First of all, I was very hesitant to purchase these because it appears to be Nine Line's only short. Secondly, I'm usually right between an XL & XXL in shorts. In Nike, I wear a 38 in their golf shorts but an XXL in their athletic shorts. The size chart here told me I'd be an XXL, but they were sold out, so I decided to take a chance and see if an XL would fit and what the quality was like.
Damn, am I glad I did.
1st, the fit: they are slightly slim in the waist for me, but I had called in before ordering and advised that these were slimmer fitting, so I expected that. However, I have thick, muscular thighs and the XL fit PERFECTLY and the length is also perfect (I didn't measure, but I'm assuming it's a 8-9" inseam). These are not baggy. The fit is perfect for me; flattering for guys with meaty, athletic legs. I'm 5'11, 250lbs for reference.
2nd, the fabric: awesome. It's a lightweight woven short, similar to swim trunks, but the inner legs have a spandex-like inner panel that makes these a dream to wear and move in. On top of that, the waistband is AWESOME. It's very similar to some of Nike's recent swim trunks in that it's a flat, comfortable, durable feeling waistband with elastic and a drawcord. The shorts look like they have a zipper fly, but they do not, making this athletic short just a little more dressy. The woven fabric that makes up the majority of the shorts has a little stretch to them as well, which is ideal.
3rd, the color: I chose the Dark Camo and they are darker than the image on the website, but I'm fine with that...it's very subtle. The waistband on these is solid black.
4th, the pockets: the side cell phone pocket is great and has a zipper, as does the wallet pocket on the right rear. The only drawback to these shorts is that the front pockets are a little shallow, but the fact that they have a phone pocket and back pocket more than make up for it.
All in all, I love these and will likely be ordering the other 2 colors soon. I'm about 5-10lbs up due to not working out as much during this COVID-19 crap, so once I get back on track, these will be perfect. I just hope they're durable, because I'll want to wear these for a long time.
Nine Line, great work on these - keep them in stock, add a few more colors, and others will buy and find out what I found out: that these are awesome freaking shorts.