Despite their cool matte black colour you'd be forgiven for overlooking the new Mountain Hardwear 'Talus' shorts, as they look so deceptively ‘regular’ that their outstanding features fail to become apparent without actually wearing them.
Firstly their design is fit for function as they fasten around the hips and rise just above the knees, which, coupled with a high inseam; eliminates chaffing whilst providing an amazing range of physical movement. The Talus also has a rather special 'Seamless conical waistband', which feels silky on the skin and prevents irritation that can regularly occur when walking with a waist-fastened pack.
Raising the technical spec even further, Mountain Hardwear have stitched the Talus from a blend of Elastane and Nylon which gives the shorts an awesome amount of stretch without fear of ripping from over stretching them - and - they always return to the original size.
I've also found the shorts to be amazingly hardwearing, (even after an unplanned jog through some low rising thorny foliage!).
I took these shorts for a dip in a cold a river and emerged the other side physically able to jog off as the shorts seemed to magically repel away the water! In reality they did retain moisture around the gusset area but this was probably due to the inferior fabric of my sponge-like underpants! 85% of the shorts had fully dried within 10-15 minutes and caused no irritation even when wet.
The Talus Shorts are a fine example of excellent craftsmanship. Mountain Hardwear know and understand their audience which means idiots like me who like to test a products’ claim have nothing to do other than write a good review!
No matter what your penchant for the outdoors may be these pair of shorts will be able to withstand many a mile, in any condition! I'd recommend these shorts undoubtedly and suggest you view them as an investment of your hard earned money - as they're going to be with you for a long time!
(Written by: tomlreader@gmail.com)