Lululemon Surge Short 7" Review
I'll be very honest when I say this. I had NO idea that lululemon, primarily known for high end yoga and fashion clothing, carried a very specific line of clothing designed for runners...no idea....hadn't even ever considered it. Honestly, it wasn't even 'til about a year ago that I even knew they carried men's clothing...sorry lululemon....I don't get out much.
The only way I found out that they even carried men's running clothing was because of a Instagram post by my friend, Mike Wardian. So when I was contacted by the fine folks at Lululemon Des Moines to do a story on me for the upcoming Booneville Backroads 100 mile I was super excited when they offered me a pair of shorts to try out and review.
***Disclaimer: I was provided these shorts as a gift and brought no promise of a good review. I prefer to be as honest as possible***
I do have to give a shout out to Meghan McCoy at Des Moines, IA location for being incredibly gracious to meet up with me and chat lululemon, where they want to go in the running community and growing their business. Super high energy and excited to be a part of the lululemon team. One year later, I still feel that they had the absolute BEST aid station at the 2016 Booneville Backroads Ultra. These ladies were NUTS!!!!! :) Thanks so much for being a sponsor for the event again this year.
Now, on to the review of the lululemon Surge Short 7"
In the past 2 years, I have transitioned from wearing a baggy basketball short to SOLELY running in shorts with 5" inseam or slightly shorter. I've found that with the longer the shorts, they tend to...ride up....in very specific areas...and can cause some "issues". I was a little apprehensive when the shortest model that they carried in stores was a 7" inseam but I was willing to give them a try.
I went with the version that does have the liner as I don't like to wear compression shorts or any other underwear. Lululemon does sell a boxer brief which is intended to be worn with the linerless version. Keep that in mind when purchasing as they do offer all of their shorts in a "lined" and "linerless" models.
The strangest piece that I noticed right on the hangar was what appeared to be a fly...think where your zipper is...and it wasn't until I tried them on that I discovered there was no zipper. What the heck is this? One of the other associates advised that, as with all of their clothing, they can be worn as a lifestyle piece and will ultimately appear more like a casual short. BRILLIANT!!!
The tag, I know it's weird that I'm mentioning the tag, brings up a lot of the technologies involved in the construction of the short. Listing out the technologies is pretty standard among the big manufacturers (ie North Face, Nike, Brooks, etc) but the description on the tag is very much lululemon in it's simplicity of message and design.
The shorts have one zippered rear pocket, which is big enough to carry a gel or two and maybe a small iPod, but not big enough to carry a phone of substantial size. This may shy people away from purchasing, but some of the additional features may outweigh a small pocket. I tend to carry my phone in a hydration vest or in the pocket of my handheld so that didn't really bother me. There are 2 additional pockets that are on the inside of the liner, attached to a breathable brief, that can also be used for storage of gels or keys. I tend to not put anything in those because of fear of rubbing.
When I had done some research previously, I had read all about the band on the back of the shorts where you can feed your shirt if you take it off mid run. To be very honest, I rarely take my shirt off during a run, but for those who do, it would be a great feature. The one major benefit of that small elastic strap, could be for those who want to carry water and a great way to store a Simple Hydration bottle...possibly?
Overall first impression, very stylish and great looking short.
I am coming off of a 100 mile trail race 10 days ago and knew that my jump back into running was going to be slow, but I was really excited to give these shorts a try so I wore them around for a few hours before giving them a true test on a run.
Overall fit was great. They actually did have more of a roomy fit than I had initially thought they would. I was anticipating more of a slender cut that is typical with their other clothing.
In my experience, when companies who are not geared at running, attempt to make running gear they will lose the a lot of credit in the comfort while actually being used for their intended purpose. I've worn shorts from a very well known GLOBAL athletic apparel company (mostly known for football/basketball) which are some of the worst running pieces that I've ever owned. They were terrible because they don't take things like runners gait/stride or specific needs into account. The lululemon shorts, however, had a great fit. VERY light materials. Relaxed fit in the quads and rear end (which is important as I have larger of both because of my desire to run/race in the mountains).
The waist band had no bunching when the shorts were cinched down. The string for the waist is a little long, but not long enough to cause any problems when tucked inside the short. The detail of the crossing of the strings inside the wasistband is HUGE and a great positive for me. I've found that companies that put that small detail into the design want to make sure the fit through the waist is not going to loosen up as a runner sweats and/or loses water bloat during a run.
The small split on the side makes for an even better fit when attempting to lengthen stride. This is another spot where companies tend to lose points when they aren't "running specific" brands. The split, even if small, can create a much better fit and keep the shorts from riding up the leg. More on that shortly. You'll also notice from the photo below the band along the bottom of the hem (which is reflective piping), but the shiny parts on the inside of the leg are welds that should prevent any sort of fraying at the junction points between panels. Great touch!!!
Another feature that keeps me purchasing a lot of shorts is in the crotch. The photo shows two different materials in the top/bottom portion and the middle section. The top/bottom are the front/rear panels of the shorts. The middle section is a separate panel that is designed to help prevent chaffing in....very sensitive areas....and they nailed it.
I decided that I was going to use these for a short "climbing" session where I put the treadmill at 15% incline and just go for an hour followed by some core work a minor leg workout. I typically will bring the treadmill down to a 1% incline for 30 seconds to a minute to actually run and really open up my stride to see how they crept during hiking sessions and then throw in some actual running to see if they crept up during a shortened stride. The transition between these two activities in the same workout tends to be where shorts that are going to creep up, fail miserably.
The first 10 minutes of the climbing were pretty uneventful. I didn't find myself having to take any strange steps to get the short to quit bunching in the crotch. That's pretty typical as the shorts tend to creep up more when the fabric gets saturated. An hour into my workout, I was pleasantly surprised that I spent no significant time making adjustments to the shorts in the crotch. Coupled with no ride and the separate panel meant no crotch chaffing. SUCCESS!!!!
The built in brief was airy and didn't seem to retain much, if any, moisture. The materials are breathable and lightweight and appear to have comfort as top priority.
These shorts are fantastic!!!! Great attention to the small details. REALLY lightweight fabrics will bode well for those living in hot/humid climates. The open mesh...for lack of a better term...crotch panel will help with breath-ability and comfort.
The shorts have a roomy enough fit that people with larger quads and/or butts are not going to feel any restriction.
Suggested retail price is $68. This is where I feel that the brand may lose some footing in the running market. There will be people that pay the $68, because they are seriously great shorts, but for the budget conscious consumer they are on the high end of what most serious runners will pay. Obviously lululemon puts a great deal of attention to the materials and the things like the welded seam, but the brand may find that the shorts would be more competitive in the $50-$55 range. At $68 they are a solid buy if you buy one or two pairs of shorts per year. They are a great piece to have in your collection.
The 7" inseam is a little long for my liking, typically, but these shorts are DEFINITELY going to find a spot in my arsenal. When I seek out purchasing in the future, I'd probably go back to the 5" inseam just for my own personal preference. Again, not everyone likes to share off some leg, but I've gotten more comfortable with it in the past couple of years.
I would highly recommend these shorts. I liked them so much that I wrote this review after wearing two times. They can make a great transition from a baggier fitting pair of shorts or if you are looking to get something that is different from the shorts that you've been wearing for a while. They make a great piece that can be worn for a nice summer long run and then quickly transition into walking around your locals farmers market.
I really hope that you can fit it into your budget to get yourself a pair of these shorts. They really are a great piece from a company that has founded their products on style, fashion and function.
I would also recommend, if you have a store in your area, to go into the store and check out all of their additional running specific items. I was really surprised at some of the sweet stuff that they have. If in the Des Moines, IA area, go and ask for Meghan and tell her the Brad sent you :)
The only way I found out that they even carried men's running clothing was because of a Instagram post by my friend, Mike Wardian. So when I was contacted by the fine folks at Lululemon Des Moines to do a story on me for the upcoming Booneville Backroads 100 mile I was super excited when they offered me a pair of shorts to try out and review.
***Disclaimer: I was provided these shorts as a gift and brought no promise of a good review. I prefer to be as honest as possible***
I do have to give a shout out to Meghan McCoy at Des Moines, IA location for being incredibly gracious to meet up with me and chat lululemon, where they want to go in the running community and growing their business. Super high energy and excited to be a part of the lululemon team. One year later, I still feel that they had the absolute BEST aid station at the 2016 Booneville Backroads Ultra. These ladies were NUTS!!!!! :) Thanks so much for being a sponsor for the event again this year.
Now, on to the review of the lululemon Surge Short 7"
In the past 2 years, I have transitioned from wearing a baggy basketball short to SOLELY running in shorts with 5" inseam or slightly shorter. I've found that with the longer the shorts, they tend to...ride up....in very specific areas...and can cause some "issues". I was a little apprehensive when the shortest model that they carried in stores was a 7" inseam but I was willing to give them a try.
I went with the version that does have the liner as I don't like to wear compression shorts or any other underwear. Lululemon does sell a boxer brief which is intended to be worn with the linerless version. Keep that in mind when purchasing as they do offer all of their shorts in a "lined" and "linerless" models.
First impression
As with most lululemon products that I've ever seen, style and functionality is paramount. The shorts that I chose were a plain black with very little as far as design goes. At first glace, they are your basic running short. I'll get more into details in a bit, but honestly the black version appeared to be pretty standard. There was the small detail of a band across the bottom hem on the front and one small band on the back of the leg with the classic lululemon logo on the side. At first glance, the band across the bottom appeared to be an accent piece but turned out to be a reflective band which are metallic greay, but this was a metallic black band which didn't detract from the "classic" look of the short. Nice touch.The strangest piece that I noticed right on the hangar was what appeared to be a fly...think where your zipper is...and it wasn't until I tried them on that I discovered there was no zipper. What the heck is this? One of the other associates advised that, as with all of their clothing, they can be worn as a lifestyle piece and will ultimately appear more like a casual short. BRILLIANT!!!
The tag, I know it's weird that I'm mentioning the tag, brings up a lot of the technologies involved in the construction of the short. Listing out the technologies is pretty standard among the big manufacturers (ie North Face, Nike, Brooks, etc) but the description on the tag is very much lululemon in it's simplicity of message and design.
The shorts have one zippered rear pocket, which is big enough to carry a gel or two and maybe a small iPod, but not big enough to carry a phone of substantial size. This may shy people away from purchasing, but some of the additional features may outweigh a small pocket. I tend to carry my phone in a hydration vest or in the pocket of my handheld so that didn't really bother me. There are 2 additional pockets that are on the inside of the liner, attached to a breathable brief, that can also be used for storage of gels or keys. I tend to not put anything in those because of fear of rubbing.
When I had done some research previously, I had read all about the band on the back of the shorts where you can feed your shirt if you take it off mid run. To be very honest, I rarely take my shirt off during a run, but for those who do, it would be a great feature. The one major benefit of that small elastic strap, could be for those who want to carry water and a great way to store a Simple Hydration bottle...possibly?
Overall first impression, very stylish and great looking short.
Small details
When I am testing things, I really do like to give them a few tries before I even write anything. Very few items, if they are new to me, have I found that I like them at first. I'm a creature of habit and have a hard time breaking those habits. I have the items that I like and those are the things I tend to stick with.I am coming off of a 100 mile trail race 10 days ago and knew that my jump back into running was going to be slow, but I was really excited to give these shorts a try so I wore them around for a few hours before giving them a true test on a run.
Overall fit was great. They actually did have more of a roomy fit than I had initially thought they would. I was anticipating more of a slender cut that is typical with their other clothing.
In my experience, when companies who are not geared at running, attempt to make running gear they will lose the a lot of credit in the comfort while actually being used for their intended purpose. I've worn shorts from a very well known GLOBAL athletic apparel company (mostly known for football/basketball) which are some of the worst running pieces that I've ever owned. They were terrible because they don't take things like runners gait/stride or specific needs into account. The lululemon shorts, however, had a great fit. VERY light materials. Relaxed fit in the quads and rear end (which is important as I have larger of both because of my desire to run/race in the mountains).
The waist band had no bunching when the shorts were cinched down. The string for the waist is a little long, but not long enough to cause any problems when tucked inside the short. The detail of the crossing of the strings inside the wasistband is HUGE and a great positive for me. I've found that companies that put that small detail into the design want to make sure the fit through the waist is not going to loosen up as a runner sweats and/or loses water bloat during a run.
The small split on the side makes for an even better fit when attempting to lengthen stride. This is another spot where companies tend to lose points when they aren't "running specific" brands. The split, even if small, can create a much better fit and keep the shorts from riding up the leg. More on that shortly. You'll also notice from the photo below the band along the bottom of the hem (which is reflective piping), but the shiny parts on the inside of the leg are welds that should prevent any sort of fraying at the junction points between panels. Great touch!!!
Another feature that keeps me purchasing a lot of shorts is in the crotch. The photo shows two different materials in the top/bottom portion and the middle section. The top/bottom are the front/rear panels of the shorts. The middle section is a separate panel that is designed to help prevent chaffing in....very sensitive areas....and they nailed it.
Testing
As I stated earlier, I am coming off of my latest 100 mile run and these were going to be tested on my first day back. In the back of my mind, the 7" inseam was still my biggest concern. I've had such good luck with 5" or shorter that the 7" inseam left me in a bit of a panic and almost reaching for my Squirrels Nut Butter but I wanted to make sure I gave them a true shot without needing to apply any sort of lubrication to my thighs.I decided that I was going to use these for a short "climbing" session where I put the treadmill at 15% incline and just go for an hour followed by some core work a minor leg workout. I typically will bring the treadmill down to a 1% incline for 30 seconds to a minute to actually run and really open up my stride to see how they crept during hiking sessions and then throw in some actual running to see if they crept up during a shortened stride. The transition between these two activities in the same workout tends to be where shorts that are going to creep up, fail miserably.
The first 10 minutes of the climbing were pretty uneventful. I didn't find myself having to take any strange steps to get the short to quit bunching in the crotch. That's pretty typical as the shorts tend to creep up more when the fabric gets saturated. An hour into my workout, I was pleasantly surprised that I spent no significant time making adjustments to the shorts in the crotch. Coupled with no ride and the separate panel meant no crotch chaffing. SUCCESS!!!!
The built in brief was airy and didn't seem to retain much, if any, moisture. The materials are breathable and lightweight and appear to have comfort as top priority.
Overall impressions and recommendations
Lululemon had not been on my radar. They hadn't. Working in a specialty running shop, I see some of the best running shorts in the world and don't have to seek out any additional options. Like I said earlier in the review, the Better than Naked from the North Face have legitimately ruined every other pair of shorts for me. I haven't found a better short than those...possibly until now....These shorts are fantastic!!!! Great attention to the small details. REALLY lightweight fabrics will bode well for those living in hot/humid climates. The open mesh...for lack of a better term...crotch panel will help with breath-ability and comfort.
The shorts have a roomy enough fit that people with larger quads and/or butts are not going to feel any restriction.
Suggested retail price is $68. This is where I feel that the brand may lose some footing in the running market. There will be people that pay the $68, because they are seriously great shorts, but for the budget conscious consumer they are on the high end of what most serious runners will pay. Obviously lululemon puts a great deal of attention to the materials and the things like the welded seam, but the brand may find that the shorts would be more competitive in the $50-$55 range. At $68 they are a solid buy if you buy one or two pairs of shorts per year. They are a great piece to have in your collection.
The 7" inseam is a little long for my liking, typically, but these shorts are DEFINITELY going to find a spot in my arsenal. When I seek out purchasing in the future, I'd probably go back to the 5" inseam just for my own personal preference. Again, not everyone likes to share off some leg, but I've gotten more comfortable with it in the past couple of years.
I would highly recommend these shorts. I liked them so much that I wrote this review after wearing two times. They can make a great transition from a baggier fitting pair of shorts or if you are looking to get something that is different from the shorts that you've been wearing for a while. They make a great piece that can be worn for a nice summer long run and then quickly transition into walking around your locals farmers market.
I really hope that you can fit it into your budget to get yourself a pair of these shorts. They really are a great piece from a company that has founded their products on style, fashion and function.
I would also recommend, if you have a store in your area, to go into the store and check out all of their additional running specific items. I was really surprised at some of the sweet stuff that they have. If in the Des Moines, IA area, go and ask for Meghan and tell her the Brad sent you :)
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