Montane Trail 2SK Shorts: The Tech
Montane’s dedicated trail running shorts use a similar principle to the Salomon Fast Wing TW short we recently reviewed. There’s a stretch, Lycra-type inner short combined with an integral over short for added modesty and protection.
The latter doesn’t cover the inner thigh area to minimise chafing or the possibility of the baggy short riding up in use. Where the Montane shorts differ is that the inner short is a fair bit longer than the outer one, so you look like a runner wearing shorts over a skin-short.
Fabrics are Polygiene treated to reduce odour build-up and have UPF 50+ sun protection levels. Montane’s given them bespoke names, but both are a mix of Polyester for wicking and drying and Spandex for a bit of stretch.
Other stuff includes two gel-pockets and a key-pocket inside the wide, comfortable, soft and stretchy waistband, a gripper band at the bottom of the inner short legs and handy reflective trim.
Montane Trail 2SK Shorts: Performance
We loved the look of the short from the off. The unashamed, ong-legged liner short display and bright blue colour looks properly pro without raising the spectre of Lycra shame… Black is also available.
They feel great on too. The soft and stretchy fabrics give gentle unobtrusive support to the thighs and the single-layer inner panels work well to eliminate chafing and there’s no fabric in that area to ride up uncomfortably.
The wide, stretchy waistband with drawcord back up is also super comfortable. The fabrics wick and dry well too and the Polygiene finish seems reasonably effective at odour prevention, something that’s not always the case with shorts.
There doesn’t seem to be any DWR though, so if does rain, the shorts get damp quick. The only aspect of the shorts we didn’t get on with was a slight lack of support for private parts. It might have been a fit issue – and it would be interesting to try a size smaller short – but there was rather too much bounce and float for our tastes and on longer runs it started to get uncomfortable.
To paraphrase Anna Kournikova, ‘the balls should not bounce’ – or not too much anyway. Maybe that’s a personal thing, but we’d have liked a snugger liner and preferred the more supportive Salomon Fast Wing TW for that reason.
Montane Trail 2SK Shorts: Verdict
There’s lots to like about the Trail S2Ks. They look great, are light, comfortable, reasonably fast drying and fast wicking and do a good job of minimising chafing generally. We like the longer length too – it works with our cycling tan…
The one thing we didn’t get on with was the lack of localised support in ‘crucial areas’. That might be fixable with a smaller size, but we’d suggest that while this is a great trail running short, it’s one you should preferably try before buying.
More Information
See www.montane.co.uk
