Men's Dawn Patrol Boardshort

I’ve received the catalog for a long time and found myself in need of new board shorts. I landed on these and ordered my usual waist size -33. (I wear pants, shorts and swim gear on my hip bones below my love handles so 33 is my size). These arrived and if they were pants would be perfect fit. However in water, surf, pool they would have been too loose so exchanged for a 32. There is no elastic in the waist - fixed waistband (ergo board shorts) so Spot on perfect in 32. The material is gossamer light but not flimsy. There is no internal support so I often wear a speedo underneath my swim togs and these still fit great as the waistband sits above the low cut speedo. Super comfortable in the mid-Atlantic heat. They stayed put in the pool and dried in short order in the sun. For reference I’m 5’8”, 155-160, in decent shape with an athletic build but have the dreaded love handles! I’ll be ordering another pair and hope to find the Free Fly shorts (with pockets) in the same material/weight. I might have to call customer service on that one!

Losing weight and having to dowsize boardshorts has reaffirmed that many of the once-big California-Australia brands are now little more than brands, while some of the more specialized brands that remain relatively independent and cater to serious water people have remained good places to look for board shorts that are good for boards and/or swimming (something that I hope is getting more popular as swim fins for lifeguards and bodysurfers seem on the up). This order was my first look at Free Fly. I'm limited in water time due to a serious head/wrist injury earlier this year, but the Dawn Patrol is looking good. Size (32) is consistent with industry standards. The waist-circling "full circumference drawcord" is practical, and something that seems to be getting popular. The 17" outseam is practical. Most 19-20" outseams annoy me by slowing down swimming and not being very useful for sun protection.

Construction is innovative. The waistband is sewn and as flat as possible with a flat drawcord, 1.75" wide. The back pocket does not protrude outside or inside, zipper closure and flat on the inside, thanks to bonded construction, Three small laser-cut drain holes are on the outside. Side seams are sewn, but very flat and unlikely to chafe. An olive-colored band on the lower back side is attached by a bonded seam.

I like the rash guard with a back attachment as well as front. The back attachment doesn't add much over the front, but it ensures a bit of tidiness and a…