Hailing from Livingstone, Scotland, Endura can claim a reasonable qualification in being able to design mountain bike gear for British weather. These MT500 Spray shorts are its ‘ride all year, particularly in the wet’ baggies.
Endura uses a selection of durable fabrics to get what it wants and it’s almost as if the front of the shorts has been designed for summer, with the back of them for winter. At the front is a multi panel stretchy Cordura, 6in thigh vents and a couple of zipped slash pockets (with rain flaps to keep them filling with water). There’s a zipped fly and old-school button fastener, while a captive webbing belt and nylon buckle allows some adjustment. You can even add a belt for overkillage, and, if you have Clickfast shorts, you can popper them on inside the waistband.
Round the back, there’s a heavier stretch panel around the waist, with half elastic waistband. This back panel is in a more softshell waterproof fabric. The seat and crotch is in a waterproof Cordura and all of the seams at the back are fully taped. At the bottom of the leg there are velcro tabs for leg opening volume.
These are no lightweight, summer meadow, dusty day shorts. In fact, you might even overheat if it’s too nice. These are best on a typical UK day where it might be nice, it might be horrible and you’re doubtless going to be splooshing through mud and puddles, whatever the clouds are doing. They’re not fully waterproof (what is?) but they’ll keep out the worst of those watery splashes and delay the onset of damp crotchness. All the materials are hard-wearing and splashproof. The rear will keep you dry unless you go dunking yourself into rivers.
Overall: If you’re a ‘shorts all year’ rider, you’ve found your shorts from now until next summer.
Review Info
| Brand: | Endura |
| Product: | MT500 Spray |
| From: | Endura, endura.co.uk |
| Price: | £64.99, liner not included |
| Tested: | by Chipps for |