Quick show of hands: How many of you have frantically ripped off shirts and jackets in a bathroom or portable potty in a desperate attempt to, uh, lose weight right before a big outing or a race?
Drop tails on bib shorts have become much more popular in recent years on women’s bib shorts because of how they allow you to go to the bathroom without taking off all your other layers. With a variety of clever strap arrangements, you can simply squat, lift the back of your shorts under your butt, and go about your business.
But now Pearl Izumi has brought the drop-tail to men’s shorts with the introduction of its new Expedition Pro Bibs, which feature an equally innovative strap arrangement that lets you drop the trow without having to remove the top layers. to undo the straps. The drop tail design is also featured on the new Expedition Pro Grodeo wetsuit – essentially a pseudo-wetsuit – and as is apparently required for gravel-centric clothing, both feature a bunch of extra pockets, especially on the legs.
While that new drop tail feature may get the most obvious attention, Pearl Izumi has also been hard at work on the inside, with a new Levitate chamois design incorporated into a completely revamped line of shorts for both men and women.
“Like an integrated suspension”
The top-of-the-line Levitate Pro pad – used on all new Pro-level shorts – incorporates a number of great features, such as an especially wide topsheet to help reduce friction (especially when on the nose of the saddle), higher foam density in the top layer to distribute pressure over a larger surface area, and a smaller, slightly lower density foam insert under the top foam layer that Pearl Izumi claims behaves like a little integrated suspension.
Although the top sheet of the chamois is sewn to the body of the shorts all around the perimeter, this lower Suspension Core insert is only attached at the front and back, “so the two layers can move independently” . The edges of the top sheet are cut with a knife instead of a laser to minimize any heat-related roughness, and there is also an integrated channel in the top of the pad for additional soft tissue pressure relief.
According to Pearl Izumi, the idea with Levitate wasn’t just to add more padding. Instead, the use of high density foams is said to provide more effective padding because it doesn’t completely compress right away like common low-density foams, all without adding annoying bulk.
This concept of levitation is offered in three different models of pads.
The Levitate Pro gets all the bells and whistles, including an extra-stretch topsheet, the most contoured shape, the highest foam densities, that Suspension Core insert, and plenty of perforations in the foam to improve breathability. The base Levitate Cushion looks similar, but has a flatter, less stretchy topsheet, and no additional Suspension Core inserts. Both pads have that knife-cut outer edge and a relief channel in the middle, and Pearl Izumi offers specific Levitate chamois patterns for both men’s and women’s shorts.
Prices for the new Levitate-equipped shorts range from US$55-285, complemented by a new Pro Air bib shorts specifically designed for warm weather use. The fancy Expedition Pro Grodeo Suit retails for US$300. Prices in other currencies need to be confirmed. The sizes of most men’s shorts range from S to XXL and from XS to XXL for women’s shorts. The base model Quest shorts add an extra XXXL size for both.
First impressions
Pearl Izumi sent me a sample of the Pro Bib Short and the Expedition Pro Bib Short several weeks before sending any additional information, so it was interesting to try to understand what differentiated them from previous attempts.
Pearl Izumi might not make a big deal out of this thing’s thickness, but make no mistake: it’s distinctly fat. However, it’s not as bulky as you’d expect in terms of how it feels on your body or how it feels in the saddle.
A thicker chamois can sometimes feel like an ill-fitting diaper, all thick and clumsy. But the Levitate Pro is surprisingly good at conforming to your anatomy. It may be thick, but there are no weird creases or creases, and everything just stays in place once you get it all sorted.
In the saddle, I can’t say if that denser two-layer foam provides the suspension effect that Pearl Izumi claims, but it does feel like there’s a bit more insulation between the saddle and your buttocks – almost as if you had changed saddle models. While the low density foams of many other chamois have always struck me as more spectacular than fun, everything Pearl Izumi uses in the Levitate Pro feels more effective.
Anyway, chafing hasn’t been an issue at all (although I should point out that it’s winter here in Colorado right now and I haven’t driven more than 2 hours and a half).
The cut of the cropped bodies was perfect for my average height: not too tight, not at all sloppy and just right down the leg length (at least for me). Bonus points for the clean leg edges and the well thought out dart design that stays in place without creating the dreaded sausage leg. The seamless straps are also nicely stretchy and should fit a wide range of torso lengths, and I noticed a bunch of areas where Pearl Izumi took the time to add extra seam reinforcement, which bodes well good for long term durability.
And the droopy tail thing? Well, I haven’t done any large group events or outings in the past few weeks, but suffice to say I’ve done my best to properly test this feature. That works.
It’s obviously way too early for me to draw any real long-term conclusions here, but so far so good. Fingers crossed for an early spring so I can really get away with these things.
More information can be found at www.pearlizumi.com.