Note: Originally posted in my
blog but reposting in entirety so admins don't think I'm a link whore =)
The guys on Sherdog have been going nuts over the Truth board shorts for quite some time now, and in my search for a less-than-fifty-bucks fight short I decided to give these a shot since they're only $25 plus shipping. I ordered them and they arrived within a couple of days.
Construction and Design
The Truths are 80/20 polyester/nylon, with an elastic waistband, round drawstring, and a Velcro closure system very similar to Sprawls in that it is wide and flat.
The Velcro sticks to everything, it's mind-bogglingly annoying. The drawstring is drawn to it like a magnet, and the Velcro sticks to the actual fabric as well. Basically once you open the closure something is going to get stuck in there. The material on my Sprawls, XFGear, and CSI Loose Fits don't do this (although you still have to deal with the drawstrings getting stuck on the Velcro on the Sprawls).
To make matters worse, the Velcro pulling on the drawstring is loosening the drawstring up, pulling loops out of the material. I'm wondering if the drawstring is going to survive even a week of rolling the rate at which it's going.
The material itself feels like, uh, polyester. Like, leisure-suit/coach's shorts kind of polyester. I don't know if it's the material or the particular weave or what, but it's definitely not as nice feeling as XFGear, Sprawl, or even my 100% poly CSI Loose Fit Training Shorts.
The legs are closed seam with stretch panels, and there are stretch panels going from the inside of the thighs, across the groin, to the inside of the other thigh, which is a nice thing.
There are no gaudy designs, just a sewed on patch with the Truth Fightwear name and logo on the left pant leg. It doesn't even say Truth on the closure flap, where you'd normally expect to find a brand name (it's just blank).
Overall construction is top notch -- stitching is nice, I didn't see any real signs of sloppiness.
Fit
The fit of the Truths is pretty much perfect. I have big thighs so they're a little bit snug, but overall they feel great. Rolling with them presents no problem, they were comfortable and stayed in place.
I normally wear size 32/33 American Eagle jeans and size 34 Sprawls.
Summary
For $25 the Truths are decent fight shorts, but they lose in almost all areas compared to Sprawls. Granted, the Sprawls are twice as much, so that's expected. The Truths are a great value but aren't the best shorts you can buy. But, they're probably the best shorts you can get at their price.
Pros
* Low cost
* Elastic + Velcro + drawstring
* stretch panels inside and outside leg
* understated design
Cons
* No pocket (I'm not a big user of the pocket)
* Closed seam instead of split seam
* Velcro sticks to everything
* Leisure-suit polyester material
* Drawstring unravels a bit every time it gets stuck on Velcro
