Endura MT 500 Jersey, Shorts and Gloves

Endura is a Scottish cycling apparel brand that's been around since 1993. Endura claim that the MT500 collection pushes the boundaries of function, endurance and durability in MTB apparel. They sent me their MT500 Burner L/S Jersey, MT500 Burner Short and MT500 D3O Glove to test. I've been riding in all three pieces for a few months now in conditions ranging from cold and wet to hot, dry and dusty.

Endura MT500 Burner Jersey L/S

Pulling the Endura MT500 jersey out of the package the first thing I noticed was the quality of the fabric. It has a light, airy but durable feel to it. The medium-sized jersey fits me perfectly, and has a slight stretch that wears really nicely. The MT500 jersey is well-vented, meaning it offers a surprising amount of airflow through the jersey. This is wonderful on a hot day, but can also make the jersey a bit cool on a cold day. While the sleeves have a slimmer fit, there is space for low profile elbow pads.

I like the minimal graphics and colour choices on the MT500 jersey. I paired it jersey with a number of other shorts and pants, and it always seems to look good. Pricewise the Endura Burner MT500 jersey retails for 105 CAD or 75 USD. This seems on the expensive side for a jersey, but given the quality of the fabric and cut I don't think it's unreasonable. The MT500 has become one of my preferred jerseys when riding bike park, with the lighter colours and ample venting helping to keep me cool both in the lift lines and out on the trails.

Endura MT500 Burner Short

Much like with the jersey, pulling the size large MT500 shorts on the for the first time felt great. They fit me on the smaller side, but there is enough stretch in the fabric that they're comfy. Between the cut and the fabric, it feels as if both the jersey and shorts move with you, not against you.

I found the MT500 Burner Short fit a little snug around the legs, but perfectly around the waist. A bigger issue is that I think the diameter of the short legs is too small to fit anything other than slim knee pads. More bulky pads cause the shorts to bunch up around the top of the knee pad. This isn't really a comfort issue, but having bunched up shorts is not a great look. The two pockets supplied on the Burner shorts are a nice size, but I'd also like to see a third pocket. I've grown accustomed to shorts or pants with three pockets in the bike park that allow me to dedicate a pocket each to pass/tool, wallet and phone.

Endura's MT500 Burner shorts will set you back 180 CAD or 120 USD. That isn't cheap, but in terms of quality these shorts are top shelf. I've ridden the Burner Short through loads of wet weather, and the butt area has resisted abrasion and colour change well. None of the seams have come loose. I wore these shorts almost every day through Crankworx (because I really like them) where they proved comfortable, didn't get stinky, and looked great.

Endura MT500 D3O Gloves

And then there are the gloves. I found the fit of the size medium gloves excellent, and I'm a size medium glove in pretty much everything. The padding on the knuckles make the gloves a bit warmer, but didn't make them any less comfortable. The internal seams are bigger than on most other gloves, but once riding this wasn't something I noticed. A pair of these gloves will set you back 77 CAD or 60 USD.

After a couple of uses and washes, the Endura logos came off the top of the gloves. This didn't impact the function of the glove at all, but during my time wearing these gloves I discovered some limitations. I'm a sweaty man, and I noticed on hot days that when the gloves got wet, the grippy silicone bits on the palms made the gloves a lot more slippery on the grips. This is not optimal in an item of clothing that is trying to grip onto a handlebar. The bright orange graphics look nice, but due to the slippery when wet palms, I've stopped using these on hot/wet days. Since I can't pedal in these on hot days, they've been used more in the bike park where I've been able to enjoy the comfort and protection they offer. Besides the Endura logo falling off they are good quality piece of kit. None of the seams have come loose, and somewhat unfortunately all of the grippy silicone bits on the palm are still intact.

As a kit I like the Endura MT500 line. I love the colours and subtle graphics on the jersey and shorts. The jersey was near flawless, and my favourite piece of the three. The jersey fits well and is comfortable to wear, even on hot days. The shorts are great too, proving to be comfortable and durable. While I like the fit and look of the shorts, I think they could use a bigger cuff to clear more than just slim knee pads. The gloves were comfortable, and I liked the protection, but the grippy palm features proved to be quite the opposite when wet. As an overall commentary, the MT500 line is not cheap but all the products are well made and have held up flawlessly through ample use. Final verdict: the Endura MT500 Burner Jersey gets two thumbs up, 1.5 thumbs up for the MT500 Burner Shorts if you use slim knee pads, and the MT500 D30 glove is probably best as a bike park glove with the added D3O knuckle protection.

More details at Endura's website.