Pearl Izumi Forest Short Review
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Pearl Izumi hit the nail on the head with the Women’s Forest Short. These are great looking mountain bike shorts. Yes, function rates higher but let’s face it; it’s a double bonus to look super stylish while ripping it up on the bike. I think some women might find the price a bit high at $150.00 but I have a feeling that these will be on my shelf for years to come.
The Forest Short is made with a super lightweight material that breathes well and they also feel weightless. The shorts come with a detachable chamois that is comfortable and cushy enough for longer rides (more than five hours). I did find that as the hours went by, I was pulling the legs on the chamois down quite a bit. The waist is also adjustable. I usually wear a small and they fit perfectly (no need to adjust for me). The shorts have a 9.5 inch inseam. These shorts only come in black but don’t assume that means they’re boring. There is just enough interesting stitching, design and hints of purple to make them super cute; great combination of toughness and feminine touches. They used Elite Stretch Fabric which allows them to move anywhere you want them to go.
There is a zip pocket in the front and the back. The front zip pocket on the leg is perfect for a gel pack or your ID for an après beer. The shorts have a zipper up alongside the right side seam which allows a bit more give in the fabric for you to get into the shorts with comfort. It might be nice of there was another zipper on the left side to make it even easier to get into the shorts. After four or five hours on the trail (complete with multiple pee breaks behind the tree), the shorts had to be tugged a bit once mixed with sweat and… But that is a personal thing and not a defect of these clearly awesome shorts.
These are my new favorite Pearl Izumi shorts. They are great on the trail and once done riding, rip off the sweaty detachable chamois and you’ve got yourself a cute pair of shorts to wear to grab a beer and a bite to eat.
MSRP: $150.00 For more information on the Forest Short and other Pi products, visit www.pearlizumi.com or www.amazon.com/pearlizumi.
