Best Running Shorts, Tested and Reviewed (2025): Nike, Asics

Running shorts travel successful a wide assortment of styles. Shorter shorts thin to beryllium suited to shorter, faster runs, portion two-in-one shorts and longer lengths are often utilized for longer distances and trails. You whitethorn find that there's a batch of crossover. Long inseams and superlight fabrics are present suitable for velocity portion offering bully coverage. Even abbreviated shorts present connection retention for a telephone oregon gels.

Short shorts: 3-inch and 5-inch shorts are chopped precocious connected the thigh from lightweight fabrics, designed for full state and a barely-there feel. Storage, wherever determination is any, tends to beryllium limited. These are astir astatine location connected the way oregon a marathon commencement line.

2-in-1 shorts: These brace a tighter—and sometimes longer leg—liner abbreviated that acts arsenic built-in underwear, with a lighter, baggier outer short. Good for colder climates and arguably much due for your post-run java stop.

Half-tights: Dropping conscionable supra the genu they connection a tight, second-skin fit, fantabulous enactment and are made to maximize mobility. Mainly recovered connected the way oregon road, this aesthetic leaves small to the imagination.

Max-storage shorts: Designed for longer runs, ultras, and adventures wherever you request to transportation much kit with casual access, these shorts thin to besides beryllium the hybrid 2-in-1 with built-in liners, but the main purpose is to beef up retention with built-in mesh belts, thigh pockets, and zippered backmost pockets.

Here's what to look for successful a brace of moving shorts.

Does it person a liner? Some shorts travel with built successful liners for added support. These scope from escaped nett briefs to longer-lined shorts. Some of them adhd compression to assistance forestall the small micro tears that hap with excess musculus movement, portion immoderate nett briefs tin summation your chafe risk. It pays to cheque the seams connected the liner shorts, too. Remember, the flatter the seams the little chafe risk. It’s ever utile if they're accommodating capable truthful you tin bring your ain moving underwear to the commencement line.

Does it person broadside splits? Small details sometimes marque a large quality and broadside splits–often recovered successful the shorter contention shorts–are important for boosting scope of motion, helping the shorts to determination with you erstwhile you prime up the tempo.

Roll up. It’s often overlooked, but the waistband and limb cuffs tin beryllium captious for comfort. The champion shorts connection a wide, soft-lined waistband with drawstrings for tweaking the fit. The bands and limb cuffs should beryllium unafraid capable to debar rolling up, but not truthful choky they chopped in.

Can you transportation a phone? Most runners necessitate immoderate stash abstraction for a phone, fuel, and adjacent hydration. The bully quality is that astir brands connection useful storage. If your benignant is much packhorse than Prefontaine, look for shorts with built-in retention belts, zippered backmost pockets and drop-in pockets connected the liner briefs. Your phone, keys, and different essentials shouldn't bounce astir arsenic you run.

Let’s speech astir inseam—aka the magnitude from the crotch to the limb cuffs. The astir communal inseam lengths are 3, 5, 7, and 9 inches. The aged adage says, the shorter the shorts, the faster the runner, but what works for you boils down to idiosyncratic preference.

The shorter the inseam, the little worldly determination is to bounds your movement. If you’re smashing retired 400-meter intervals, you’ll payment from the further freedom. It’ll besides support things chill successful the summer, but the 3-inchers are astir apt reserved for the brave successful winter. When you propulsion the region and timepiece much clip connected feet, longer-inseam shorts not lone connection other extortion from the elements—the prima and the cold—they tin besides bounds the chafe hazard from rubbing thighs.

If determination is simply a blessed equilibrium betwixt modesty and escaped movement, a lightweight non-liner 7-inch abbreviated is astir apt it.