iXS has long been committed to supporting downhill racing, sponsoring a raft of downhill events in Europe as well iXS Dirt Masters mountain bike Gravity Festival. As a brand making clothing and protection, it's unsurprising that they are aimed towards the gravity markets.
We have been riding the iXS Trigger pants for a while now and although they are great on downhill days, it's their versatile performance on the trail that makes them some of the best MTB pants around.
Design and specifications
The Triggers are made from recycled PET fiber (92% Polyester, 8% Elastane) and iXS has used a lot of paneling and gusseting to give the Triggers a close performance-oriented fit. The knees are preshaped as well to help further optimize on the bike performance and there's extra space for knee pads, although they aren’t so flappy that they would annoy me if I were heading out to the trails without knee protection. iXS has positioned two large mesh sections behind the knees in order to help reduce sweaty knees when wearing pads on warm days.
The pants use a combo of velcro, poppers, and a zip for closure plus the waistband can be fine-tuned using some velcro adjusters on the inside. There are silicon details on the inside of the waistband to stop them drooping at the back and the poppers have a chunky rubberized tab that's easy to grab. Pockets are kept to a minimum with two well-sized front pockets that feature chunky durable zips.
There’s a large iXS logo on the thigh and a smaller design on the lower leg and at the rear. Despite the size, I found them to be unnoffensive and if you much prefer keeping logos to a minimum, the black-graphit version of the Triggers has a black-on-black logo which is much more subtle.
iXS offer the Triggers in six colorways, from the black-graphite mentioned above, a grey, two marine blue’s, a turquoise, and red option. Billed as unisex, there are a good number of size options available, ranging from US XXS to XXL.
Performance
With a waist measurement that floats around the 31in mark, I went for the size US XS (EU Small) and found the fit to be spot on. The Triggers are close fitting but the shaping and stretch of the material still allow more than enough movement when riding without a hint of bunching. The fit is definitely race-orientated with zero flapping material although they don’t feel as painted on as Specialized’s Trail pants so they are considerably easier to get on and off.
With such a well-tailored fit the Triggers are very comfortable on the bike. Although they are aimed at downhill, park, and enduro riding I found them more than comfortable to wear on long climbs as well. The lightweight fast drying material plus behind-the-knee venting means they aren’t held back even on big trail days.
Our review samples have stood up well to a lot of riding, our Trigger pants have been on the go for over a year now, and other than some discoloring in the seat of the pants, they are still in excellent condition.
Verdict
I am a big fan of iXS’s Trigger pants due to their lightweight build and superb comfort and they are usually one of the first pairs of pants I grab if I'm going for a ride. The tailoring is spot on for a close, flap, and snag-free fit which still allows full freedom of movement. The vents do a decent job at helping stop protected knees from overheating and they dry pretty fast if you are caught in the rain.
They are priced a little higher than other pants on the market although the design is really thought out. I like that there are no plastic ratchets or bulky buckles either which helps keep the pants light and limits the risk of damage if you crash.
Tech specs: iXS Trigger pants
- Price: $169.90 / £129.99
- Fabric: 92% Polyester, 8% Elastane
- Colors: Black-Graphite, Black, Marine-Black, Marine-Lime, Red-Graphite, Lagoon-Marine
- Weight: 372g
- Sizes: US XXS (28-29) - XXL (40-41)
