Where and when do you wear the Dryrobe?
The Dryrobe has been really useful when taking my three-year-old to swimming lessons each week. I swim in the pool with her and the lessons are in a pool house with limited changing facilities, so I often have to quickly dry off and go home wearing my semi-wet swimsuit and a pair of loose joggers.
The Dryrobe has been great for absorbing some of the wetness from my swimsuit, which means that not only do I stay warm after swimming but I also don’t get the driver’s seat wet on the drive home.
While I haven’t yet used it for wild swimming, I will definitely take the Dryrobe with me for UK beach days during spring and summer no matter the weather.
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Would you wear the Dryrobe as a regular coat?
Yes. I tested the Dryrobe Advance Long Sleeve and opted for the black colourway with grey fleece lining so that the Dryrobe would be neutral enough for me to use as a regular coat during the colder months. I like that there are 19 colour options available with different outer and fleece colour pairings should you want a Dryrobe that’s a little more playful and colourful.
The colour options include: Abstract (which has a fun geometric pattern), Black Blue, Black Camo Pink, Black Pink, Black Grey, Black Red, Alpine Ice Blue, Navy Grey, Black Camo, Camo Pink, Forest Green Black, Cobalt Blue Black, Camo Grey, Dark Grey Orange, Alpine White, Blue Camo Blue, Alpine Granite, Blue Camo Orange and Pink Light Grey.
There are also different types of Dryrobes and products available for both adults and kids including a short-sleeve version, a Lite version (which is a super-lightweight, travel-friendly changing robe that packs into its own bag), the Dryrobe Adapt (which offers a more accessible design for those with disabilities), a Waterproof Poncho, jacket, and the Remix range (which uses unused fabrics from across Dryrobe’s product range to help reduce waste) among others.
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How warm is the Dryrobe?
I tested the Dryrobe out towards the end of winter and found it to be very warm when worn outside in various temperatures, the lowest being around 3°C. When worn after swimming, the fleece lining trapped heat well, and was lovely and cosy to wear.
I wore the Dryrobe in both dry weather and when it was raining. The waterproof and windproof outer, which is made using 100% recycled nylon, handled the adverse conditions well, and both the outer and inner, when wet, were quick to dry - although I should note that after wearing the Dryrobe over my wet swimsuit, the synthetic lambswool inner lining barely felt wet at all.
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Is the Dryrobe oversized?
The Dryrobe drowns me slightly, but that’s perhaps to be expected considering the fit (including sleeves) is meant to be oversized so that you can pull your arms in and change out of a swimsuit or wetsuit after swimming. It also has a two-way zip which allows for more movement underneath your changing robe if needed.
I tried out the long-sleeved Dryrobe and opted for a medium size. The arm length was perfect so I never felt like I needed to size down, and the Dryrobe Advance Long Sleeve has taped seams so that I could create a tight seal around the cuffs if it was particularly bad weather.
The robe comes down to just below my knees (I’m 5’6”) and this felt like the ideal length for me. The hood also fit me extremely well - I’ve worn coats where the hood was so big that I couldn’t see properly when it was up or too small that the front of my head was exposed during a downpour. Thankfully, neither scenario occurred while wearing the Dryrobe. The hood also has the same fleece lining as the rest of the outdoor changing robe, which kept my head nice and toasty.
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