Review: Howies MTB Women's Shorts

By Lara Dunn

The first thing I noticed about these shorts was how smart they looked, from the densely matt black soft shell type fabric and clean lines to the purple accents. They stand just the right side of girly in my opinion, with a towards femininity without tumbling into the abyss of swirls, flowers and pink. You could consider the design to be very safe, in that it’s not likely to offend anyone, but that’s not always a bad thing.

They do not come with an integral pair of liner shorts, allowing riders to choose their own under garments as suits their preference. I always prefer this as an option, personally, having experienced more than once the frustration of good shorts paired with bad liners and vice versa, or an inconsistent fit across the two.

I usually sit between a medium and large in cycling shorts, but these presented a different challenge from usual. The mediums were fine at the hips and legs, with the heavy duty stretchy fabric allowing for a great fit and good flex across my sporty thighs. However, the waist, even cinched in to its smallest adjustment option, with the stretch Velcro straps embedded in the waistband, was roomy. That said, it was a broad comfortable waistband, sitting nice and flat against the front of the waist, but sadly a little on the low side at the back, allowing for a gap between shorts and jersey when riding. I’d have liked the waist higher at the rear to prevent this.

Zipped thigh vents allowed for some great airflow, while the contrast purple mesh lining looked good and was effective at not flashing flesh and allowing bits of debris in. For really hot days, the zipped pockets also have a mesh side.

The shorts are well-made and extremely comfortable to ride in, with plenty of stretch. The fabric repels dirt and water nicely, and washes up really well, while the matt black is very flattering and sleek. All in all, I really liked them, but I’d have preferred a higher waist at the back and some tweaking of the waist sizing in relation to the rest.