If you’ve scrolled through a webstore recently you might’ve seen a new, amorphous category: hybrid shorts. The best hybrid shorts for men are more than the sum of their parts. Think of it like a Subaru Forrester: a daily driver well-equipped to cruise through suburban commutes and winding highways, but can kick it into four-wheel drive should you find yourself in rough terrain. Hybrid shorts look like any other shorts, ready to pair with your everyday fits whether that’s with a button-up shirt and loafers or your favorite hoodie and sneakers. But when your homie hits you up for a few round of tennis, a five-mile hike, or beach day, hybrid shorts can keep up without breaking a sweat. Come to think of it, hybrid shorts can actually do more than a Subaru Forrester (unless there's a version that can also drive underwater). Needless to say, hybrid shorts are crucial for summer wardrobes. The fashion industry knows that, which is why so many options exist. To sniff out the ones that are actually worth it, however, is the trouble. Good thing you’re here because that’s exactly what we’re paid to do. We canvassed the market in search of the best men’s hybrid shorts and, after extensive testing, came back with our version of the JD Power and Associates awards. The Best Hybrid Shorts Overall: Patagonia Baggies Shorts, $69 The Best Budget Hybrid Shorts: L.L.Bean Supplex Sport Shorts, $40 The Best Upgrade Hybrid Shorts: Gramicci Nylon Packable G-Shorts, $80 The Best Hybrid Shorts for Getting Active: Satisfy PeaceShell Standard Climb Shorts, $270 The Best Hybrid Shorts for Design Gods: Veilance Indisce Short, $300 Materials: 100% recycled nylon | Fit: Relaxed fit | Details: Mesh liner, Fair Trade certified That the Patagonia Baggies sit at the top of the mountain of hybrid shorts shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Yvon Chouinard’s invention practically invented the category, setting the standard for every imitator coming for the Baggies’ crown and they’ve remained basically the same since their 1982 debut (if it ain’t broke…). They’re made of a dense, but breathable recycled nylon that comes with a lightweight, PFAS-free DWR finish to help slough off water easily. They include a mesh liner and mesh hand pockets large enough to carry two tennis balls each, one with a handy key loop, too. And the snap rear pocket keeps all your wallet tidy. On top of all that, they fit like a dream with a relaxed silhouette and multiple inseam lengths available. There are countless stories of customers taking years to run their pairs into the ground and our long-term review of them revealed what we all suspected: 40 years later, they’re still very, very good. Though prices have gone up in recent years, they remain the best value out there. Materials: 100% Nylon | Fit: Relaxed fit | Details: UPF 50+ rated, rear velcro pocket Like broccoli and cauliflower, It’s hard not to see a resemblance between L.L.Bean’s Supplex sport shorts and Patagonia’s Baggies. The logo hit near the hem, the elastic waistband, the relaxed silhouette… But the similarities are more than skin-deep. The Bean’s are also made with what they call Supplex, a 100% nylon fabric that has many of the same characteristics, plus added sun protection. They also come with a mesh liner, mesh pockets, and a few different variations including one with an 8” inseam as well as a cargo shorts option. But there are a few key differences we see with these. The first is that the fabric, though it boasts UPF 50+ sun protection, isn’t quite as sturdy-feeling as the Patagonia Baggies. The second is that the rear pocket is a welted velcro pocket—not as nice nor as secure. But most importantly, these are considerably cheaper. At just $40, they’re easily the best budget hybrid shorts on the market and a no-brainer if you’re looking to save as much dough as you can without sacrificing quality or style. As one of the legendary Stone Masters and a product developer for the Yvon Chouinard, Mike Graham’s seat at the table is rock solid. That fact only gets more indisputable when you consider his outdoors brand, Gramicci. He introduced his iconic Gramicci pants and G-shorts in the early ‘80s and they’ve become a staple of the climbing gym ever since. Made with a signature gusseted crotch for comfort and range of motion, a built-in webbing belt that can be adjusted with one hand, and super secure zip pockets, the G-shorts are purpose-built for scaling rock faces. They come in a range of materials, but the truest hybrid short among the lineup is Gramicci’s Nylon Packable G-shorts. They’re burly, lightweight, water-resistant, and take more than a few bumps and bruises. Plus, they’re svelte enough to pack into themselves and throw in your bag to have in case of emergency bouldering. Admittedly they do look more like something you’d wear on an outdoor adventure, more so than other options on this list. While that slight hit to versatility is worth noting, it doesn’t hurt the fact that the overall quality and smart design details make it a better performing short. Materials: 94% Nylon, 6% Elastane | Fit: Relaxed | Details: Articulated fit, Mini-S carabiner, integrated belt, harness-compatible Cult brand Satisfy has found the center of the Venn diagram between running enthusiasts and fashion obsessives. And these climbing-focused shorts may not be what you’d expect from the Paris-born brand, but they’re exactly what you need if you’re trying to maximize functionality and style. They’re made from the label’s PeaceShell material which is comprised of nylon and elastane that has 2-way stretch, odor control, water-resistance, and quick-drying capabilities—everything you want on the rock and in the pool. They’re built with a bevy of climbing-focused design details like an integrated belt, gusseted crotch, articulated seams, zip pockets, and a Mini-S carabiner in the front right pocket. While all that sounds painfully useful, the result is something undeniably cool. Think of it like a good pair of Red Wing boots: super functional and super stylish in equal measure. Materials: 126gsm 95% Nylon, 5% Elastane | Fit: Wide Leg | Details: Double pleats, clean waistband Normally, hybrid shorts that try to mask the fact that they’re hybrid shorts end up looking terrible, as if the design team’s prompt was to “make chino shorts out of space materials”. They’re the sort of shorts you’d expect to see on the golf course, a tech-leaning pair concocted by Silicon Valley. These are not those. Veilance, the Japanese-designed sub-label of outdoors brand Arc’teryx, blurs the line between tailoring and gorpcore and does it better than anyone out there. They feature a clean, Hollywood-style waistband, double front pleats, articulated seams for an ergonomic fit, and taped seams throughout. They’re made of a lightweight, water-and wind-resistant nylon-brend fabric that includes a smidge of elastane for an ultra-comfy feel. There are several qualities to look for when shopping for hybrid shorts. The good ones blend the the best parts of boardshorts, gym shorts, hiking shorts, and chino shorts like an end-of-year Top 40 mashup, but in a good way. Fabric: The materials should be sturdy, lightweight, breathable, and quick-drying. Sounds like a lot to ask, but our favorite pairs manage to balance it all like professional slackliner/plate spinner. While this isn’t required, some pairs will use spandex or 4-way stretch, too. Either way, the fabric should make you feel confident to go for a hike or a swim. Construction: Ideally, hybrid shorts should come with pockets that allow water to drain easily. Usually that means they’re made of mesh or include eyelets. They should also be constructed with an elastic waistband to allow for better mobility. Fit: Because hybrid shorts are geared toward sports and physical activity, they should have a relaxed fit to give you a range of motion. Thigh-squeezing shorts do you no good when you’re trying to catch a wave or traverse rocky trails. Style: Hybrid shorts can veer into so many different directions. They can lean more into the sporty side, with a gang of cargo pockets, zips, and shiny swishy materials. Or they can tap into the more quotidian look, disguising itself as a normal pair of chino shorts, equipped with more under the hood. With very few exceptions, neither of these look good. In our opinion, the best hybrid shorts really split the difference. That’s why we didn’t opt for the versions that look more like tech-y golf shorts nor did we like the hybrid shorts that look more like they belong in a survivalist runway show. Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point. Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t. We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price. To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets. We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price. Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best of the category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs. Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there's bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ's testing process here.)