OMM released shorts within their sonic series, the OMM Sonic Shorts. I stumbled upon this item by coincidence and due to its low weight I wanted to give it a try. It is made from a material that we know from wind shirts, so actually a windproof shell. Let’s see…
OMM Sonic Shorts
Main Specs
| Item | OMM Sonic Shorts |
|---|---|
| Company | OMM (Original Mountain Marathon), England |
| Materials | Fabric PointZero |
| Features | Key pocket, Reflective logo |
| Size | Medium |
| Weight | 23.5g (0.83oz) |
| Price | 34 GBP @ Ultralight Outdoor Gear |
| Date of purchase | June 2018 |
| Date of review | 24th of June 2018 |
Ultralight Shorts
On tours in warm regions like the E4 trail on the island of Crete or the GR221 on Mallorca shorts could be the only legwear to be carried. For such events I used the Adidas Terrex Agravic Shorts where the medium size comes at 57 grams. On other tours where shorts may be used, e.g. when the long trousers are being washed or at any backup scenario, the weight counts even more, as then they are mainly carried in the backpack. Are these new ultralight OMM shorts with less than 25 grams suitable for that purposes?
Material
OMM does not reveal much details on their material. On the website they state:
“The PointZero fabric is windproof it also has a DWR repellancy to the fabrics surface making the shorts water repellant and more stain resistant.”
Where DWR is the abbreviation for durable water repellent. Ultralight Outdoor Gear states:
“The fabric is Point Zero, which is OMMs own fabric which also carries a DWR coating to shed light rain.”
Whatever that means specifically it is a really light windproof & breathable material similar to Pertex Quantum GL – at least this is my impression. First I thought that it might be too hot for the summer. But this weekend I took it out for a running contest and it performed very well.
Main Features
Basically these shorts have only one feature, this is being ultralight. More or less, that’s it! Let’s take a close look.
Front side fresh from the envelope. The shorts adjust to your body size with the rubber sections on both sides. The OMM logo is reflective, a good feature for runners but unimportant for trekking – I’d say.
Back side.
Front turned inside out with the small pocket (upper right).
Closer view to the pocket (shorts turned inside out). It is actually a bit larger than a credit card. So you can fit your UL wallet, i.e. some cards in a zip lock, in there.
Back side turned inside out. Also visible: The small pocket flipped to the outside.
Front view. Model: The ultralight guru 🙂
Side view.
Back view.
The shorts may be stored inside the pocket and then they become a really small package.
The main feature: It is really light, which also leads to the main conclusion: These shorts are a must have item for anyone with a SUL gear list 😉
Disclaimer
This is a private “just for fun” blog. Therefore, I bought the shorts with my own money and every word I wrote just reflects my personal opinion.
the ultralight guru 
Seems really nice as ultralight travel shorts. By the way way have you tried the shorts as swimming shorts, are they appropriate to use at the public beach only on their own without other underwear?
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Yes, I tried that in Greece. It works nicely, however when wet it is tight-fitting 😉
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