Who wears short shorts? Blix Croell tested the Curious Creatures Ramble Scramble short ($139), a unisex mountain biking short made by Curious Creatures, to see if casual cycling apparel can be both gender-inclusive and full-featured.
Curious Creatures Ramble Scramble Short at a Glance
- $139
- 4-way stretch durable polyester fabric
- Water repellent finish
- 7” inseam
- 5 pockets! (2 for the hands, 2 on the rear, and a zippered side stash)
- Sizes 0 – 20 (Size 4 reviewed)
- Available in 3 different colorways
- Unisex
Hot Take: you’ll never catch me in mountain biking shorts that fall below or at my knees. Long shorts are the fedora of the cycling world. Although they would probably make a lot of sense down here in the desert, where everything has thorns that want to tear up my thighs, I simply do not like the way they look (aero bars also fall into this same category, but that’s a different story). Despite my hate, I was on the lookout for technical mountain biking shorts with a short inseam and was thrilled to find the Curious Creatures Ramble Scramble Short.
First off, I absolutely love that these are unisex. My experience buying technical wear for almost any outdoor activity has been a bummer, to say the least. If it is a “women’s” piece of clothing, I find that it is typically made with cheaper materials and doesn’t have all the bells and whistles found in “men’s” clothing. Don’t even get me started on large pocket shortages.
The Ramble Scramble short leaves nothing out. It has all the features. The shorts are made with very solid material that is also stretchy. It has already taken a few thorns, and the fabric has held up. The fabric is a little heavier than I prefer and doesn’t breathe as well as I’d like for desert riding. These shorts have 5 (!) pockets. I can even fit my hand into all of them (no joke, this has been an issue with pockets on “women’s” gear).
I love the zippered side stash for extra safe storage as well. The water-repellent finish is a nice touch for when I do venture out of the dry southwest and into more rainy climates. I will definitely be bringing these shorts on my next bike tour.
Any clothing that has the words stretch and durable in the same sentence, I’m on board. These shorts are loose enough, but not slouchy or frumpy. I am 5’5″ with a 26” waist and 38” hip. I can move comfortably while mountain biking and not feel like my butt is going to bust out of the backside. The waist has an inner drawstring to adjust the fit which I like to have them feel a little more snug.
The downfall of this tie system is the knot can be bothersome on my stomach at times. If I don’t tie these tightly enough, the backside of the shorts falls down and everyone gets a good look at my undies. Overall, this is about the fit I would expect from a unisex short since it caters to many different types of bodies. I’m willing to have a little bit of slouch if it means not compromising the durability of the shorts. Curious Creatures notes on the website that these run a bit small.
This may tie into the unisex benefit of this review, but it is refreshing to see shorts advertised towards “women” that aren’t floral, paisley, polka dot, or some other awful pattern that crawled out of the depths of Pinterest. This is also coming from someone who rides a hot pink fatbike with rainbow sprinkle decals. We contain multitudes, and kudos to you if you can rock those patterns. Just not my cup of tea.
The colorways for these shorts are simple but fun. I love the hit of color on the back pocket as well as the little logo. It’s also delightful, as someone who identifies as non-binary, to see advertising that isn’t hinged on binary terms and phrases like lady shred, slaydies, gals, girls, etc. Not everything has to be catered to everyone, but god damn is it nice to not be bombarded with something that reads like, “OH you’re a girlie?! With a vagina?! Try out these pink pussy bike shorts to SLAY on all those BROS #girlpower”.
This is getting into a larger conversation beyond the scope of a short review, but I also want to say that women-centered spaces in the bike world should exist. I know a ton of folks who have felt very empowered in these spaces and using that type of language. But again, as someone who doesn’t identify as a woman, it is nice to shop for mountain biking clothing as just a human. It’s empowering to go to a product description and have it be short and simple without bringing gender to the forefront of my riding experience.
I hope the industry starts looking at more “unisex” clothing options for riders. I don’t need an entire brand dedicated to this, but it’s nice to see a few options on websites that cater to the entire spectrum. There are probably some folks who will argue against more unisex clothing, claiming that women and men need different kinds of clothing for riding. Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. I suppose it’s all personal preference, but Curious Creatures has shown it can be done. And it can be done well.
PROS
- Stretchy but durable fabric
- Fun colorways
- So many pockets!
- Unisex
- Short inseam
CONS
- Tie waist knot can be irritating
- Not quick-drying
- Expensive
A note from Spencer Harding: I wanted to leave my opinion here in the end, since I too got a pair of Ramble Scramble shorts to review. You’ll be seeing plenty of me wearing them in my upcoming reviews as they have quickly become my favorite pair of riding shorts. I wanted to chime in on the unisex sizing. I got a size 12 short as I am typically a 32″-33″ waist and the Ramble Scramble short fits perfectly. In short, trust their “men’s size conversion” on the sizing chart.
See more at Curious Creatures.
