UKC

hello

women of the forum! what sort of shorts do you wear to climb in? I'm thinking about their juxtaposition with harnesses and making sure everything's comfy and in the right place. I haven't climbed in shorts in ages but last time it was in some clingy lycra short gym short things, and that seemed to work well... what do others wear? are there more 'normal' shorts that work well with harnesses?

ta.

In reply to CJD:
For the summer:
Either cropped jogging bottoms that end mid-calf but my favoured by far though is a huuuge pair of thai short-trousers

They're very cool, plenty of stretchi-ness and quite easy to tuck into your harness. (Only problems is when bouldering indoors and you have to down-climb and they get stuck on a bolt-on...)

For winter:
a very sexy pair of ronhills (outdoors only- don't ming them getting wrecked!) or loose jeans or jogging bottoms

In reply to Fille:

hmm, yeah, I wear 3/4 length trousers the rest of the time in summer, at the wall etc, but I'm thinking shorts here.

In reply to CJD: bruise easily, legs don't tan - tend to keep 'em covered...

In reply to CJD:
last year i climbed a couple of times in a very short pair because it was hot and that was all i had, but they weren't much longer than the harness and i had to keep pulling them down under the leg straps.

This year I found an old pair of combats/jeans and chopped the legs off above the knee. They're really comfy and hardwearing and because they're about 8 years old they're high waisted enough to sit comfortably under the harness.

Only problem is that when i wear shorts i invariably manage to go home with various scrapes and bruises and the people at work then tell me i look like i've been fighting!

In reply to CJD:

I got a neat cheapish pair of combat style pant things from select recently that reach just a touch below the knee. They seem to do the job and are nice, light and airy, although I got my leg stuck in a crack yesterday after my foot jam slipped (cursed small feet) and the crack kindly ripped a hole in the pocket that my inhaler was sitting in. If the damned inhaler hadn't have been in tho, they'd have been fine :P

In reply to saph:

Ooh also climbed in an old pair of ADIDAS cycle shorts-type things. The type people excise in, you know the shorts I mean. They worked ont he keeping-me-cool-side but as I was indoors the scrapes and cuts and bruises were quitebad. Also found the beginnings of a hole on the inside leg. Might have been the harness or might just be age

In reply to CJD:

< wrong forum ...sorry shuffles off>

In reply to CJD:

What do you mean by everything?

In reply to Ridge:

ha ha, I reread that and thought it sounded wrong... oops - Just kind of meant that the shorts weren't riding up one's bum or owt like that. Nothing more sinister.



to all: hmmm, maybe my valiant attempts at vanity (i.e. attempting to get a tan) are getting the better of me. Bruises and scrapes are par for the course for me, so I'm prepared for that... so continue with your suggestions!

In reply to CJD:

Sprayway shorts, that have trouserleg zip attachments. They were on spesh in Go Outdoors (Isn't everything, but this was an actual sale as opposed to just the usual discount card thing) and I've worn them endlessly since getting them! V. comfy with harness.

In reply to CJD:

A bikini. Works wonders for the tan.

In reply to CJD: I have 2 pairs of A5 ones on pair is the pretty short girls version - and the other the just abouve the knee Boys version - both work well for climbing in. Baggy enough to move (and look cool), but not 2 baggy as to cause clumping. They also have wastes that arn't to low, so you don't get that sweaty waistband sticking thing.

In reply to es:

Personally I don't bother with 'mountain pants/ climbing shorts or any of that. I use a pair of cheap addidas training shorts for the summer and a pair of cheap wind proof tracky bottoms for the winter. If they get trashed they're only a few pounds each and they do the job, are quick drying, easy to move in and comfy in a harness.

Nikki

In reply to nikinko: I did try on lots of cheap pairs when i was looking for shorts, and well they just didn't fit my shape (rotund ass)- fair play to you if they fit yours. I didn't buy them because they were a climbing brand. I bought them cos they fitted me and had the right features for climbing. And also cos they weren't pink or baby blue but thats a diffrent story.

In reply to CJD:
I use a pair of zip off walking trousers (zipped off) that come to well above my knee. I find they work better than normal shorts, possibly because they are a bit longer, and because the zip stops the legs riding above the harness leg loops. Haven't tried the clingy type shorts though.

When it comes to legs I think the 'bruised banana' look is in this year. If its not, tough, no one has to look!

In reply to CJD:
My metolious shorts are designed for climbing and therefore are excellent for climbing in, high enough waist to fit well under harness waist band, leg length just above knees so they don't ride up around leg loops. material is light weight quick drying but hard wearing.

Havn't seen any metolious clothes other than t-shirts for a while though.

In reply to chicken: I usually wear zipoffs too - easier to put your 'legs' back on if it gets too cold. Esp, useful on multipitch as I usually jam the leg parts inside the stuffsac of my windproof and hang it all on my harness.

In reply to es:

They fit me coz they're baggy lol! I find climbing branded stuff is generally cut for far thinner women than me... But at least they don't go with the assumption that sporty women must demonstrate their femininity by wearing pink or baby blue clothes...

In reply to CJD:

just got some really nice cheap Prana ones on sale, cut well enough to move and look OK when wandering off the crag but nasty name of 'Ripstop Knicker' so allegedly quite durable then!

fake tan seems to cover most abrasions on Monday mornings ..

In reply to CJD: I always struggle to get a pair of shorts that are right under a harness, esp as it makes them a couple of inches shorter. Have just got my own pair of prana Mojo shorts which are top and seem to fit girls as well as boys.

In reply to CJD:

I got some fantastic knee-length shorts from TK Maxx that I've been climbing in this year. They're loose enough to allow me freedom of movement whilst still looking really nice (I'm wearing them at work right now). I've also got a really baggy ripped pair of combat shorts that I like to climb in, they're my festival shorts and they're so knackered that it doesn't matter what I do to them. Only problem is they do catch on stuff, like the picnic tables in Awesome Walls, and as a result the rip has gone up so far on one of the legs that I can't wear them on my scooter cus they're positively indecent. I did get a pair of running shorts and tried those but they were too short and I felt like a sports tart...I don't want to have to worry about doing my bikini line before I go climbing!