Price – £80

Available – On Running

One of my most popular posts is my On Running Cloudventure Shoe Review. This is either my writing, the interest in On Running, a demand for waterproof shoes or people just like kit and kit reviews.

I bought the On Cloudventures as I couldn’t find any other trail shoes I liked. The Cloudventures fitted the bill – lightish weight, good soles and waterproof.

The other item I’ve been after for a while is a pair of shorts (with built-in compression shorts) that have a pocket in them that can carry a phone. This is so I don’t have to wear a waistband or armband at races and can keep my phone with me and not have to leave it at the bag drop.

On Running do just the thing. Their Hybrid Shorts. A running short with tight inner shorts and “normal” outer shorts.

The Sizing

I originally ordered a large. The sizing chart says this is for a 35-36 inch waist. I have a 34-inch waist and I could hardly get the inner shorts over my thighs and pull them up. They were pretty small (the outer shorts fitted and looked great on). I returned the large and swapped them for XL.

I should state that I’m fairly chunky and do have large legs and as the lovely man who measured me for a suit recently, a large “seat” (ass) and regularly have to buy larger waist jeans to get my legs and ass in. But the inner shorts were, particularly on the small side. The On Running Returns and exchange worked really well.

The Look

Available in a range of colours that are black and black! I’m not exactly sure why you would want any other colour so that’s fine. An attraction to me was that they look like boardies (surfing shorts) due to the flat front, waistband and drawstring. They do look good and have a good length that is not too short or too long. The outer and inner shorts can be buttoned together inside, but I don’t see why you would need to.

The comfort

The materials are described as “Four-way stretch polyamide/elastane. Tear-proof outer material and Italian stretch fabric at the waist”. One of On Running’s things is that their gear is lightweight and these shorts are definitely that. Lightweight but they don’t flap around. Very comfortable.

The drawstring does not go all the way around the waistband. Instead the strings at the front pull on some elastic that goes around the waistband. With this and the way the strings only pull together the front of the shorts (see pic) it is not actually possible to pull the shorts tight around the waist. In my first race trying the shorts out, I thought I may have had an issue with them falling down (remember I have to order a size up) but there was no problem. I would not use them for BMF of another activity (an obstacle course race) where the chance of them coming down is possible.

The pockets

In the outer shorts, there are two hand pockets at the front that are pretty rare in running shorts. They may keep your hand warm for a few minutes but I would not keep anything in them for safe keeping. The zip pocket at the back holds a set of keys and some debit/credit cards.

In the inner shorts have a smaller pocket on the right leg that again would hold some keys or cards. The left leg has a large pocket that can take a phone. Yeah!. I have an iPhone 6 and used the shorts for a race and the phone was held snugly to my leg and kept very secure but did get a bit sweaty. My phone is not the largest of phones, so bigger phones such as the iPhone X may have issues fitting in or will be very snug. In terms of what I was after. Shorts that I can carry a phone, I’m very happy.

Conclusion

They look great, have a nice length and are super lightweight. The pockets are good, especially the phone pocket in the inner shorts. The waistband/drawstring is a bit of an issue, as it cannot be pulled tight to a point where your shorts will never come down, so check the sizing.

Good for….

….running and racing, carrying keys and phones, looking good with your hands in your pockets, not having to use an armband or carry your phone in your hand.