7Mesh's Farside shorts offer luxury for your legs.

Product Overview

Overall rating:

Score 9

7Mesh Farside Long Shorts

Pros:

  • Soft, fluffy internal fabric face. Four-way stretch. Long enough to avoid pad gap. DWR coating. Useful range of pockets.

Cons:

  • Hip pockets could be deeper. High price – though backed up with good after-sales.

Product:

7Mesh Farside Long shorts review

Manufacturer:

Price as reviewed:

£100.00

This Farside short from 7Mesh is a lightweight breathable trail short made with a thin four-way stretch fabric. It’s exceptionally cool and comfortable, and, unlike most of the best summer MTB shorts, this ‘Long’ version covers all of the thigh, so you don’t look dorky wearing knee pads.

The wafer-thin material has a DWR coating to repel water and uses a swishy, free-flowing fabric that never gets saturated and sweaty even on the hottest days. It also dries really quickly if splashes or a shower rain on your parade. All seams inside are very neatly sewn, with extra reinforcement stitching in the crotch area where the most rubbing and abrasion happens.

7Mesh Farside Long shorts

7Mesh Farside Long shorts

Farside fit is barely there and almost invisible, partly due to the bottom hem being taped (laminated) together, so there’s no excess bulk or weight on the knee, but also because 7Mesh has nailed the cut everywhere with a close-fitting shape that never flaps but also doesn’t cling or grab while you’re pedalling or moving around.

I can’t get along with shorts without pockets for keys and a phone (I’d rather not carry a pack if I can help it) and there are two classic hip pockets here as well as a zippered stash for your phone that puts the weight in a perfect place on the side to be unobtrusive when cranking.

Unlike many MTB shorts, 7Mesh’s waistband cinches tight enough on the shape of riders tending to have a small waist and bigger thighs/backside, and the thread though/fold over waist adjustment clasp (like some Specialized shorts) is lightweight and secure. There’s also a very soft-against-skin fluffy internal fabric.

Verdict

All in all, this supremely comfortable short is pretty much a perfect lightweight trail item and also looks cool off the bike. Just about the only nit I can pick is the two regular pockets could be a bit deeper, so contents sit further down the leg. That’s about the extent of any gripes though with this well-executed bit of kit, and it’s also neat that 7Mesh offers a lifetime crash replacement policy to repair or patch up rips and save on chucking otherwise perfectly good kit away.

Details

Weight:175g
Colours:Black, Cadet Blue (tested), Loam
Contact:7mesh.com