are nice and easy to close with gloves on, and stay secure with ample Velcro. While I enjoy wrist gators, I understand their reasoning for not including, and that is not a show stopper for me.
Construction is probably the biggest thing Trew has going for them, absolutely bomber! This 20/20K fabric is far tougher than the average light weight stuff you typically see in high end shells. This stuff brushes off tree branches and other scuffs with ease. And while it is slightly thinner that my previous Trew setup, I still expect it to last years of abuse. The fabric and coatings are as waterproof as you could ever want, and have kept me dry after hours in the freezing rain. On the flip side the jacket breaths well, never feeling clammy, and large pit zips provide added heat dump when needed. The suit also packs relatively small for travel, though not just something you can toss in your pack as a spare layer. I tend to layer, so combining with the Trew Polarshift Primaloft and/or the Swift softshell, I’ve been nice and warm on even the -30C days.
Image wise, I will admit I miss the bright in your face colour schemes of some of the previous designs, but they have made great use of the slightly more subdued tones. I rock the Navy/Light Blue jacket and pants, which manages to still stand out despite being fairly common. Though the Thumbs Up! logo helps as well.
I fully expect this setup to be my go-to for the next couple years, with zero complaints of the situations I get it into!
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