You know that moment when you notice something for the first time, and you realize it’s been around a million times but you never realized it was there the entire time? Well, I’ve ran a couple Ragnars before, and races like these have large sponsors that end up on every piece of marketing material you can think of; the finishers medal, emails, merch, banners, etc. Little did I realize, Craft is one of the biggest Ragnar sponsors.
They’re a Swedish, running focused company that’s been around for 40+ years. And their logo is on a sweatshirt that I’ve worn twice a week for the last 3+ winters. So, after I came across their website two months ago, I was shocked to realize this was the same company that I had seen tons of times but never knew who they were.
There’s another Swedish based running company that’s more commonly known, On, and both of these companies seem particularly focused on their approach to their products, rethinking them from the ground up. However, On’s gear looks and feels like they’re from a different planet, while Craft’s products look and feel like the future; making them more approachable.
Eventually, curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to know if their ADV Essence Stretch Shorts perform as well as they look and cost. And in the most subtle ways, they made impactful improvements from top to bottom.
Top
Craft initially seemed to have a fairly simple and basic approach to the waistband that wasn’t groundbreaking. The material is soft and light, and the tie strings follow suit. But as you move down to the rear pocket, it’s a pleasant surprise.
I’m used to back pockets using zippers or velcro to stay closed and keep your belongings safe and secure. Instead, Craft’s shorts use a fold over design that uses an inch of material of the waistband that goes over the opening of the pocket. And my goodness do I love this seemingly basic revision!
My phone has never felt more secure on runs!
The Nike Flex Stride Shorts and Nathan Frontrunner 3.0 Shorts use zippers to close back pockets, and my phone always bounces around in these. That’s not the case with these shorts.
Although, I did need to embrace the Casey Neistat approach of modifying gear to fit you, so I could get my phone to fit. Because of how far to the center the side stitching goes, I couldn’t get anything bigger than my AirPods case to fit. (I even tried taking the shorts off and shoving my phone in, but even this man-handling attempt didn’t work.) I ended up snipping a few threads on the left side of the pocket and I haven’t had any problem since. (Even with those few missing stitches, my phone is more secure than any other running shorts that I’ve tried to date.)
Another amazing highlight of Craft’s back pocket design is that when I do core exercises or stretches on my back, there’s no zipper to dig into my back waste. This is so nice!
The only negative thing I can say about the back pocket is that it’s practically impossible to get your phone out while you’re running. You’ll need to stop to do accomplish this. (I really tried to get it out on a 10+ mile run, but it never worked; especially after the pocket was wet and sweaty. Just standing and trying to get my phone in and out of the pocket when it’s damp takes me a few moments.)
Craft has another inside pocket on the front too, which is likely for chapstick or something the size of a key. I never use this.
Middle
These shorts are brief lined, and I’m not a fan of this kind of style because I feel like I’m running in a speedo. However, Craft has successfully created a pair of brief lined shorts that I’ll actually run in.
Other brief lined shorts I’ve had use a compression or mesh fabric that usually leads to chaffing, but that never happened with these shorts. Craft uses a thin, plush-like material that seems to prevent chaffing on long and short distance runs.
Even after 40+ miles in these I have yet to chaff. (Surprisingly, I haven’t needed to cut the brief lining out like I did with past Nikes.)
As for the exterior, Craft was hyper focused on shaving off as much weight. To do this they didn’t include side pockets, which I personally like to have on days where I work in my running shorts for the rest of the day. However, these will now be my preferred choice of shorts on race days because of the slight weight savings.
Plus, even on hot runs when things get more sweaty than usual, these let air through exceptionally well.
Bottom
These aren’t my first pair of 5 inch shorts, but these feel a little shorter than the rest. Mostly because of the amount of skin the shorts put on display when doing core workouts and they rise up. (If the brief liner wasn’t there, then things would be slipping out left and right and I’m not one to give peep shows.)
I have to give credit to Craft for their subtle branding too. It’s not loud, “Look at me”, kind of branding. The only place they have their name and logo on the shorts is the bottom outside legs: one on the back and another on the front. They even used a slightly different color than the shorts, which only adds to their sharp looks.
The Recap
Does Craft’s ADV Essence Stretch Shorts perform as well as they look and cost? Yes!
They’re surprising in all the right ways. Everything Craft reiterated on, like the back pocket design and brief liner material choice, are better than any other running focused pair of shorts I’ve tried.
Minus the slight modification I needed to make to the pocket so my phone could fit, these shorts are ready for your next race or regular training day.
It would be nice to have side pockets, since I’m not a hardcore runner and the small weight savings don’t matter to me most of the time. However, since it’s currently February and Idaho is a frozen tundra, I run at an indoor track most days and these are perfect for that.
I’ll happily run in these any day of the week.