Endura Splash MT500 Shorts

So if you're tired of having a wet bum when out riding and the potential it brings for soreness, you might like to try Endura's Splash MT500 baggies.

The 3/4 length shorts I bought are multipanel and the XL fitted my 34" waist very well. There's a front fly zip, press stud top fastener and a short clip belt over the top of the press stud which offers about 1" of adjustment. Adjustable velcro straps at the ends of the legs allow you to decide how tightly they fit around your calves. Ventilation is provided by mesh behind the knees and a zipped mesh section down each side. There is a zipped pocket on each side near the top, with the zip snuggly hidden under a covering flap. I don't tend to use pockets in baggies because I don't like the idea of coming off and landing on something like a set of car keys to add pain on top of embarrassment, so I can't really comment on how capacious (or not) these pockets are.

The main feature is the waterproof panel that runs from the centre back under the crotch and partially up the front - protecting you from the worst of the cr*p coming up from the trail and your wheels. These shorts are not waterproof in terms of the rain coming down from above, that's not their purpose.

They feel a bit lighter than my regular Hummvee 3/4s and perhaps the material is a touch thinner. In today's 8 deg C with a very strong and cold wind that probably made it feel more like 1 or 2 deg C, they were warm enough. Nercwys was very very wet today, along with lots of very runny muddy stuff, so it was a good day to test them out. I'm pleased to say that these shorts performed very well, and I remained very dry round the parts. This was emphasised by the lower to middle part of my top, that got pretty wet from back wheel spray. They're very comfortable, and there was no problem at all with freedom of leg movement & flexibility. I had the ends of the legs adjusted so that I could get a couple of fingers between my leg and the leg of the shorts and that seemed to allow enough movement without any excessive riding up the leg. So they seem to be good, on first use.

It'll be interesting to see how well they wear over time - they're going to be getting a good deal of use over the rest of the Winter, and knowing North Wales, probably most of the Summer too. The main negative for me is the price. They're supposed to list at around £75 to £79 but I managed to find some for £70, which is not bad considering this is probably the peak time of the year for this type of short. In comparison with the Hummvees this doesn't seem too bad. I made a poor assumption that they would come with the inner padded shorts. But they don't. Fortunately they are compatible with Endura's click fit system so inner shorts are transferrable between all of their baggie designs.

If the £70 had included inners, I would've said they were excellent value for money. As it is you have to budget another £15-£25 for the inners, which takes the VFM down a couple of pegs.

So 9/10 for performance, but 8/10 when value is added in.