I love a pair of shorts.
I’ve been living in shorts the majority of the past few months, opting for boardies in the home office, given any smart appearance on camera need only be from the waist up at best. Plus, designers on the whole don’t make shorts for people with thighs. By no means do I have the biggest quads out there, but fitting anything close to my waist size seems borderline impossible. Anything with slim in the title makes it look like I’ve painted them on, skinny, im lucky to get them over my calves.
Over the years I’ve gradually plucked the courage to wear shorter running shorts, though I draw the line at splits. I have a pair and due to my quads/short legs, look like I’m wearing a skort (running skirt incase you were unaware) and it feels like 3 things are all to close to falling out. I guess I’ll never be able to pull off that elite marathoner runner look, well, that and my physical splits times are woefully short of the grade.
Anyhow, Rab came out with the Talus running shorts earlier this year and ive spent part of the summer running in them. I’ve been wearing a combination of SAXX and T8 underwear underneath, given there is no brief incorporated into the short, think of them more of an over short than a complete unit, so you will need to find something to pair up if you’re used to budgie smugglers with material over the top.
At 9 inches of inseam, the Talus are the longest legged shorts I’ve run in for the best part of 5 years. My initial thoughts were they could be restrictive, but due to the material selection (a recurring theme with Rab) they proved not to be. Rab use a lightweight Matrix™ single weave stretch fabric which is damn stretchy, like REALLY stretchy.
This single weave fabric has proven to be very stretchy & breathable, making them comfortable whether plodding or at full tilt on an interval or descent. Overall, breathability will be determined by the under short/underwear you pair them with.
There are two pockets, one zippered and one ‘hidden.’ The hidden one stayed so illusive in the time spent testing them, that I only realised it was present when reading up before writing this. You can see it and more in the video below.
The zippered pocket is deep and can easily fit a couple of gels or bars. The zipper is angled and its one of my two minor gripes with the Talus. If you want to use the pocket on the move, its hard to fully trust running with it open, when fishing for a snack if you have a key inside, given smaller objects have a habit of climbing. I would much prefer a standard pocket, with a horizontal opening parallel to the waist band. Aesthetically it isn’t as stylish, but in practice, at least for me, it has grater security when open, if only perception.
The waist has a robust draw string that firmly holds in place and reflective detailing on the back/front make sure to give other runners/car drivers a hint of where you are approaching.
All together they are well thought out and the material is technically a clever choice.
But
That colour.
I have a second pair of shorts on review from Patagonia, which are the same colour. Both suffer from highlighting people who have a high sweat rate I.E me, as they turn dark blue when they get damp. Not great, given I’m a heavy sweater year round and also, depending on what you pair these up with, are very good at showing if you’ve had a natural break on the trail and there is a little residual moisture. This is me being personally picky and there is a safer Beluga or dark grey for those who sweat like a demon. But given ive been running on local trails since April given the way of the world, I have found myself becoming increasingly self conscious on humid, hot and intense days running.
I’m also left wanting a bit more.
£50 isn’t a deal breaker, but with many similarly priced shorts with greater numbers of pockets, integrated liner shorts and additional features, it feels to me like the Talus is Rab playing safe. Has the money gone into the fabric/material used, but little else? The Phantom Pull-On is a technical piece which shows whats possible and ticks all the boxes for a trail/ultra runner, going head to head with the establishment, whereas the Talus feels like it was designed not to alienate existing fans of the brand with their foray into the discipline.
Maybe I’m being too critical, thats up for you to decide, but for me, I know they have the potential to do more and hope that next year will see something that reflects the knowledge and design skill the brand has at its disposal.
Technically, there is nothing wrong, but in the same way people will argue about the application of jam and cream onto a scone, I personally feel things could be done slightly differently to result in a better product.
To find out more about Rab’s Talus Running Shorts – Click HERE
Product supplied by Rab Equipment | This is not a sponsored post or paid advertisement
James Mackeddie 