Trousers and shorts
Our trousers and shorts are probably our most developed product, and we’re currently waiting on our pre-production samples to land for final sign off. All being well – these will be landing and available to sell in September.
Part of the reason why these are more developed than some of our other products is that we had a rough template to work from. Ben, our designer, has designed successful shorts and trousers before, so we weren’t starting from scratch. This is an obvious leg up compared to designing a band new product from nothing.
The fabric choice
After you’ve decided what product you want to bring to market, the next thing to figure out is which season / conditions you expect them to be used in. A lot stems from this: this determines the fabric, fit and some of the key features of the garment. With our trousers and shorts, we got the fabric choice right pretty early on. We looked at two factories and one of them delivered what were after straight off the bat. We’ve gone for a fabric that’s a blend of 88% nylon and 12% spandex – so they’re tough, but have give in them to make them more comfortable and usable on the bike.
The fit
Once we’d sorted the fabric, the next stop is the fit. The trend in mountain biking at the moment is for very slim fit trousers. But one piece of feedback we got from our testers is that the initial fit was a bit too slim around the calves – so we added another centimetre, to help give them that bit more room without making them flappy. We’ve also made sure that the trousers will be able to fit some slim knee pads underneath them. The fit is very similar between the shorts and trousers to ensure that you can get the same size in each.
We also had the ‘nappy’ situation… the first samples we ordered used elastic on the back. The idea was that the elastic filled in the gap created by the curve in the lower back, didn’t flap and was still comfortable. However, while it worked as intended, it did look like we were wearing a nappy. And we couldn’t do that to ourselves or to our customers. So, for the next sample we had a more traditional, smaller section of elastic with an internal belt which worked perfectly. We’ve also kept external belt loops if you have a penchant for a particular belt or enjoy dangling things from your waist.
Features
We’ve also added a number of features to make them more practical for trail use. The trousers have a waterproof seat area to make them better for riding in poor weather conditions and in the mud. We’ve also added an external pocket on the thigh which is a perfect place for a phone or similar – it’s positioned so that it doesn’t get in the way when riding and holds your items secure.
They don’t have vents specifically, but the side pockets have a zip opening, and the pockets are made of mesh, so when you unzip them, they act like a vent.
We’ve had samples for a while – Ben, the designer, has worn his extensively when commuting and throughout the day. Mark has worn his shorts so much we’re a little bit worried and Guy has been very complimentary about them.
We’re really excited for the pre-production samples to land and are really proud of the product we’ve developed here.
We think they’re the perfect 3-season product that won’t break the bank with everything you need and nothing you don’t. Which is exactly what Polaris is meant to be.
