Tested: Flylow Butcher MTB Bib

Flylow’s Butcher MTB bibs promise waterproof, breathable protection for mountain bikers in the muckiest riding conditions. For those of us coming from the ski world, that shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Flylow’s identity has long been tied up in bibs. Sure, they make jackets and insulators and other stuff (including a very nice bathrobe) now, but their bread and butter has long been ski bibs. Durable, practical, burly ski bibs.

Lots of patrollers, and lifties, and maintenance folks swear by Flylow’s bibs. A stained pair of Baker Bibs pairs nicely with some beat up leather gloves, and a set of telemark bindings, owned by someone who skis hard. I’ve spent plenty of time in Flylow’s winter bib options, and am a big fan. But, when they offered to send me a pair of their new Butcher MTB bibs, I hesitated. Why? well…

The curse of the bib (and how I accidentally broke it)

In the gear reviewing business there’s a subset of products that reviewers like me really want to own and use, but know will be difficult to review. Mountain bike bibs fall into this category. There are two main things working against us here. First, timing and seasonality. Products like these Butcher Bibs are meant to be purchased during the summer and fall, for fall and winter use. But, as a reviewer, you really want to have your review ready to go before peak buying season. And that’s challenging when it’s a foul weather product, and it’s 80° and sunny out every day. I wasn’t excited about trying to wear these on sweaty rides, or do some sort of makeshift test where my partner sprayed me with the hose while I rode a stationary bike. But I did want to get this review out before the wet season began in earnest.

The second challenge is photos. Foul weather mountain bike gear sucks to photograph. The sort of rides these bibs are made for are terrible for cameras. The light is bad, everything is wet and gritty, and nobody is warm and comfortable enough to want to wait around while you get photos of your fancy bibs. That’s fair and understandable.

However, the universe was on my side with these Butcher Bibs. Last week I took a quick trip up to Sun Peaks to ride DH bikes, and luckily (or not) gray skies broke into full on snow and rain during our first day at the bike park. I quickly retreated to the car, donned these bibs, and was treated to six hours of perfect waterproof bib testing conditions.

However, I was riding with my most media-averse friend. He’s one of those crusty folks who doesn’t have instagram and is allergic to mountain bike media, which is a big part of why I like riding with him so much. I do not have any photos of myself riding in said bibs. You’ll just have to believe me when I say it was snowing hard, and there were literal streams running down the steeper trails. Instead, I staged these photos in my backyard, where I pretended to mow my lawn. Use your imagination, or the soulless AI image generator of your choice to flesh out the picture.

Fit

I am 6’2” and weigh just under 200 lbs. I typically wear large bottoms, and the size large Butcher Bib fit me nicely. It definitely has a bike-specific fit. I’ve tried to wear Flylow’s ski bibs on the bike before, and not had a good time, but I noticed absolutely no issues in the Butcher Bib. I had plenty of room to move around, with no weird binding.

The one note I do have is that I think the cuffs could be just a hair longer. I am a bit leggy, with a 34” inseam, but I noticed that my ankles got very cold sticking out the bottom of the fancy bubble-protected chairlifts. The adjustable button cuff, with inner sleeve is good, but I think that it could be better. Maybe a thinner inner gaiter with a heel loop? Right now there’s a bit of a small weak point in my layering system between the cuff of these bibs and my waterproof socks, and if Flylow was going to make one change to these bibs, I’d vote that it happens there.

That said, I’m very much splitting hairs here, the bibs fit nicely, Flylow is not responsible for making everything fit my weird body perfectly.

Pockets and Features

The Butcher Bib has three zippered pockets, one on each thigh, and one on the bib. That’s a nice layout for riding. All are big enough to fit a phone, and the thigh pockets are mesh-lined and have water-resistant zippers.

On the back of the bib Flylow has included two cycling-bib-style drop-in pockets. I’ve never really used that style of pocket, and would be fine without, but lots of folks will appreciate them.

In terms of features, the bib straps have nice adjustable buckles, and the right side has a ¾ zip for when nature calls. There’s also a zippered thigh. The upper “bib” part of the Butcher is made of a softer, more breathable fabric, while the waterproof lower portion has reinforced knees and ankles.

The “porcelain throne” zipper, combined with a thigh vent on the other side, means that you can adjust your kneepads easily on the fly, or dump a bunch of heat in a hurry.

Performance

I remain convinced that it’s very hard to make clothing that is simultaneously waterproof and breathable. That is to say, lots of outerwear breathes well, and resists water well, but when it’s resisting a downpour, it doesn’t do a great job of letting you breathe. The Butcher falls into this category. The couple of dry laps I took were very quite nice. I didn’t get too sweaty inside the bibs, and they were comfortable against my bare skin. And then, when things got serious and the snow started sticking, I was really impressed by how dry I stayed. But, I was riding lifts. If I was trying to pedal laps in those conditions, I’m sure I’d have gotten hot and humid inside them. That’s fine by me.

In my mind, fully waterproof bike outerwear mostly makes sense in a bike park or shuttle scenario. I’m rarely going out for a pedal in waterproof pants and a jacket. And in a bike park scenario, the Butcher is damn near perfect. It looks good under a jacket, and does a much better job of keeping the muck out of my undies than any pant. And I like the extra comfort and storage capacity of a bib. In fact, I think these might breathe better than waterproof pants since they can vent up, out the top of the bib, instead of holding all that hot air in.

I’d rather pedal in these bibs, with the vents open, and my jacket off, than in a pair of waterproof pants. That said, I’d still rather not pedal at all when it’s rainy enough that I need waterproof bibs.

One other surprising highlight of the Butcher bib is that it kept my phone dryer than usual in that upper bib pocket. In waterproof pants, my sweaty thighs swamp out my phone pocket, whereas, in the Butcher, it’s protected by my jacket, and by the softshell bib material so it stays dry and useable.

In terms of weatherproofing, I didn’t have any water ingress after ¾ a day riding bike park in cold rain and snow. I was absolutely caked in mud, and I apologize for what we put the Sun Peaks hotel room washing machine through, but my undies were still as dry and grit free after the ride as they were that morning. That’s a huge win for me, and I’m interested to see how these bibs hold up through the winter.

For now

If you like riding in truly horrendous conditions, Flylow’s Butcher Bibs are worth a look. They’re on sale right now, and I think they present a real upgrade over most waterproof pants. The fit and features are dialed, and I’ll be reaching for my pair often this winter.