Showers Pass Gravel Shorts: At The Finish – by Guitar Ted
The Summer has been hot, humid, and dry- Perfect conditions for testing the Showers Pass Gravel Shorts. I introduced these shorts in a post early in July here. Check that out for all the technical details and for my first impressions. Now for the final word on these shorts.
The Showers Pass Gravel Shorts do not come with an inner liner, so I paired these up with bib shorts from GORE or with an inner liner I have from Zoic. In both cases I found that the Gravel Shorts paired up well and with that nice ‘gripper’ inner waistband, the shorts styed put and did not creep downward. That is a very good thing!
The nice venting available on the lower thigh area proved to be effective in bringing in a bit of airflow around the legs. That helped mitigate some heat issues, but what really stands out to me is the shorter leg length of the Gravel Shorts.
The shorter leg length allowed more exposed thigh, and I would say that the shorts fell at about what I would call a ‘short’ bib short length. Mid-thigh? Okay, I think that’s fair, but maybe a tic higher than that even. Pretty short. And that would not fly for me when Fall comes. There I would opt for the ‘just above the knee’ length Showers Pass Cross Country shorts.
The shorter leg length was one thing, but how those shorts fit is another thing I wanted to mention. These Gravel Shorts just might be the least ‘baggie’ of the baggies I’ve ever worn. That’s good when you are not wanting extraneous material flapping out in the wind, or catching on the nose of your saddle. The material stretched and moved with my body with ease. I never felt constrained by the Gravel Shorts, yet off the bike they had the look of a nice, casual pair of shorts that you could wear anywhere, as long as you don’t mind the shorter inseam length.
In terms of pockets the Gravel Shorts are the “Goldilocks” of baggies in that regard. Not too many- not too little- just right! At least in my opinion. Now, those little slash ‘pockets’ on the thighs? Okay, Showers Pass- let’s be honest, these are really vents. Yes- you could use them as a pocket, but I don’t think that is their main function. That’s okay as well, since the ‘real pockets’ on these shorts are just what you need and nothing that you don’t need. Two front pockets, those aforementioned thigh slash pockets, and a left side ‘wallet’ pocket. Things tend to stay in these pockets for me as well, by the way, even while riding.
At The Finish: The Showers Pass Gravel Shorts, besides the “Mr. Obvious” name, are a hit with me. At least as long as it is warm out. This is perhaps its best feature, by the way, that it works so well for me when it is hot, humid, and uncomfortable outside. The material dries well, the vents in the thighs do work and help a bit, and otherwise the shorts just get out of your way and let you pound out the miles.
Off the bike the Gravel Shorts are comfortable, functional, and they look good. Nothing flashy here, just a great design, much like the Cross Country shorts we reviewed before these, with the main features of those shorts being very similar to the Gravel Shorts. Like the Cross Country Shorts, I give these Gravel Shorts a high recommendation. The caveat being that they are shorter in the inseam than many baggies. If that suits you, these shorts are winners.
For more details on the Showers Pass Gravel Shorts see the webpage for them HERE.
Note: Showers Pass sent over the Gravel Shorts for test and review at no charge to Riding Gravel. We were not paid, nor bribed for this review. We always strive to give our honest thoughts and view throughout.
