Tested: Weise Marin trousers
These all-British biking trousers are certainly not for fishing
I'M still recovering from the shock that Weise isn't a German company. In fact it's from Bristol!
The British designer loved his BMW car so much that he chose a Germanic name for his clothing range to suggest a level of quality and sophistication of engineering which only the Germans can attain (apparently).
I was also given a little lesson in pronunciation - apparently Weise is pronounced more like the English word visor (as in your favourite biking website).
But I digress - I'm here to talk about Weise's Marin trousers which I've been wearing for a month now.
Another Visordown staff member laughed at my trousers and suggested they looked more suitable for a fishing trip. Ruddy cheek! Well, I'll let the industrial tribunal decide whether this constitutes workplace bullying and only say I quickly removed the detachable braces.
I really hate baggy trousers. What's the point of being super cool (you know, riding a motorbike) only to look like Charlie Chaplin in a set of Oxford baggies when you get off the saddle? The Marin trousers are what I would describe as a medium fit - this is largely due to accommodating a thermal inner lining. I expect most bikers will wear these over the top of a pair of jeans anyway, so a bit of extra room is no bad thing.
A further note on fit... I'm 6' 4". When I lived in South America people used to stop me in the street and ask for a photograph. So basically a freak! That said, the Marin trousers cope admirably with my long legs. Trousers in general tend to fit just below my knees, so the Marins are particularly good bet for taller chaps.
The thermal inner lining is removable and after three weeks of laziness - sweating it under a summer sun - I finally got around to removing it. To be fair, it's a 30 second job that I had been putting off for no good reason. Unsurprisingly, riding home from work is much more pleasant now... but I'll be restoring those thermals before the year is out.
The material is 600 Denier... which until about an hour ago meant absolutely nothing to me but that's what Google is for. Let me impart: Denier is a measurement of weight (in grams) of a 9,000 metre strand of fabric. For example, something super soft like silk is just 1 Denier because 9,000 metres of a silk strand would weigh one gram. Ballistic nylon (as used in World War II flak jackets) can be up to 1,680 Denier. So considering we're not trying to stop a German shell penetrating our chest, 600 sounds about right. Bike industry standards go from around 500-1000D.
There's CE armour in the knees and stretch panels above and behind the knee for better flexibility. There are also two waist pockets with zips which will take a set of keys but probably not a wallet (and that's not a gratuitous brag about how meaty my overspilling wallet is).
At just shy of 100 quid these are some of the best value bike trousers on the market from a recognisable manufacturer and offering this level of spec.
Impact protection is provided by CE-approved armour at the knees. To aid flexibility and movement, there are stretch panels above and behind the knee as well as the inner leg and there are two concealed external waist pockets with zipper closure so that daily essentials are easy to carry.
I've been wearing these trousers beneath Weise's Zurich jacket and now I'm off for a spot of fishing.
Weise Marin Trousers are available in sizes S-XXXXXL and cost £99.99.
For more information visit the Key Collection.
