4/03/2023

Endura Women's Xtract Lite Short Review The best Zwift padded shorts

I spend a lot of time on the saddle. I averaged 120 miles a week last year on the bikes. So you could say padding is very important to me. I mix my riding between mountain biking and zwifting. I can spend hours on Zwift so getting the right padding for the turbo is a very important thing. No one wants sore girl bits lets face it. We have all been there right? 

I have put lots of different padding to the test over the years and I think I have finally found the holy grail of zwift shorts The Endura Women's Xtract Lite Short. I have a lot of wants in a zwift shorts. I want them to be comfortable enough to keep me on the saddle for hour and hours They need to be lightweight and cooling and or course look and feel good. 



The design 
The Endura women's Xtract Lite Short is made from lightweight yet supportive Lycra® fabric with Thermoregulation in mind as it was designed for wearing on road rides in warmer climates or hot days here in Scotland. The Xtract Lite short has been designed to move sweat away from your skin to help keep your core cool. It also included a UPF50+ treatment on the fabric. But let's talk about what's really Important The Women's 500 series pad.

The Women's Xtract Lite Short has been designed with temperature regulation and comfort in mind. When you are getting hot and sweating when riding temperature regulation is super important. This pad is where we can gather a lot of heat. Which in turn raise our core body temperature. Which is not what we want on a long ride. 


So Endura put a lot of research and design in to this problem. This resulted in a new generation of water expelling foam called Dispersefoam™. Dispersefoam™ features a foam cell construction which has been proven to provide superior drying and it also improves air permeability compared to coventail PU foams. 

The Women's 500 Series Pad is smooth with a low profile and provides high stretch properties which in turn helps prevent chafing and discomfort in the saddle. It also has Silver yarm fabric with cooling touch and rapid drying and antibacterial properties. 

The extra features 
Endura Women's Xtract Lite Short has double layer direct silicone printed on the hem for extra comfort. The short have a soft double layer waistband and selected seams flatlock for comfort and extra toughness. They also feature reflective trims if you want to wear them outside. 

The Endura Women's Xtract Lite Shorts comes in two lengths there are also the Endura Women's Xtract Lite shorty Short. These are the longer version I am talking about. 

The sizing
Endura Women's Xtract Lite Shorts come in XXS to XL. Endura womens sizing in these are XXS is a UK 6/8 and XL UK 16/18. I am a UK 6 and I am wearing a size XS. These are really stretchy and I think I could go for a XXS in these. I am an hourglass shape. I have a small waist and bigger hips bum and boobs.  I hope that helps with your sizing. 

I wear size XS in all my endura MTB gear if that is an indicator of sizing too. If you do need help give me a shout. I am always happy to help. DM me on instagram if I don't respond on here. 


My review 

I have been using these Endura Women's Xtract Lite Short for about a year. Before this I tried so many different options for Zwift padded shorts and spend hundreds of pounds on kit. Here is my strava if you want to see how many miles I do. This will give you an insight how many hours I spend on a saddle. 

I think I am a really good person to review padding as I put it through its paces. I can honestly say I have never found a better pair of womens zwift shorts. I really struggled to find womens padding that was light weight could keep me cool and keep me comfortable enough to spend hours on the bike. They are pull on style with no adjustments or pockets. Which is perfect for zwift or summer rides. 

Before I found the Endura Womens Xtract Lite Shorts I would have to swap padding half way though some of the big badges on Zwift. But I have found with these I can spin for hours and just forget I am wearing them which is exactly what I want in a Zwift short. I want to be comfortable enough to completely forget about the shorts. I mean it hard enough struggling on a 100km route let alone thinking about having to stop because you are uncomfortable. 

I personally prefer the longer version of these Endura Women's Xtract Lite Shorts as I find the shorty short version a little too short for me. But I am not really a booty short kinda gal. But that option is there if you like that style. I really feel endura is really putting thought and energy in to the women's road biking market and they are making kit we want and need to keep us on the saddle for longer. I love these shorts and completely recommend them. They just work and that is so hard to find in zwift padding.














3/20/2023

What GPS tracker I use on my Traildog

I get asked a lot about Mylo. I have had Mylo's dog since he was a puppy and we put a lot of work into training him to be the trail dog he is today. Mylo is a dalmatian. Yes, that seems strange to point out looking at him but I have been asked about him. Mylo loves to come biking with us and he loves nothing more than following bikes in the mountains with his humans. 

As soon as the bikes come out Mylo gets excited. I wouldn't have it any other way. But it is along road to training a good trail dog. 


I will write a full post on what we did to train Mylo But in a quick run thought.
  • Worked endlessly on recall
  • Did long leash training without bikes
  • Made sure to modify voice tones in commands so he can distinguish the commands with ease.  
  • Made him feel safe and confident around bikes
  • Made sure he knows commands for drinking. Ours is drink drink drink with hand gestures. He can get excited and not want to stop for a drink or snack so this is imperative for Mylo. 
  • Hand gestures for some commands 
  • Spoke to our vets for help and information
  • Started very small with very short trails. 
  • Understood his boundaries
We are very lucky with Mylo is what is known as a velcro dog. He wants to know where myself and my husband are at all times. 

But now after years of training, he does have the freedom on trails to follow us.  He will know to take his time on the trails if he likes. I trust Mylo I know I can he is a very well-trained dog but he is a timid dog and can be a bit fearful at times. So I am always close by him. 




With this in mind, I want to talk about a new PAJ GPS PET Finder 4G I have been using for Mylo whilst out and about. 

The PAJ GPS Pet finder 4G is small and fits on any collar but does come with a collar if you like. It is £29.99 for the device and to use PET Finder you also need a subscription to the pet finder portal. This is £4.58 per month or £54.99 for a year's subscription. You just download the app which is available on apple and google play. Other payment options are available with bigger discounts for longer contracts. 

How to use The PAJ PET Finder 4G

The PAJ PET finder 4G is super simple to use. After you have registered your device with PAJ Portal and paid the subscription. Just charge the device with the charger provided and you are ready to get started. 

You just press the on/off button for 5 seconds until the green and blue lights come on. This shows the tracker is on and receiving the GPS signal and you are ready to go.

Log on to the portal and you can start tracking your dog in real-time. It's as easy as that. 
 

What is special about the PAJ PET Finder 4G

  • Suitable for all dogs, as it is lightweight and comfortable to have on a collar.
  • Simple to attach to your dog's collar.
  • Robust device.
  • Live location update indoors and outdoors. 
  • Alarms via e-mail and push messages.
  • You can view all your dogs routes from the last year.
  • Waterproof so no matter how wet your dog gets you will find them .
  • GPS accuracy of 5-10 metres depending on the GPS reception of the finder.
  • Radius alert letting you know you are near your dog.
  • Speed alert this will let you know when your dog reaches a certain speed Ie they are in a car.
  • Long battery standby mode last 5 days, and in tracking mode 9 hours of GPS tracking. 
  • Battery alert so you know how long you have left and when to recharge.
  • 2 g and 4g network coverage.
  • Geozone Alert You are will be able to set a geo zone or "safe area" around your tracker. Should the tracker enter or leave this predefined area.
  • Sound function: you can make the tracker emit a sound to help you find your pup or use it in training your pup. 
  • Light function (incl. light sensor): Activate the tracker LEDs will light up if it is dark enough you can turn these off also.

My thoughts 
As you can see this is one helpful piece of kit to have for your trail dog training. This really can help if you lose your dog when you are out on your bikes Or if your dog is liable to run away. 

This can save your dog's life. There is nothing scarier than losing your beloved dog and with PAJ PET Finder you will know where to find your dog if the worst does happen. It really does give you peace of mind when you are out with your dog and it is so simple to use and gives you your dog's location from your phone. 

I can not recommend this enough if you have a trail dog. It is lightweight and simple to use and will become second nature to have when hitting the trails with your pup. Plus it gives you complete peace of mind you know where your dog is at all times. Plus it is really affordable too.