Four kids ski bib pants sit in the NANEND kids range, rated 15,000, 18,000, 18,000 and 20,000 mmH₂O, so the whole waterproof spread between them is 5,000. The spread that decides whether a bib gets worn is wider and is not in any specification table: can the child get it on alone, and can the legs go over a boot while the boot stays on?
If you have already compared these four on tier and waterproof rating, you have that ranking, and the full kids ski suit guide covers it. This takes them apart on hardware: strap, front opening, ankle opening, and the seam work at the waist and rear hem.
Key takeaways
- Three of the four list an ankle zip. The insulated pair lists none, and starts at 120 rather than 110.
- Two of the four open the full front. The thickened bib has a short chest zip only; the insulated one lists no front zip item.
- All four straps are elastic and three are called adjustable, so the strap is not where the four differ.
- Only the thickened listing publishes a result traceable to a pressure value: 200.0 kPa pre-wash, equal to 20,000 mmH₂O, across all three tested samples.
- The size chart adds garment measurements and a weight by height matrix, and no inseam. The UK/US tab changes units, not sizes.
The four pieces of hardware that decide everything
A bib is a tube with four places where a body gets in or out. Each is a separate design decision, and none shows up in the waterproof or breathability figures. Two kinds of statement follow: what a listing publishes, and what the construction implies. The second is a judgement, not a measurement.
| Insulated bib | Thickened bib | Ice Warrior, 3-layer | Color-Block, 2-layer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sizes | 120 to 150 | 110 to 150 | 110 to 150 | 110 to 150 |
| Waterproof | 15,000 mmH₂O | 20,000 mmH₂O | 18,000 mmH₂O | 18,000 mmH₂O |
| Straps | Adjustable elastic suspenders | Elasticated bib straps | Adjustable elastic suspenders, listed as staying put without pinching | Adjustable elastic suspenders, listed as staying put without pinching |
| Front opening | No front zip item listed | Front chest zip | Full-length front zip | Full-length front zip |
| Ankle opening | Built-in snow gaiters at the hem, no zip item listed | Ankle zips | Waterproof ankle zips | Waterproof zip at the leg opening |
| Waist and hem | No taping or hem reinforcement listed | Taped seams | Fully taped seams, abrasion-resistant reinforcement at rear hem | Fully taped seams, abrasion strip reinforcing the back hem, built-in snow skirt |
Read across the middle rows: two ways into a pair of pants, plus a third that leaves the question open.
The strap is the one part that does not separate them
Parents searching for kids ski pants with suspenders usually want a pant held up by straps with no chest panel. None of these four is that: all four carry a full bib panel over the chest and lower back, which covers the gap a jacket hem leaves when a child bends.
The straps are almost the same sentence written four ways. Three listings describe them as adjustable; the thickened listing describes them only as elasticated. That is a difference in wording, not a demonstrated difference in the hardware, and it is no reason to pay more. Elastic takes up the slack when a child crouches and the panel does the rest, so this is the one column where the entry-tier bib gives nothing up.
See all four kids bib pants in the kids ski wear range →
Ankle zips on kids ski bib pants: three have them, one does not list them
This is the sharpest split in the range, and it hides at the bottom of the spec table.
| Product | Ankle opening, as listed |
|---|---|
| Insulated bib | Built-in snow gaiters at the hem |
| Thickened bib | Ankle zips let kids pull the pants over their boots in seconds |
| Ice Warrior | Waterproof ankle zips |
| Color-Block | Waterproof zip at the leg opening |
Three list a zip. The insulated bib lists a gaiter and nothing else at the hem, with no zip item anywhere in its table. Not published is not the same as not there, so if the boot stays on at the end of the day, ask before you buy.
The split has nothing to do with snow getting in. A bib without an ankle zip goes on before the boots, and the boot closes over the pant leg with its own cuff. The cost lands indoors, when boots come off and so does the bib, because the pant leg is still threaded inside the boot. An ankle zip reverses that, bib on last and off first.
Two kinds of front opening, two different mornings
The front row splits three ways: one bib lists no front zip, one has a short chest zip, and two open the full length of the front. The three mechanisms behave differently in ways no rating captures.
Pull-on. The thickened bib has a front chest zip, so the waist and hips below it are a closed loop. The child steps into it the way they step into trousers, pulls it over the hips, settles the straps, and closes a short zip at chest height.
Open-front. Both higher-tier bibs run a full-length front zip from chest to waist. The front opens flat, the child steps in, and the zip closes over a much longer run that starts near the hip.
For a child dressing alone, pull-on is more forgiving: the motion is the one they know from trousers, the zip is short, and the panel is in place once the straps are up. A long zip is harder to seat over a bunched base layer.
For the morning with no time in it, open-front wins. Unzip and the front goes flat, so the bib clears the hips and the layers over them without a fight. That is also why it suits an adult dressing a reluctant small child in a footwell: the case for the open front is about the adult, not the child.
A full-length front zip also adds a long seam down the centre, and seams are where water gets in. Both bibs with a full-length zip also list fully taped seams; the insulated bib lists neither.
What kids ski bib pants seams and hems tell you
A waterproof rating is built from several parts: membrane, seam treatment, zip, face finish. The standards behind the numbers, and how each one is measured, decide whether two figures can be compared at all.
Taping. The thickened listing says taped seams; both higher-tier listings say fully taped seams. Fully claims every seam, while taped alone tells you some are covered and not which. The insulated bib lists no seam treatment. The seams that matter on a bib run under the seat and along the inner leg.
The rear hem. This is where a bib wears through first, sliding across the snow when a child sits or kneels. Both higher-tier bibs name it: abrasion-resistant reinforcement at the rear hem on the 3-layer bib, an abrasion strip on the back hem of the color-block. The other two list neither, and their abrasion figures are missing too.
The snow skirt. Only the color-block bib lists one, unusual on a bib rather than a jacket. The listing does not say where it sits; it earns its keep at the top, where a jacket hem rides up.
Layer count. Three of the four publish a layer count: one 3-layer, two 2-layer. The insulated bib names a composite fabric and no count. A 3-layer build bonds outer fabric, membrane and inner surface into one laminate, so nothing shifts as the pants go on; the color-block notes wadding with no separate liner. The 3-layer bib is also the only one publishing 30,000 abrasion cycles, against 20,000 on the color-block.
Which numbers you can actually check
| Product | Laboratory named | Standard numbers listed |
|---|---|---|
| Insulated bib | None | None |
| Thickened bib | Independent laboratory, accredited under CMA/CNAS and within the ilac-MRA mutual recognition arrangement | GB/T 4744-2013, GB/T 12704.2-2009, GB/T 4745-2012 |
| Ice Warrior | None | GB/T 4744-2013, GB/T 12704.2-2009, GB/T 4745-2012, GB/T 21196.2-2007 |
| Color-Block | CMA/CNAS-accredited third-party laboratory | GB/T 4744-2013, GB/T 12704.2-2009, GB/T 4745-2012, GB/T 21196.2-2007 |
Traceable to a lab, a value and a sample count. Only the thickened bib does all three: an independent accredited laboratory, a hydrostatic head of 200.0 kPa before washing, and Grade 5 repellency pre-wash across all three tested samples. The 200.0 kPa is about 20 metres of water column, and the listing states it as equal to 20,000 mmH₂O. A named method plus a named result is what makes a number checkable by someone other than the seller.
Traceable to a standard number. Both higher-tier listings cite the standard behind the performance figures, abrasion included. Only the color-block bib adds an accredited third-party laboratory. The Ice Warrior cites the standards without naming who ran them.
Not traceable. The insulated bib carries 15,000 mmH₂O and Grade 3 repellency with no standard number anywhere in its specification table. There is no method to look up and no result to compare.
All four are rated to -25°C, and only the color-block bib attributes that number to its source rather than to a test. None of the four cites a standard for warmth, so it is the one headline claim that cannot be checked at all.
Kids ski bib pants fit: what the size chart gives you
Each of the four kids bib listings publishes two tables most outdoor brands do not: garment measurements, and a weight by height matrix that can move a child up a code. The columns below run 110 to 150, which is the range on three of the four; the insulated bib starts at 120, so its chart begins there.
| Measurement (cm) | 110 | 120 | 130 | 140 | 150 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | 70 | 74 | 78 | 82 | 86 |
| Hip | 80 | 83 | 87 | 91 | 95 |
| Thigh | 50 | 52 | 54 | 56 | 58 |
| Leg opening | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 |
The chart's note: measured flat, with a 1 to 2 cm tolerance. These are clothes measurements, not body measurements, so base layer room is already inside them.
| Weight (kg) | 110 cm | 120 cm | 130 cm | 140 cm | 150 cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 to 20 | 110 | 120 | 130 | 140 | 150 |
| 18 to 25 | 110 | 120 | 130 | 140 | 150 |
| 22 to 28 | 110 | 120 | 130 | 140 | 150 |
| 26 to 30 | 120 | 130 | 130 | 140 | 150 |
| 28 to 35 | 120 | 130 | 140 | 150 | 150 |
| 33 to 42 | 120 | 130 | 140 | 150 | 150 |
The last three rows are where this stops being a straight height lookup. In the first three, height is the answer. In the 26 to 30 kg band only 110 and 120 move up, to 120 and 130; from 28 to 35 kg every column moves except 150.
The kids ski bib pants weight bands also overlap, and the chart publishes no rule for it: at 120 cm a 27 kg child reads 120 in one band and 130 in the next. The direction of travel is up.
Before sizing up for growth: chest grows 4 cm per code, hip 3 to 4, thigh 2, leg opening 1. That last step sits inside the chart's own tolerance, so treat the ankle as flat. A code up buys its room at the hip.
What the chart does not give you. Four measurements, in either tab: chest, hip, thigh, leg opening. No outseam or inseam figure, so no leg length at all (leg opening is a width, not a length), and no waist or knee width. The missing outseam is the one that matters, since it decides whether the cuff lands on the boot or above it.
No age conversion and no US size conversion. The tab labelled UK/US converts centimetres to inches and kilos to pounds; it does not turn a centimetre code into a US kids size. A search for a size 8 has no answer here, and inventing a mapping would be worse than saying so.
The short version
Match the bib to who does the dressing and what the day looks like.
- Dresses alone, in and out of a lodge all day: the thickened bib. Pull-on front, ankle zips, the tightest test documentation of the four.
- An adult dressing a small child: the color-block bib or the Ice Warrior, because both open the front flat instead of being pulled on.
- Sits, kneels and slides on the snow: the Ice Warrior 3-layer bib: 3-layer, fully taped, 30,000 cycles, reinforced rear hem.
- Jacket hem rides up when they sit: the color-block bib, the only one with a built-in snow skirt.
- Lowest tier at 120 cm and up: the insulated insulated bib. It lists no ankle zip, no front zip, no seam treatment and no standard numbers.
FAQ
Can a child put on kids ski bib pants by themselves?
It depends on the front opening, not the tier. A short chest zip is pulled on like trousers and closed with one short zip at chest height, the easier sequence for a child alone. A full-length front zip opens flat, which is easier for an adult doing the dressing. No listing states an age for independent dressing.
Are the ankle zips waterproof?
Two of the three bibs that list an ankle zip call it waterproof; the thickened bib does not. A zip is not what makes a bib waterproof: standing water is stopped by the membrane and the seam treatment, and snow against a boot is not standing water. The stronger claim here is fully taped seams on both higher-tier bibs.
What should a child wear under kids snow bib pants?
A base layer, and a thin mid layer on a cold day. The layer plan behind that is in how to layer kids for skiing. The bibs are padded through the leg and cut roomy, so a thick fleece inside usually causes overheating rather than adding margin. Add the mid layer below about -10°C, and take it off before a long lift ride if your child runs warm.
How do you choose a size when a child falls between two codes?
Find the weight row first, then the height column. In the lower three bands the answer is simply the height. Above 26 kg the chart starts routing children upward, the bands overlap, and one child can sit in two rows with two different answers. The chart's direction is up, so when a child sits in two bands, take the larger code.
Why are there no sizes like 6, 8 or 10 on these listings?
The range is labelled in centimetres of body height, whatever name the listing uses, and the same garment sells as kids snow bib pants, kids ski bibs and kids snow bib overalls. No listing publishes a conversion from those centimetre codes to US kids sizes or to ages, and the UK/US tab only changes the units of the measurements.
The closing call
What actually decides your morning carries no rating at all: whether the child can get in and out without help.
Start with the kids ski wear range → and bring the measured height and weight to the size chart. If you are still choosing between a bib, a set and a one-piece, the kids ski suit guide starts one level up.
