What a week for racing!
Conditions couldn’t have been better for my first Key West Race Week
with temperatures in the mid-70s and winds around 15kts each day.
I spent my week aboard the GP42 Stray Dog in
the competitive HPR class – although the results weren’t quite what we hoped,
we still had some great racing… and some great team gear!
I was given the chance to check out the Gill Women's UV Tec Shorts that were sporting our logo all week, and overall they are a great pair
of shorts. With not a whole lot out there on Women's Sailing Shorts, here’s a chance to check out the full scoop, complete with a video of the shorts in action!
The Good
The Fit:
Finding a nice, well-fitting pair
of women's sailing shorts isn't any easy task.
Name a description of clothing you don’t want to find… a pair of women
sailing short has it. But these were a
nice surprise. The waist fit just right
- tight enough to stay put but loose enough to not restrict. The length was exactly what I’m looking for,
falling about an inch or two above the knee.
They even had a bit of stretch to them that made them comfortable even
when hiking. No matter what activity I
was doing, they worked.
The Look:
Overall they have a nice look. Certainly
functional enough to take you to the tent party with a clean, simple design. We had the silver gray color which worked,
although the darker colors might have hid the dirt a bit better. To add a little flair, Gill added contrasting
red stitches to the reinforcement points on the belt loops and made the inside
of the shorts a different color making them a bit more stylish than similar
shorts.
The Feel:
The nylon fabric was soft against
your skin, with a very lightweight feel that made them perfect for the warmer
temperatures of Key West. There was no
additional fabric on the seat, which made them feel a lot lighter and more
flexible than those with a reinforced seat (I have mixed thoughts about this
point – see The Bad for more). The
fabric dried quickly and didn’t seem to hold moisture, always a plus in any
sailing short.
The Features:
With a minimalist design it had
just enough features to make them practical without adding the bulk of pockets
everywhere. It had two standard pockets
– nothing fancy but large enough that if you wanted to pack them full you
could.
A zippered pocket on the lower thigh allowed for
storage of items if you wanted to have them close by – a roll of tape and a
knife certainly would have fit. Complete
with an easy to maneuver pull cord, it was easy, simple and a great addition.
The Bad
My one concern about the shorts themselves is that the soft nylon
material wouldn't hold up against tough non-skid over time. There was no abrasion resistant seat – the
whole short had the same fabric. After a
couple of days of use the seat seemed to fair pretty well but I’m not overly
confident that it would continue to hold up with hard use.
The only other bad thing I can find is the actual
sizing. The shorts only go down to a
woman’s 6. They fit pretty true to
size, which means anyone smaller is out of luck.
Overall:
The shorts are a great addition to my sailing kit. Testing them out in the warm conditions of
Key West definitely put them up against the situation they were designed to
excel in – and they did just that. A
nice look, great feel and good fit has made them a definite favorite for
me. I think I’ll have to pick up the
graphite pair before the season starts here in Annapolis.
Editor’s Note: Although this only a women's shorts review, there were also many on the boat that tried out the Men's UV Tec Shorts and
were equally happy with theirs. Fit and
feel were also found to be great. They
come in a varied range of colors for the men or silver gray and graphite for
the ladies.
Want to see the shorts in action? The team of Stray Dog sports them in Dr. Andy
Engh’s video highlights of the week. Complete
with near misses and flaming desserts!