Showers Pass is known more for their wet weather commuter gear, but this spring they’ve hit the trails with new mountain bike shorts and jerseys for men and women. The shorts come in two versions, and IMBA model with slightly longer inseams and zippered vent and storage pockets, and Cross Country, which have about a half inch shorter inseam and four regular pockets. Both offer UPF50 sun protection and are made with a breathable 4-way stretch nylon-Spandex blend. Retail is $89 each, and 5% of proceeds for the IMBA shorts goes directly to IMBA.
The matching tops also come in two styles, The Apex technical tee ($69) and the Highline short sleeve ($89), both made with a Merino wool blend. Front and back panels on both are a 50/50 blend of wool and polyester, and the side panels are almost entirely wool for better odor protection where it counts. Both also offer UPF40 protection. Available now, check out more details at ShowersPass.com.
Sportful
The new Sportful Giara line is made for gravel riders that want something a little less “roadie” looking, but still form fitting, not baggy. The complete line includes this jersey and vest, plus a jacket, bibs, overshorts, socks and gloves:
The jersey has a heathered polyester for a soft touch and casual look. The bibs are a lightweight mesh with a performance fit, but with styling that’s a bit more casual. Overshorts are a 4-way stretch that would probably double as a good XC short or just something to run to the store in. The vest has a wind-resistant front and mesh back for better breathability, and the jacket gets more aggressive wind- and water-resistance. Get more details at Sportful.com.
Henty Enduro Pack
Splitting the difference between the stability and security of a hydration backpack and the low-slung weight of a fanny pack, the Henty Enduro Pack gets a few much needed upgrades. Besides this sweet camo color option, they tweaked some of the design features to make it more usable.
The biggest improvement is an adjustable closure strap. The original design had a fixed length that was very short, making it hard (or impossible) to close if you stuffed the main compartments full. Now, it’ll buckle and then let you cinch it down. The pockets get slight tweaks, too, to improve usability.
On the front, they’ve added small strap pockets for gels and things like that. They also offer a very, very lustworthy roll up garment messenger bag, which was their first foray into the cycling bag world. Check them out at Henty.cc.
Mission Workshop
We included the Mission Workshop Axis fanny pack in a recent gear roundup, but didn’t show this sweet camo version. Or how it can attach to their Arkive modular backpack line:
It’s a $120 addition to their line, which seams like a lot, but it does get an impressive amount of interior organization for such a small bag.
VeloToze
The VeloToze shoe covers were great, until you wore them off road. And not just mountain biking. I’ve used them for long, cold, wet gravel rides and by the end of the day, the bottoms and heels were trashed. Their new mountain bike shoe covers come in short ($17) and tall ($20) versions to cover whatever size sock you want to wear (within reason), and get a much thicker, more durable bottom.
The cutouts are also bigger to fit around the usual MTB shoe tread blocks.
Their new compression socks come in black or white and use an “active compression” design along with CoolMax to help keep your feet comfortable on hot days. Retail is $18 per pair, with four different color accents on both base colors.
