Mountain Equipment Dynamo Skort

Hike, run, move through the mountains—the Dynamo Skort is a well-made, durable, all-around mountain skirt. Its soft shell fabric stretches and keeps you covered, and is also extremely abrasion resistant and fast drying. If you want a skirt solely for running, you can pick a model with longer side slits designed specifically for that movement. But otherwise the Dynamo is a versatile, high-performing, technical skort, and will meet your outdoorsy needs on those days when you just want to pull on a skort and get going.

Mountain Equipment made the technical, stretchy Dynamo Skort for "the fastest moving trekking and training" and calls it "perfect for use in the mountains."

Well, I may not be the fastest mover, but this skort definitely works well for long days in the mountains and on trails, whether you'll be hiking or running, its primary uses. I've even gone swimming and paddling in it, when the need arose, further proving its versatility as an all-around outdoor skort.

Construction

The Dynamo is made with a stretch soft shell outer fabric skirt (Exolite 100) and inner shorts with a 5-inch inseam and elastic cuffs. At a weight of 150g / 5.3oz, I consider this a lightweight hiking or running skirt. It also has a 4.5-inch side slit on the left for more stretch and movement while hiking or running.

While the skirt isn't heavy, the Exolite outer skirt fabric is durable with excellent abrasion resistance—I've sat on many rocks, slid down rocks in a stream, and it shows no sign of wear after more than three months of use.

The Exolite material is fast-drying if you'll be out for long days. I've even worn this skort swimming and paddling, and while those are not its intended uses, it dried out during the summer day, so I wasn't walking around in a soggy skort. 

The inner shorts are a softer, lighter material and remain comfortable against your skin, with minimal riding up. I've never experienced any thigh chafing or discomfort in this skirt, even after wearing it all day.

The Dynamo is stretchy, durable, and comfortable.

Fit

The Dynamo Skort comes in five women's sizes (8-16). Note that Mountain Equipment uses Euro sizing, so consult its size chart for your size. For example, the size 12 sample I received is comparable to a U.S. women's 8/medium.

While the material is a stretchy soft shell, it is overall a straighter, more streamlined cut and fit. If you want a lot of venting and skirt movement, this isn't the skirt for you. But, it is comfortable and stretchy.

If the stretchy waistband isn't snug enough for you it also contains an integrated drawcord for adjustment. Personally, I've never needed a drawcord to adjust compression or other tight shorts or tights, but if you do, it's an option. There is also a small hole below the toggle for storing the free-end of the drawcord, if needed.

Durability

The Dynamo Skirt's double-weave soft shell fabric is durable and handle rocks and abrasion extremely well. If you're likely to meet rocks and trees and you don't want your skort to pull or pill, this is a great choice. In addition to regularly hiking and trail running in it, one day I ended up sliding down natural waterslides in it at a swimming hole and scooting around on rocks. It still shows no wear, which is impressive.

Features

The skirt has three pockets—two hand pockets and a concealed rear pocket with YKK zip. The hand pockets are comfortable and roomy. I wouldn't stow much in them while running, since they're open and I'd worry about things falling out, but when hiking they work well to hold a phone, map, bar, your hands... That may sound silly, but truly, the hand pockets are roomy and at just the right spot.

The back zippered pocket is also deep and roomy and can fit an iPhone 7 or EpiPen, though it might look odd stretching across the pocket (see below). This is not a tiny pocket for a single key, but a truly useful back pocket for stowing valuables, as long as you don't need to sit down on them.

Color

Color doesn't affect performance, but anyone bored with black skirts will be pleased to see that the Dynamo comes in three colors—Capsicum Red, Acid/yellow, and Blue Nights (a dark grey blue). My sample is red. I like that it's a more interesting and vibrant color for a change, but that also means most of my shirts clash with it. I'm always looking for something neutral to wear on top when I put it on.

I'm not going to win fashion awards outdoors anyway, the red just limits my options a little. If I were to buy the skirt now, I'd choose blue nights, but that's a personal preference and whatever color your skort, it needs to fit comfortably and perform first. The Dynamo does.

Best For

The Dynamo Skirt is a durable, but lightweight hiking and running skirt that will hold up to a variety of regular mountain use, even if you slide down rocks on your rear. It also will dry quickly, even if you find yourself swimming or paddling  a canoe in it.

It's great for days when you might be walking, hiking, and running in the mountains and on the trails, or end up on the water. 

It's also extremely durable and well-constructed. I've worn my skort regularly for more than three months, primarily running and hiking, and its shows no signs of wear. At this rate, I expect it to last as a hiking skirt for many years.

While it's not a dedicated running skirt, it won't hold you back if you suddenly decide to run trails while wearing it. One day I wore it all day on a hike, a swim/water slide, and a paddle in a canoe, and it was comfortable and performed well during all of these activities, and it was dry and ready to be worn again the next day. The Dynamo Skirt is up for a wide range of outdoor adventures.

Background

I've worn this Mountain Equipment Dynamo Skirt repeatedly primarily trail running and hiking over the past three months. I've gone camping, paddling, and even swimming in it once. I've worn a huge variety of other running and hiking skirts/skorts over the past two decades.