Black Diamond Distance Shorts Review

Black Diamond was born from Chouinard Equipment and has been climbing-centric through and through from the beginning. From a market entry based on piton production to spear-heading clean climbing ethics, it’s easy to trace the brand’s mark on the sport. The cleaner the practices, the quicker the missions, and at a certain point, fast-and-light style alpinism just blurs into running. These days, Black Diamond supports that with a hefty line-up of trail-running centric products, from packs to poles to shorts. Over the past few months, I’ve been training for a trail 50K, and have had a pair of the Distance Shorts into my rotation. Let me tell you all about them.

Black Diamond Distance Shorts Features:

• DWR finish without intentionally added PFAS
• Five utility pockets to carry on-trail essentials
• Integrated quick drying interior brief
• Elastic waist with drawcord
• 7” Inseam
• MSRP: $99

They’re Going the Distance

In many ways, the Distance Shorts appear to be a no-frills affair. They’re a liner short that utilizes some fairly common materials and construction techniques. The first thing that struck me when I put them on for my first run was their body material. It’s a 88% nylon, 12% percent elastane blend, and it’s not wildly stretchy, as many other running shorts tend to be. Bucking the trend can be a good thing, but a move away from stretchiness did seem like a bad omen to me at first.

In the many miles I’ve put on the shorts so far though, that lack of stretchiness hasn’t proved to be an impediment. I believe that’s the case because Black Diamond gave the Distance shorts a generous gusset and generally tailored them on the looser side. They flow well, and I never found myself restricted by the main body fabric, though I initially thought I would be. Another common downside of less stretchy blends like these is potential noisiness. Somehow, the Distance Shorts shirk that issue as well. They’re about as quiet as the stretchiest shorts I own.

Okay, let’s talk liner. I had some similar misgivings around the shorts’ liners when I first put them on. The liner body material is stretchy, soft, and perfectly ideal, but the sewn edges of the liner have much less give to them. In all likelihood, it’s traceable back to thread choice. Regardless, the result is that you feel the edges of the liner as you run. It never did chafe me, in spite of regularly running 10+ miles in the shorts, but it was noticeable. In my ideal world, these shorts would have a brief-style liner with stretchy body and thread. As it stands, it’s functional, if not always the pinnacle of accommodation and comfort.

The waistband of the shorts has an interesting and effective design. It’s a soft elastic band offset about ¼” above the main body material of the shorts. The look is unique, but the result is a soft feel around the waist. There’s also a drawstring at the waist which ties on the outside. I’ve run well over 200 miles this past month, and when the Distance Shorts are dirty, I’m using other running shorts of mine, all of which have internally-tied drawstrings at the waist. The Distance Shorts have converted me. Externally-tied drawstrings are way more comfortable and fade into the background much more over the course of a longer day. It’s a good design.

Storage on the shorts is ample. With one zippered pocket and 4 elastic banded pockets, it’s really hard to ask for more. The zippered pocket can just barely fit the dimensions of my phone, and the other pockets can each comfortably store 2-3 goos. The design of the elastic banded pockets includes an overlapping layer of material which is super effective at preventing contents from bouncing out. With that said, it can make it more difficult to get to what’s in your pocket while running. As far as load carriage goes, the Distance Shorts do well. There’s pretty minimal bouncing that goes on for each of the pockets.

As a final thought here, I’m going to put my foot in my mouth. If you know me, you know that I’m not shy about saying “DWR is pointless” for many pieces of outdoor gear. As an overly-general rule, if you need it to be waterproof, I think it should have a membrane. I came in with that notion for the Distance Shorts, and I was so wrong. When you’re running north of 20 miles in the mist and light precipitation, it’s wonderful to not have wet shorts. The DWR on the Distance Shorts is effective, super helpful, and has lasted well over the course of many washes and many more miles. I’m certainly glad to be wrong on this one.

Fit: I’m 5’11” and a lean 170 pounds with a 31” waist. 31” is always an awkward size on the charts, and for the Distance Shorts, it sat right on the line between Small and Medium. I sized up to Medium and had no regrets.

Buy Now: Available at Black Diamond