A Tight Dilemma

Don't you love running during the balmy days of spring, summer or even those crisp, sunny days of fall? 

Unfortunately, it's monsoon season on the wet coast.  It's also getting cold.  With a heavy heart, I have tucked my shorts into the back of the closet.  Problem is, I don't like running in tights.  I don't like the restrictive feeling and the heaviness when they get wet. 

Well, the tights have been out for a while now and got some good miles in during the CFA fall events I was able to participate in.  Poor Arthur got the brunt of my rant on my "old" tights during the M + M Fun Run.  It was raining on and off and the fabric got so heavy, it stuck to my quads and drove me to distraction. 

Now, I have to come clean here:  my tights are a men's size S.  As my running buddy, Caroline, pointed out, "What do you expect, they are men's tights".  I bought them a few years ago at the MEC (I am a MEC kinda girl for most of my outdoor gear).  All their women's tights were flared and I didn't even give them a glance - who wants wide cut pants for trail running?  The men's S seemed to fit.  They are what they call mid weight and they are great on dry days...but when it rains, they just get heavy and since the fabric doesn't have much stretch they feel restrictive.  My old pair needed some repairs and last Christmas I got a back-up, this time in men's M.  Again, they are great dry, but when wet they are even worse than the small ones, as they get so heavy, they slide off my hips.

Browsing through the MEC Fall/Winter catalogue, I noticed a pair of women's tights, midweight and narrow cut.  Had MEC clued in (when I bought the men's S they were down to the last pair, probably not because a bunch of small men purchased them).  Unfortunately, when I looked at them at the store and tried them on, they were not what I was looking for in a pair of tights for running in our wet, but mild winters.  They were rather thick (better suited for snowshoe running) and the legs in both the L and M sizes were way to long on my average height frame.  Reluctantly, I turned my attention to the wider cut styles and ended up buying a very nice looking pair of Dash Pants.  The product info praises them as a great garment for those who aren't fond of tights (yeah, right) but want quick-drying mobility for warm-ups and running.

So far so good.  I like the fit.  They are not terribly low cut and have a wide, flat waist band with a inconspicuous drawstring cord. The cord needs to be tied together or a toggle as it disappears in the waist band during washing, but that's a minor nuisance.  I expected the wider cut legs to be annoying and not very practical on the trails, but surprise, I actually like them and they haven't snagged on anything yet.   I like the material.  They are made of 100% polyester, in, as MEC puts it, a comfy flat face knit.  Looks quite flattering, falls nicely and has a bit of stretch.  It's also not too heavy, flimsy, shiny or slippery. Only beef I have so far, is that the fabric gets slightly clingy when you get sweaty. I like the extras.  There are two flat, low-profile pockets and an internal mesh key pocket.  I like the workmanship.  When buying MEC gear I have come to expect good quality, and these pants so far are no exceptions.  The seams don't look like they are going to come apart during washing.  Speaking about washing... these pants are fast drying.  Very convenient. 

It remains to be seen how they perform on a long wet and muddy run.  So far, I only wore them for shorter runs and the gym.  I guess that's what they were designed for...hence the name - Dash pants