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.