Alpinestars Alps Escape shorts review

The Alps Escape shorts from Alpinestars offer a lightweight, minimalist design that’s ideal for clocking up the trail miles. They're ideal shorts for those looking to spend hours in the saddle.

While there’s no knocking their impressive fit or comfort levels, the pocket placement is not ideal and detracts from the overall performance.

However, with seven sizes on offer, and a decent fit and cut, there’s still a lot to like about the Alps Escape shorts.

Alpinestars Alps Escape shorts construction details

Alpinestars offers the Alps Escape shorts in seven sizes, catering for a vast array of riders.

The shorts are constructed from a four-way stretch fabric, with features limited to help keep them nice and light.

That means no additional waist adjustment, so be sure to have an accurate idea of which size you need before buying, or go to a shop and try them for yourself.

To keep the shorts secure, there’s a double popper and a zipped fly.

While these minimalist shorts might not be laden with extras (and that’s no bad thing when it comes to keeping their weight down), they do have two pockets.

These are both located on the outside of the thigh, about halfway down the leg. They’re big enough to stash a phone and secure thanks to the zipped closure.

Finishing things off is a water-resistant coating, designed to fend off light rain showers and puddle splashes.

I measured the all-important in-seam to be 12in long.

Alpinestars Alps Escape shorts performance

The Alps Escape shorts fit true to size and offer a secure, well-shaped cut around the waist and hips. I opted for the 30in waist.

Thanks to the fit and how well they articulate, I had no issues with the shorts slipping down or moving while riding. At no point, even on long days in the hills, did I need to re-adjust them.

Their light and airy feel combines with the ample stretch in the fabric to make the Alps Escapes some of the most comfortable mountain bike shorts out there.

Leg length was just right for me (I’m 172cm and have short legs), with the opening sitting just over the tops of my knees.

That means they feel spot-on for cross-country or steady trail miles, but will still offer enough overlap with knee pads if you’re riding something a little more dicey.

Because of their tailoring, though, the Alps Escape shorts are best paired with skinny, trail-style knee pads.

While the legs are broad enough to sit over these, any pads that are too chunky won’t work as seamlessly.

Now, the pockets. Due to their location so far down the upper leg, I found putting anything too heavy in them meant the contents flapped about too much while pedalling. In the end, I’d only ever stuff a car key in there.

I’d much rather see one or two pockets further up, on the hips, or at the rear of the waistband, as can be found on the Troy Lee Designs Drift shorts, which are among my favourites.

It’s hard to say whether the water-resistant coating made a whole lot of difference in use.

When I did get wet, my legs inevitably felt cold due to how thin and light the Alps Escape shorts are.

On the plus side, though, they dry out really quickly, which is great.

Alpinestars Alps Escape shorts bottom line

I really like the light, airy feel of the Alps Escape shorts. They fit nicely, are well-shaped and offer masses of comfort on the bike.

Pocket placement is questionable, meaning they’re not as useful as they could be.

But on the whole, for comfort when putting the miles in, the Alps Escape shorts are great.