Last year on a wet Trans Cambrian bikepacking trip, thanks to Guy Kesteven's review of the 7Mesh Thunder Pants, my world was gently rocked by how a high-performance pair of waterproof trousers could be genuinely pleasant to leave on all day.
This year, my favorite ‘it doesn’t have to be this way’ discovery has been Gore Wear’s Endure Gore-Tex Shorts. I’d previously accepted that a wet gritty chamois just came with the territory in damp-weather mountain biking (ie all but the height of summer in the UK). And that you’d only take full waterproof pants if the weather was unspeakably filthy.
But Gore Wear’s fully waterproof shorts looked as if they could bridge the gap beautifully – either that, or be head-scratchingly incomplete, like an umbrella with a third cut off it.
Design and specifications
The first thing you notice is that while the shorts are long, they’re also very light – 119g for a medium size.
They’re made of Gore’s Paclite Plus – a thin, unlined waterproof, and breathable fabric (which they call 2.5 layer). And to resist the grinding paste that inevitably builds up between shorts and saddle on a wet MTB ride, they have a large reinforced seat area, which should keep them going for years. This is the main change over their predecessor, the C5 Paclite Trail Shorts.
The waistband is stretchy, deep and comfortable, with no fly, a tie cord on the inside front and a grippy coating on the inside; and the cut is raised at the back. With a 30in waist I was between a small and a medium; I found the medium snug enough around the waist and easy to get on and off, though I expect a small would have been fine too – there was plenty of room in the leg, even over baggy shorts.
There’s a phone-sized zipped waterproof pocket on the right thigh, reflective logos on the legs and little reflective strips on the rear hems, but apart from that, no vents or other features – it’s a ‘less is more’ product.
Performance
The good news is that less really is more in this case. At barely the weight of a couple of gels, it was a no-brainer to sling the Endure Shorts in the pack if the weather looked ambiguous, and apart from the limited pocketing, it was no compromise to wear them instead of normal MTB shorts for a whole ride.
They were at their best in two scenarios:
One was general wet mountain biking or gravel. Without a big rear mudguard, endless puddles and even wet grass normally soaks your shorts through with gritty gunk, and the Endure Shorts kept this in check. If you’d driven somewhere, at the end of a ride you could peel off the shorts and drive home in your still-clean bibs if you wanted (although your lower legs might be thick with mud).
The other was to take the edge off bad weather, a bit like our roadie pals do with a gilet. When it comes in cold and wet, obviously a jacket comes first and makes the most difference, but the waterproof shorts made a surprising extra difference to the feeling of being cosy and being able to stay out for hours, rather than counting down the minutes to a warm shower as your comfort levels dwindle. I also found them good for commuting, particularly when it involved a ride and then standing around at a wet station.
All of this was without the faff, restriction and pack weight of full-length overtrousers. Because they were shorts there were no tight spots around the knees, and I found them pretty quiet, though that did vary with what I wore them over.
The combination of high-end Gore-Tex Paclite Plus and venting through the leg cuffs meant they didn’t noticeably overheat, and the waterproofing stayed good even though like almost all waterproof clothing it was hard to keep the beading active even with diligent washing (machine wash only when the stink is too much to bear). Not too loose and not too tight, there was room for knee pads and I thought they looked pretty good too, in an understated, clean lines kind of way.
Verdict
While they’re not built for potential hypothermia days, Gore Wear’s Endure Gore-Tex Shorts are a pleasingly versatile and unobtrusive companion in grotty weather and on wet trails. They’re a luxury for sure, but chances are you’d find them going into your pack a lot more than you might have imagined.
Tech Specs: Gore Wear Endure Gore-Tex Shorts
- Price: £143.99 / €159.95 / $180
- Color: Black
- Weight: 119g (size medium)
- Sizes: S-XXL (unisex)
- Key materials: Gore-Tex Paclite Plus (Polyamide)
