ABOUT THE CURIOUS CREATURES WOMEN’S RIDING KIT
Women’s She Devil Art Tee | Size small / Storm
Serving the local Bozeman coven, the She Devil Art Tee is a limited run tee with a distinct and witchy design on the back. Curious Creatures paired up with a local screenprinter, Front Line Design, to print this artwork in two bewitching colors – hazy pink and storm. The range of sizes include XS to XXL, covering waists from 26 to just beyond 40 inches. The Tee is an oversized, boxy fit made from midweight cotton with four-way stretch, all ingredients for a potion to create maximum comfort. Preshrinking the Tee, crafting a wide rib knit neck, and using neck tape are little details the brand embraces to ensure quality fit through the seasons. Marked at $40 USD, its price feels fairly reasonable in the mountain bike market.
Women’s Bitterroot Bloom Short | Size 4 / Potting Soil
Boasting that the Bitterroot Bloom shorts are the most comfortable women’s MTB shorts in the world, Curious Creatures uses a wide, stretchy jersey waistband that lands as a mid-rise to support the claim, among many other design choices. The waistband has an internal drawcord to adjust tightness and the jersey fabric is quick drying and moisture wicking, using primarily recycled polyester and spandex to create the desired stretch. Curious Creatures was sure to use Bluesign® approved fabric and a durable water repellant (DWR) that is free of perfluorinated compounds (PFC) that are harmful to our health and environment.
The Bitterroot Bloom shorts, named after Montana’s state wildflower, have a 12.5” inseam, giving the “traditional” coverage that still leaves room for kneepads. They don’t skimp on the pockets here – two large front hand pockets, two hand pockets in the back, and a zippered right-thigh pocket that is big enough for an iPhone 12, all work their magic so you can store your goods and get back to riding. Two colorways are offered: an earthy Potting Soil that includes a patch of pink and an interesting Delft blue, reminiscent of the classic Danish pottery. The sizing of the shorts is numerical (0-20) and can be worn as unisex, accommodating the 25.5 to 38 inch waist size range. The Bitterroot Bloom shorts come in at $125 USD.
Women’s Sun Dog Short
Although Curious Creatures hasn’t been around for long, its Sun Dog shorts are already iconic. The brand emphasizes that their collection is meant to contrast with the heavy-duty gear commonly associated with mountain biking. The Sun Dog shorts shine as an embodiment of their mission, with a casual look that allows the shorts to appear at home in any number of environments, on any adventure. They use the same materials for the Sun Dog and Bitterroot Bloom, meaning they are equally as stretchy, comfy, and quick-drying. Differences show up in the style, inseam, and pockets, with the Bitterroot being a more tailored, vintage trouser look that has more pockets and a longer inseam, while the Sun Dog appears just a little less busy up front and has a playful inseam of 8.5”. While the Sun Dog has less pockets, both pockets it does have are located on the thighs with zippers. Available colors in sizes 0-18 include Deep Teal, Rose Brown, Four Leaf Clover, and Infinity, all of which seem quite alien to a world of harsh neon and black. With slightly less coverage and material, these shorts will run you $119 USD.
Women’s Vulvarine Chamois
With a name like Vulvarine, Curious Creatures is strangely forward in designing a chamois that fits all our bits and bobs. They must have heard all of our collective complaints about chamois diaper butt syndrome, as they leave the bulky pad behind while still using layers of 3 different densities of Elastic Interface’s Italian, perforated foam to achieve pressure relief and vibration dampening. Coming in sizes XS-XL, covering a more limited waist range of 25.5 to 35 inches, the chamois short can be purchased in either Deep Teal or Black for $115 USD. The Vulvarines have a compression and high-rise fit, a 7-inch inseam, and are built out of Bluesign® approved recycled polyester and spandex and a OEKO-TEX standard 100 certified pad, meaning our most vulnerable area isn’t being exposed to harmful substances. Wrapping up the chamois shorts design details, the hems are laser cut so that you won’t feel like a stuffed sausage casing.
THE DIRT
This was my first time wearing clothes from Curious Creatures and I hadn’t had an opportunity to try them on in person before ordering. I saw that almost everything was marked as true-to-size, so I didn’t pay too close of attention to sizing specifications. I ordered a Size Small in the Vulvarine chamois and She Devil Art Tee, a size 4 for the Bitterroot Bloom shorts, and made another order for the Sun Dog shorts in size 6 to ensure a little roominess. I have a 28-inch waist, typically finding myself in a size small to medium on top, and small to medium on bottom or size 4.
SHE DEVIL ART TEE REVIEW
The She Devil Art Tee has been a fun and versatile addition to my wardrobe. Starting with the artwork, the Curious Creatures logo on front features a few cute forest creatures and a full-suspension bike. The namesake artwork on the back depicts two witches, who presumably biked to their meet-up, busy in the process of potion-making using their cauldron, as the forest creatures look on. While we don’t need to make everything deep, this design seems like it plays on the embrace of witchiness, which we now know was just the average women doing things that weren’t deemed acceptable to olden society, so I’d say I’m a fan. However, I wasn’t an art major and this is a mountain bike gear review, so I’ll get on with it.
The boxy fit with the cropped hem and dropped shoulders is cozy and comfortable on and off the bike. The tee is made of midweight cotton, so it does feel slightly heavy in comparison to all my other riding shirts. I’ve worn it with and without my pack, in warmer conditions and in more milder weather. The sweat definitely piled up when combined with a pack and the heat, but was still quite breathable and cooling. The midweight serves as a bonus in the milder temperatures, as it’s enough to keep warm and still enjoy the start of fall. The cropped fit is less severe than other crop tees on the market, fitting right at the top of my hips, which allows for more movement but gives enough coverage. It feels quite durable and given its simplicity, usability, and fit, I’d feel happy sporting this around town. It won’t be my first pick for the dog days of summer, but it’s already a tee I’m excited to wear in most conditions. I generally prefer long-sleeves for bike park days, though I could see myself wearing this on more relaxed runs and would be the only cropped tee that I own that would make me consider that. The dropped shoulder with the longer short sleeve provides most of the coverage I’d be needing. The sizing was spot on – it’s roomy but not baggy. And for its price point, I’d recommend the She Devil Art Tee to anyone who wants a casual tee with a little flair.
BITTERROOT BLOOM SHORTS REVIEW
You’ll likely see the words “buttery-soft” everywhere on the Curious Creatures website. It’s not fluff. The waistband on the Bitterroot and Sun Dog shorts is crazy smooth. I’m honestly really impressed with how the smaller, women-owned brands have created so many varieties of waistbands that all are truly comfortable. I do have to say that Curious Creatures is either at or close to the top of my list when it comes to fit of the waistband and short. They don’t use zippers or extra paneling that creates the bulk commonly seen on shorts. It’s just a wide jersey band that has a significant amount of stretch but still cinches in so that they don’t wiggle down while riding. I haven’t needed the drawstring but it can start to twist up in the band, which is pretty easy to see. This could bother some people as it would take a minute to unbunch and flatten it, but it hasn’t caused me any concern.
I did notice that the sizing was slightly on the smaller end. I was able to compare with the Sun Dog short that I ordered a size up in and I would prefer the size up, although it wasn’t the end of the world. The Bitterroot Bloom shorts fit well, they just were a tad snug in the waist, causing the top of the band where the drawstring sits to dig in slightly. They did feel great through the legs and butt, so no issues there. While they fit a little tighter, it hasn’t interfered with my riding or my wanting to wear them. The shorts come with plenty pockets and I found that I primarily have one use for pockets – phone storage. The zippered thigh pocket was the perfect size for my iPhone 12 and it is stored right around to the backside of the leg. I tried putting my phone in the large handpocket up front, but the phone sits right where my hips hinge and wasn’t an option. I wouldn’t use the back pockets, personally, for much storage. Depending on your body and preferences, you could fit 4-5 phones in these shorts! Alas, just the one for me.
I don’t know if the Potting Soil color goes with much in my own closet. I do enjoy the touches of rose that they incorporated on the zipper and back pocket. Their branding is minimal and mostly relies on the unique colors, but they do have the little CC logo on the back pocket as well. Overall, I’ve worn these shorts on lots of trail rides and have found them to be a great new option. They’re as buttery smooth as they say and have held up fine in light sprinkles. I enjoy the fit as a longer inseam short. I’d say the Bitterroot Bloom shorts are a classic MTB short.
SUN DOG SHORTS REVIEW
I was genuinely excited to get my hands on the Sun Dog shorts and they did not disappoint. I have recently hopped on the crazy train to a land where we don’t wear kneepads all the time and brands have started making shorter shorts for us brave souls. What I like about the Sun Dog shorts is that they aren’t too short – 8.5” feels like the sweet spot on my 5’5” frame. My gripe normally is that when they are slightly too short, the inside of my thighs brush up on the saddle as I climb and I hate it. These are long enough to prevent that and still show off the gams. And, importantly, they are also long enough to cover most of my chamois shorts underneath. They would look a little out of place if combined with knee pads, showing a little gap but, as Curious Creatures would say, embrace your weird.
The Sun Dog shorts have the same waistband as the Bitterroot Bloom shorts, so this was also part of why I love these shorts so much. Going up a size, as someone on the cusp, was the right move here. With these being shorter, I wanted them to feel as comfortable as possible. The waistband sits and stays in place, I don’t need to pull them back up. There’s also no major gap when I bend over in the back. The rose brown color is interesting in that it’s a pop of color but feels very neutral. Curious Creatures took a more simple approach with these shorts compared to the Bitterroots – less pockets and less stitching on the front. They feel very streamlined and flattering because of it. I truly only need 1-2 pockets and so the two zippered thigh pockets were perfect. These have become my peak summer season shorts. They’re great to wear when it’s warm out and I’ve also loved them when riding in the backcountry. If you’ve gotten this far and are wondering where the complaints are at – I just don’t have any. Both the Bitterroot Bloom and Sun Dog shorts have great stretch throughout and especially in the leg opening, the zippers and pockets lie flat and aren’t bulky, yet provide enough room for storage, and the fit is flattering with both! I’ve found the shorts to be very breathable and comfortable, so they’ll absolutely be the new staples for my rides. I will say that they feel a little pricy in comparison to a few others on the market, but the comfort, fit, and durability would have me purchasing another set anyways.
VULVARINE CHAMOIS REVIEW
I’ve put the Vulvarine chamois to the test with a long backcountry ride and several casual rides at the local hill. I’ve walked away pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it is and how it holds up over the course of a long ride. Pointedly, Curious Creatures wanted to get away from the traditional diaper butt chamois style and I feel that they accomplished it. It looks to be much lower profile than a couple chamois pads that I own, however, I think there’s a couple other brands that have done this as well so I don’t notice a huge difference to be honest. The chamois pad itself, which is a 3-density foam pad that is designed with extra breathability, has been quite enjoyable. The pad feels fairly thin but prevents some of the typical pressure points I tend to feel on longer rides. I was even a little nervous when I had to switch bikes recently and didn’t have time to switch my saddle – the Vulvarine chamois came to the rescue. I also liked the simple and pretty colors of the Vulvarine chamois. Even the black has a nice shine to it. The compression fit was nice although may not be preferred by all. I recently was talking with a friend and we both liked the feeling of being structured and zipped up in the waist area, but I think we can all agree that almost no one enjoys that feeling when it comes to the legs. Although Curious Creatures said they designed the chamois so that we wouldn’t have sausage legs…mine were definitely popping out. However, this may not be all CC’s fault. This was likely a case of my sizing being on the cusp and I had ordered a size small. I would absolutely recommend sizing up if you find yourself in the same position. Again, the size chart indicated this was true to size, but I felt it was slightly smaller. Just a tad. It was evident that I could’ve used the next size up as both the waist and the leg felt too snug. I do feel that even though the laser cut hem is less restrictive than other hems/seams, I’m not sure that sizing up would eliminate the whole cased sausage look, but it would certainly be improved. While the waist was too tight, I did appreciate its structure, which is very similar to the waistband of the shorts but with a little less stretch and it omits the drawstring for a flat stitched seam around the sides and back. In the front, which is just a seamless panel for comfort, you’ll find a cute little poem to remind you why it’s okay to be a bit weird. Is there any other brand that adds that fun touch? Maybe, but I haven’t come across another just yet.
The Wolf’s Last Word
For a brand in its first few iterations, Curious Creatures has knocked it out of the park when it comes to expressive, comfortable, and laid-back mountain bike apparel. They’re a little eccentric when it comes to their branding, but their products aren’t weird in the slightest. Their tees, shorts, and chamois are made for riders who want gear that feels true to who they are—not at odds with it. The thoughtfully designed waistbands and the use of quality, recycled fabric had me feeling at home in their apparel, and embracing my version of weird while out riding my bike. 
Price: $Varies
Website: Wearecuriouscreatures.com
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