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Product name: Gore Wear C5 Gore-Tex Trail Shorts
Price paid: £120 - 4 years ago... now £159!
Score (out of 10): 8/10
Review: Firstly, I’m a big fan of Gore (wear) products. I have several pairs of shorts, t-shirts, jackets, trousers and padded shorts.
It’s not the most interesting looking stuff - usually a subdued single colour with a tiny Gore logo, but it fits well and functions great.
Gore are a bit more generous with their leg lengths than some other sportswear manufacturers. Most manufacturers tend to follow a rule that your height is proportional to your waist - so for me to get a pair of Nike tracksuit bottoms that fit a 34” leg, I need to order an XL - which have a 42” waist. I find that as a 6ft 2” tall man with a 32” waist, most sportswear manufacturers don’t cater for me.
I’ve tried Fox, TLD, Endura and various others before, but usually they come up too short. Gore tend to fit me quite well.
Not that any of that really matters… as today I’m talking about shorts
I’ve been using these C5 Trail shorts since January 2019. They cost £120 back then, and I had a 10% off new customer coupon (using an alternative email address!)
They are Gore-Tex paclite material - which is essentially a thin waterproof shell. They have a very small zip pocket which could probably keep a key - but it’s not really big enough or a phone or anything useful. They weigh about 110g, and take up very little space in a pack.
They have a drawstring waist which is a little bit elasticated, and some silver reflective logos on them. No thrills at all. They sit just below the knee, and can easily accommodate a pair of knee pads underneath.
Let’s be clear… these are designed as an over short rather than a stand alone short. Their purpose (for me anyway) is to keep my real shorts clean and my bum dry. I would wear a pair of normal shorts with real pockets underneath, and a pair of padded shorts too.
I have worn them with just padded shorts underneath, but then I have the issue of no useful pockets unless I wear a jacket.
I generally arrive at my trail and put these on once I’m out of the car.
When new (or just washed) any water spray simply beads off the surface like any Gore-Tex material and keeps you dry. There are no ventilation issues, as they’re reasonably baggy shorts with open legs!
Once the ride is over, I take them off (the bottoms are wide enough to get your feet in / out without taking your shoes off) - and generally my backside underneath is bone dry. I can then get in the car with my regular shorts dry and drive home.
On the flip side, when you ride in really dirty muddy trails, eventually the mud starts sticking to the bottom… and you end up with a damp patch where the soaking mud is sitting. When you take the shorts off then, you probably have a slightly damp bottom… although it doesn’t usually penetrate the padded ass of my shorts below!! 100 times better than it would be without the shorts, but as they’re so thin, it will eventually soak through.
The other downside to the thin material is that riding with a damp muddy ‘paste’ on your backside continually rubbing against your saddle will eventually wear through. I am currently on my 3rd pair of these shorts - with the other 2 developing small tears in the bottom. The area around the tear is not as ‘shiny’ as the rest of the material, so it’s clear it’s worn through from the grit on the saddle.
These have just been washed - and you can clearly see the 'worn' area where the saddle rubs against them. You can also see the tiny hole and a few more looking like they're going to form.
The plus side is that Gore’s warranty is fantastic - and both my pairs have been replaced FOC. I had to send a couple of pictures and answer a couple of questions, and a new pair arrived within a week. The last time, I was asked to take a photo of my label with an X drawn through it in permanent marker - and I could keep the old ones. They only have a hole the size of a pin prick at the moment, so I can still use them as a spare pair.
I ride in Scotland, where it rains a lot. Our trails are more often damp / wet than dry... even on sunny days. Puddles can linger in the woods for a long time! Although I’ve gone through 2 pairs of these shorts already, they are getting a lot of use. More often than not I’m wearing them on sunny days to save my bum getting wet / dirty from the residual water. Only when I know it hasn't been raining for a couple of weeks will I venture out without these shorts on!
I have the full trouser version of these too… but I prefer wearing shorts. The trousers probably only get on a couple of times a year - and that’s if I’m brave enough to head out in bucketing rain.
It’s difficult to rate these. I feel like personally I’d be 10/10 because I wouldn’t be without them in my cycling kit.
They look dull and boring, don’t have a very usable pocket, and develop a hole in the bum within about 2 years… however they keep me clean and dry. They do exactly what they’re meant to, and Gore’s warranty is so good that it doesn’t matter if they wear out as they replace them for free.
I’ll go 8/10… given the issues, however I would highly recommend them and wouldn't be without.
Last thing to point out is that Gore have re-branded these as Gore Wear Endure Gore-Tex shorts now, and they're listed as RRP £159.
Product name: Gore Wear C5 Gore-Tex Trail Shorts
Price paid: £120 - 4 years ago... now £159!
Score (out of 10): 8/10
Review: Firstly, I’m a big fan of Gore (wear) products. I have several pairs of shorts, t-shirts, jackets, trousers and padded shorts.
It’s not the most interesting looking stuff - usually a subdued single colour with a tiny Gore logo, but it fits well and functions great.
Gore are a bit more generous with their leg lengths than some other sportswear manufacturers. Most manufacturers tend to follow a rule that your height is proportional to your waist - so for me to get a pair of Nike tracksuit bottoms that fit a 34” leg, I need to order an XL - which have a 42” waist. I find that as a 6ft 2” tall man with a 32” waist, most sportswear manufacturers don’t cater for me.
I’ve tried Fox, TLD, Endura and various others before, but usually they come up too short. Gore tend to fit me quite well.
Not that any of that really matters… as today I’m talking about shorts
I’ve been using these C5 Trail shorts since January 2019. They cost £120 back then, and I had a 10% off new customer coupon (using an alternative email address!)
They are Gore-Tex paclite material - which is essentially a thin waterproof shell. They have a very small zip pocket which could probably keep a key - but it’s not really big enough or a phone or anything useful. They weigh about 110g, and take up very little space in a pack.
They have a drawstring waist which is a little bit elasticated, and some silver reflective logos on them. No thrills at all. They sit just below the knee, and can easily accommodate a pair of knee pads underneath.
Let’s be clear… these are designed as an over short rather than a stand alone short. Their purpose (for me anyway) is to keep my real shorts clean and my bum dry. I would wear a pair of normal shorts with real pockets underneath, and a pair of padded shorts too.
I have worn them with just padded shorts underneath, but then I have the issue of no useful pockets unless I wear a jacket.
I generally arrive at my trail and put these on once I’m out of the car.
When new (or just washed) any water spray simply beads off the surface like any Gore-Tex material and keeps you dry. There are no ventilation issues, as they’re reasonably baggy shorts with open legs!
Once the ride is over, I take them off (the bottoms are wide enough to get your feet in / out without taking your shoes off) - and generally my backside underneath is bone dry. I can then get in the car with my regular shorts dry and drive home.
On the flip side, when you ride in really dirty muddy trails, eventually the mud starts sticking to the bottom… and you end up with a damp patch where the soaking mud is sitting. When you take the shorts off then, you probably have a slightly damp bottom… although it doesn’t usually penetrate the padded ass of my shorts below!! 100 times better than it would be without the shorts, but as they’re so thin, it will eventually soak through.
The other downside to the thin material is that riding with a damp muddy ‘paste’ on your backside continually rubbing against your saddle will eventually wear through. I am currently on my 3rd pair of these shorts - with the other 2 developing small tears in the bottom. The area around the tear is not as ‘shiny’ as the rest of the material, so it’s clear it’s worn through from the grit on the saddle.
These have just been washed - and you can clearly see the 'worn' area where the saddle rubs against them. You can also see the tiny hole and a few more looking like they're going to form.
The plus side is that Gore’s warranty is fantastic - and both my pairs have been replaced FOC. I had to send a couple of pictures and answer a couple of questions, and a new pair arrived within a week. The last time, I was asked to take a photo of my label with an X drawn through it in permanent marker - and I could keep the old ones. They only have a hole the size of a pin prick at the moment, so I can still use them as a spare pair.
I ride in Scotland, where it rains a lot. Our trails are more often damp / wet than dry... even on sunny days. Puddles can linger in the woods for a long time! Although I’ve gone through 2 pairs of these shorts already, they are getting a lot of use. More often than not I’m wearing them on sunny days to save my bum getting wet / dirty from the residual water. Only when I know it hasn't been raining for a couple of weeks will I venture out without these shorts on!
I have the full trouser version of these too… but I prefer wearing shorts. The trousers probably only get on a couple of times a year - and that’s if I’m brave enough to head out in bucketing rain.
It’s difficult to rate these. I feel like personally I’d be 10/10 because I wouldn’t be without them in my cycling kit.
They look dull and boring, don’t have a very usable pocket, and develop a hole in the bum within about 2 years… however they keep me clean and dry. They do exactly what they’re meant to, and Gore’s warranty is so good that it doesn’t matter if they wear out as they replace them for free.
I’ll go 8/10… given the issues, however I would highly recommend them and wouldn't be without.
Last thing to point out is that Gore have re-branded these as Gore Wear Endure Gore-Tex shorts now, and they're listed as RRP £159.
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