Advnture Verdict
These are fairly expensive shorts, but we found the Sense easy to like and easy to wear, which means regular runners should get their money’s worth.
Pros
- +
Lightweight
- +
Breathable
- +
Good range of pockets
Cons
- -
Pricey
- -
Sized small
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Salomon Sense shorts: first impressions
Available in men’s and women’s versions, the lightweight Salomon Sense shorts provide oodles of comfort thanks to a four-way stretch outer with engineered, breathable Aerotech mesh. A soft liner short expels moisture, dries quickly and naturally reduces odor, making the sense a shoo-in for gals who like to hit the trails hard and/or do a lot of their running in less-than-peachy weather conditions.
The Sense shorts also have reflective details and plenty of features, including a zippered back pocket for storing keys and a 360° elastic waistband with four mesh pockets for stashing snacks, gels, hydration tabs, or even emergency kit. Salomon claim these pockets have been tested and approved with a 250ml soft flask, lightweight wind jacket, smartphone and two gels, but you’d need to make sure the shorts are quite tight fitting to carry all that kit.
The Sense picked up top spot in our best women's running shorts buying guide.
• RRP: $80 (US) / £75 (UK)
• Length and style: Two-layer running shorts, Inseam 9cm/3.5in (Women’s); 18 cm/7in (Men’s);
• Sizes available: XS to XL
• Weight (of test shorts): 87g / 3oz
• Colors: Women: Black / Clematis blue / Wine tasting / Autumn blaze; Men: Dark denim / Black / Goji berry
Salomon Sense shorts: on the trails
If you like a shorter short, the Salomon Sense are ideal trail running companions. They are made of a lovely light and floaty outer fabric and a moisture wicking, breathable inner short. The inner short stops upper thigh chafing (see: how to avoid chafing) but doesn’t cover much of the rest of the thigh. The general design of the shorts makes them very easy to wear and you feel like you have a lot of freedom when running - which isn't something we could say of all the shorts we've pulled over our pins in the pursuit of the perfect pair.
The features and pockets on the Salomon Sense shorts are good, but on test we found that running with anything more than a couple of gels and a phone in the pockets made the shorts jiggle around a lot, which is obviously far from ideal if you value your sanity and wish to avoid feeling like a living drumskin while you run. The front pocket is fine for an average sized phone but not large enough for an iPhone Max size, and the zippered pocket at the rear is great for keeping keys safe.
Normally, a size small (women) would be a US8/UK10 but these felt quite neat so I’d recommended you go up a size.
