Review: Patagonia Dirt Roamer Jacket and Shorts

The Patagonia Dirt Roamer Jacket and Shorts at sunset

Mountain biking has exploded in popularity. Who better than to throw their hat into the bike-wear arena than Patagonia. This year Patagonia introduced their Dirt Roamer line. A simple, lightweight, and durable set of mountain bike gear that encompasses a jacket, shorts, pants, and liners. We got our hands on the Dirt Roamer Jacket and Dirt Roamer Bike shorts this summer and we found tthem to be a great addition to our bike kit and a surprise new addition to our hiking collection.

Dirt Roamer Jacket Details

Material: 100% Recycled Nylon
Weight: 227 grams
Country of Origin: Vietnam
Feel Good: Fair Trade Certified™ sewn
Size Tested: Large

The Patagonia Dirt Roamer Jacket on the Lötschenpass, Switzerland

What is the Patagonia Dirt Roamer Jacket?

The Dirt Roamer jacket is breathable and lightweight, designed for when the weather takes a last-minute turn for the worse. In my case, it also became a great lightweight jacket to take trekking as well. It’s soft, has just enough stretch, and held off enough wind and precipitation to earn it a near-permanent spot in my hiking pack and biking bag.

The Patagonia Dirt Roamer Hood fits over helmets easily

What’s it made of?

The Patagonia Dirt Roamer jacket is made of 100 recycled nylon. It has just enough stretch and movement that it never inhibits movement while on the trail. It blocks moderate winds and light precip. If you were in a downpour you may want a different jacket, but you shouldn’t be riding trails in downpours, right?

How’s it Fit?

The jacket has a slim cut, though I found the large to be a perfect fit for my 6’1″ dad bod. The front of the jacket is cut slightly high to prevent the jacket from bunching up while in the saddle. The same goes for the drop tail that provides good coverage while in the saddle.

On the inside is a knit backer so the the Dirt Roamer doesn’t feel clammy next to the skin. It helps keep moisture away, but most importantly, does not feel like a plastic bag like so many rain jackets do. When I’m expecting inclement weather I normally wear a long sleeve so it is appreciated that the jacket is breathable as I would overheat quite easily otherwise.

The Patagonia Dirt Roamer sleeves top and bottom cuff

Up top is a large hood. Large enough to wear a helmet underneath. The sides of the hood are scalloped and elasticated. This keeps the hood taught but also away from peripheral vision. The hood is adjustable via a shock cord on the back. It held well, I set it once and that was it.

The arms of the Patagonia Dirt Roamer jacket are nice and long. While biking they come far enough down

and cover your wrists. There is no hook and loop fastener on the sleeve as the inside of the sleeve has an elastic which keeps the sleeves taught enough.

Got Pockets?

The Patagonia Dirt Roamer Jacket inner pocket

Pockets, they rank right up there with belt loops in importance. The Patagonia Dirt Roamer Jacket has two an inside left chest pocket and a rear drop pocket. The chest pocket is quite a large affair, as far as chest pockets go, and holds an iPhone easily as well as any other valuable you may have with you.

The other pocket is on the back of the jacket. This is a V-Shaper rear-drop pocket. The Zipper sits on the left but the pocket is centered. I used this pocket the most for holding the jacket. It fits into the pocket easily. You could easily drop in a warm layer or valuable inside and not even notice they were in the pocket.

Dirt Roamer Jacket Summary

The Patagonia Dirt Roamer Jacket is a great multi-purpose jacket. I’ve used it biking and hiking with great success. It’s light enough that it goes unnoticed in a pack, whether it is a backpack hiking or my waist pack while biking. It’s not clammy like lots of rain jackets and does a decent job of shedding wind and light precipitation.

Pros: Great fit. Blocks wind well, water resistant with a little stretch.

Cons: If you are the sweaty type you may want pit zips

Dirt Roamer Shorts Overview

Material: 100% Recycled Nylon
Type: 2 Layer Waterproof/Breathable with Fluorinated DWR
Weight: 153 grams
Country of Origin: Vietnam
Feel Good: Fair Trade Certified™ sewn
Size Tested: 36”
Color Tested: Forge Grey

Patagonia Dirt Roamer Jacket and Shorts back

What are the Patagonia Dirt Roamer Shorts?

The Patagonia Dirt Roamer Shorts are a slim-fitting, breathable, and lightweight pair of mountain bike shorts. Simplicity is their M.O, designed to be slim-fitting but accommodate knee pads and provide coverage in case of a fall. Lightweight, they go almost unnoticed while cycling. A few times I wondered if I had left the house in only my boxers.

What are they made of?

The Patagonia Dirt Roamer Shorts are made of a 90 denier 87% recycled polyester combined with 13% spandex. This means they are durable, will accept a crash or two, and have enough stretch to accommodate big moves on the bike. DWR coating helps deal with light precipitation on the trail.

In order to keep the shorts lightweight and reduce the amount of bulk, Patagonia has used sonic-welded seams on the shorts. What is sonic-welding you ask? According to The Fixed Line, it is using, “heat-activated adhesives applied with pressure to actually glue the seams together.” What this means is stitching is kept to a minimum while the seams are still strong enough to take the rigors of mountain biking in stride.

How do they Fit?

The Patagonia Dirt Roamer Shorts feature bike-specific tailoring. The waistband curves to follow the shape of your hip while in the saddle and the legs are slightly longer in the front. The opening at the bottom of the legs is plenty wide to fit over knee pads. The inseam of the shorts is 11 ½” which means they fit all the way to your knees which is just how I like bike shorts to fit.

The adjustable low-profile waist closure features Patagonia’s OppoSet. OppoSet is an internally routed pull tab that tightens the waist. It does a decent job of tightening the shorts and negates the need for a belt. Therein lines the trickiest parts of these shorts. There are no belt loops. As I ride throughout the day, I get dehydrated and well, I find shorts tend to fit a little looser. The OppoSet waist has only so much adjustability and as I dehydrate through the day, the shorts become a little too loose. Not so loose they are falling off, but enough that it looks like I am a plumber.

The rearward facing pocket of the Dirt Roamer Shorts

A small zippered pocket on the right leg leads to a rearward pocket behind the leg. At first, I thought, “this is weird.” In reality, it was great. This is where I kept my phone on rides, and it did not swing at all, and effectively, disappeared. At no point on any ride did I notice my phone swinging around. Great design.

The Patagonia Dirt Roamer shorts integrate with Patagonia’s Dirt Roamer bibs, Endless Ride Liner Shorts, or Nether Bike Liner shorts via two loops inside the waistband. We were unable to test this connection.

Patagonia Dirt Roamer Shorts Summary

I really like the Patagonia Dirt Roamer shorts. They look as good off the trail as they do on the trail. They fit easily over knee pads, don’t inhibit movement at all, and are incredibly breathable. The OppoSet waistband is an effective way to micro-adjust the waistband but you have to make sure you nail the sizing for it to be effective. I would still like to have belt loops.

Pros: Great cut, durable and breathable. Behind the leg pocket is great.

Cons: With no belt loops you gotta nail the sizing

If you are interested in checking out the Patagonia Dirt Roamer Shorts hit the link and check em out!

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Patagonia provided Black Sheep Adventure sports with free samples of the Patagonia Dirt Roamer Jacket and Dirt Roamer Shorts. This in no way affected our opinion and review of the hat.