Hylete aims to provide functional, affordable, and aesthetically pleasing workout clothes. Their unique design allows gear to transition between multiple sports smoothly while maintaining a flattering cut. Hylete targets crossfitters/ cross trainers with their marketing pictures on their website. I picked the only pair of shorts that didn’t qualify as what my mom would call “booty shorts” to review. The Serenium short appeared to have a nice cut and enough spandex to allow comfort, but not so much spandex that felt like I was wearing “biker shorts” or “sliders”. The Serenium shorts also seemed short enough to comfortably run in, but long enough to maintain my dignity while bending over for straight leg dead lifts.
Hylete Serenium Zip Pocket Shorts Features
Side Pockets – The pocket location on the bilateral sides is a nice feature for cross training use. It helps to avoid any nasty zipper chaffing issues caused by traditional posterior zipper pocket locations. (There are times that I want to take my car key with me while I’m running. I don’t trust hiding my key on a car tire or tying the key to my shoes strings. You know in Atlanta that my car would be gone when I returned or my shoelaces would come untied somehow. I just feel safer with my key zipped up in a pocket.) All of my other running shorts only have zipper pockets in the middle of the back. While this posterior location works great for running, it does not work so much for lying on a floor. I have an amazing scar on my tailbone from the constant skin vs. zipper war while doing my ab exercises. With the Hylete Serenium shorts, I haven’t had any of those issues due to the zipper being placed laterally. Now, I have shorts I can run in, put a key in the side zip pocket, go straight to a HIIT class, and not have to worry about chaffing during AB mat abs from a pocket zipper.
Scalloped Leg Opening – The scalloped leg opening is flattering. No matter how many leg days I do or how many sports I play, I will always have a slight saddle bag on my outer thigh thanks to my genetics and love of queso. The scalloped cut did a perfect job of hiding this area. The shorts are fitted enough through the hips and butt due to the spandex, but slightly flared and scalloped at the leg opening to allow the leg to move freely. This also helps to avoid the short bottom cutting into your leg and causing a faux fat roll/accentuating any real fat roll or cellulite. Hylete hit the nail on the head with the aesthetics when it came to the leg opening.
Hylete Serenium Zip Pocket Shorts Usage
When I was browsing the Hylete website, the chicks were using these shorts while they were pushing tires and lifting weights. It seemed like they were good for cross training, so I wore the shorts for lifting weights, high intensity interval group training as well as shorter runs and some longer runs for my 70.3 training. I wanted these to be my new favorite shorts. I was really sold on the whole side pocket allowing for running and training thing.
However there was a down side – I’ll probably end up retiring them to the lounge shorts drawer for a couple of different reasons. First, there is no built in underwear or liner. Second, the material wasn’t thick enough. Let me explain. I’m just the type of person who isn’t going to wear underwear and then shorts on top to work out. My ass has a tendency to eat whatever the first layer is no matter what. My thought process is the following: there might as well be a hidden first layer for my butt to munch on while the outer layer is deceptively in place. Plus, the built in underwear seems to ride up less overall compared to regular underwear. Also, if I’m stretching/ on the floor doing some move, I don’t want to worry about flashing any goods. The built in underwear would prevent the potential flashing issues; furthermore, there is no built in liner in the crotch like you would see in running capris or running shorts. Guys probably don’t have the same issues as women, but for people who have had kids or just have a weak pelvic floor in general, that extra liner portion is nice. No one wants to see your pee drops in the crotch from either sneezing or having 100 double unders that day. Lastly, there isn’t enough structure to the shorts. Yes, its nice to have light and breathable material, but there simply isn’t enough weight in the material to keep them from riding up. So, you have no inner underwear layer AND the material is so light is rides up. This just doesn’t work out for a lady with Hungry Butt Syndrome. When I was running, I definitely had a wedgie that I had to keep picking out.
Additional Note –
The website said, “This style runs large. It is recommended to order one size down”. When I ordered a small, Hylete automatically sent me an XS instead of a small. I’m not sure if this was an error or them accounting for the size running large. In the end, I actually needed a small ( what I originally ordered). So, I had to call and email to get the size adjusted. Maybe sending me the extra small was just an error? I would hope a company respects any adult’s decision making capacity and autonomy enough to send them the size they ordered instead of being paternalistic and adjusting the order without discussing it first
Hylete Serenium Zip Pocket Shorts Durability
Due to an initial sizing issue, I’ve only had the correct size for about two weeks, so it’s hard to comment on the durability yet. They aren’t overtly flimsy and poorly made, but I also haven’t put them through the ringer. The material is a blend of 89% polyester and 11% spandex. I’ll keep an eye on whether they stretch out or hold up. I will update the review after more uses.
Hylete Serenium Zip Pocket Shorts Pros and Cons
Pros
- Side Pockets help to avoid chaffing while cross training
- Flattering Scalloped leg opening
- More discounts with more items purchased
- Direct selling helps reduce overall cost of product
Cons
- No built in underwear or liner
- Not enough structure to the material
- Contraindicated for women with HBS (aka Hungry Butt Syndrome)
Hylete Serenium Zip Pocket Shorts Conclusion
Overall, I wasn’t that impressed with these shorts. If I had gone into a store to try them on, I would not have purchased them. Playing devil’s advocate, these statements probably have a lot more to do with my personal preference on liners and the fact that I’m a “betweener” in sizes. The Hylete Selenium Zip shorts should be tried out around the house before taking off the tags, maybe you will have better luck.
Melissa Smith
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- Hylete Insignia Racer Top Review - November 16, 2016
- Hylete Serenium Zip Pocket Shorts Review - May 25, 2016
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