Designed as a lightweight and breezy pant, The MT500 Burner Lite from Endura carries much of the goodness found on the original Burner Pant, the very same as used by the Athertons. In creating a pair of trousers aimed towards breathability in hot weather, the Scottish brand has almost nailed it as they provide excellent comfort in a package that’s ideal those warm rides with mixed conditions. Though, moisture wicking could be improved.
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Endura MT500 Burner Lite Pant - Technical details
To help keep comfortable in warmer weather, the MT500 Burner Lite Pant is built with a four-way stretch fabric with mesh panels behind the knee to encourage cooling. On top of that, there are laser cut perforations.
Much like its accompanying Burner Lite L/S jersey, the Pant gets a slim fit but Endura says that there’s enough space for knee pads underneath. Then at the waist are a pair of low-profile adjusters with Velcro fastening as well as a silicone gripper at the rear. The trousers are then closed thanks to a zip combined with a pair of poppers and a touch of Velcro.
FInishing off the feature list are a couple of zipped hand pockets, compatibility with Endura’s ClickFast liner system and an eco-friendly, PFC-free and non-toxic DWR coating.
Endura MT500 Burner Lite Pant - Performance
As an Endura product, it comes as no surprise that the Burner Lite Pant fits incredibly well. I chose a medium size and I can’t complain. The legs are plenty long enough and there’s a good level of adjustment left in the waist adjusters. Endura claims that there’s space for knee pads which I can happily confirm as the trousers have fit both the Leatt AirFlex Hyrbid Pro Knees and some slimmer pads I often opt for. Even though both pads are reasonably low profile, there’s still room left over for bulkier protection.
Endura’s slim fit is something of an exaggeration. There are much slimmer trousers on the market but that no bad thing for the Burner Lite as there are no tight spots anywhere around the garment. It’s a case of the trousers being slim enough not to have excess fabric freely flapping about.
Where these pants are designed to be lightweight and breezy, they’re cut with comparatively loose ankle cuffs. When riding, it was surprisingly how much airflow this encouraged, and has proven to be a great design choice from the brand.
The four-way stretch fabric chosen for the Burner Lites help them feel lightweight on the body, and has remained super comfortable. It does come into some issues when it comes to moisture wicking, however. On warmer days, I’ve felt some condensation sit on the inside of the fabric, around my shins, where it’s not been expelled through the fabric.
But to get back onto the good stuff, adding a DWR coating to these trousers is an incredibly good move, and one that makes these one of the best pairs around as they easily fend off a decent level of spray. Because the fabric is light, and the perforations, along with other airflow encouraging features keeping them relatively cool, they make for an excellent choice when riding through warm days after a nights’ rain, for example.
Endura MT500 Burner Lite Pant - Value and verdict
Another big plus on top of the Burner Lite’s impressive performance is its asking price. A penny under £100 puts these trousers at a very competitive point, pipping the Specialized Trail pants and others in terms of value.
To go a bit deeper into the Specialized Trail pants, they’ll set you back £10 more and I’ve been impressed with their weather resistance, comfort and value. But their tapered leg makes them very slim fitting in comparison. There’s also not as much adjustment in the waistband.
Jump up to £140 and there’s Rapha’s excellent Men’s Trail Pants. These get more pockets and reinforcement in high wear areas. They cost a little more but the extra £40 is a worthy investment.
The Endura MT500 Burner Lite Pant has tested to be an excellent pair of trousers with a lot to offer, especially to the average UK rider. This is thanks to both a lightweight feel with a hint of breathability, but also a use DWR coating. They come in at a great price too but moisture wicking could be better.