• Fox High Voltage shorts
• £65
• www.foxeurope.com

The High Voltage is somewhere in the middle of the extensive Fox baggy shorts range in both price and application terms. Fox does several heavyweight DH/FR shorts, but the High Voltage is a lighter, more trail-friendly affair. The polyester outer has a soft, brushed finish and features a distinctive “chop pinstripe” pattern that you’ll either like or not. Fit is adjustable by means of Velcro tabs at the sides and a stretchy panel at the back aids movement. The High Voltage shorts are very much of the knee-length persuasion, so if you favour shorter shorts, look elsewhere.

There’s quite an array of pockets, with deep open ones at the sides and poppered small ones at the back. If you like to listen to tunes when riding (which seems to be a good idea under a fairly limited set of circumstances) then you may be drawn to the High Voltage’s “Audio Interface”, which is a fancy name for a small pocket with a hole in the lining for the headphone lead. The same pocket also contains a goggle/glass wipe on a short leash, which doesn’t do anything more than the bag that your eyewear came in except to be harder to lose. The outer feature set is completed by the long zippered thigh vents.

Inside there’s a detachable mesh liner. We’re big fans of detachable liners – the inside of shorts tend to need washing more often than the outside for a start. Plus a detachable liner lets us indulge our weird bib-shorts-under-baggies whims. Try it, you might like it… The supplied liner has a one-piece moulded chamois, not the most sophisticated pad you’ll see for the money but comfy enough.

Ups and downs

Positives: Detachable liner goodness, light, agreeable fit ,distinctive pattern

Negatives: Some features perhaps of marginal benefit, padding a bit basic, distinctive pattern

Verdict

Fox always turns out decent kit, and the High Voltage shorts are no exception. If it was up to us, we’d perhaps do without the MP3 pocket and glass wipe and put the money into the liner, though.

Ratings

Performance: 4/5
Value: 3/5
Overall: 3/5