3 Best Hybrid Swim Shorts You Can Wear From the Pool to the Bar (2026 Update)

Beach trips, pool parties, resorts, water parks — the last thing you want is to be saddled with more clothes or bags than necessary. Enter hybrid swim shorts, one of the greatest modern innovations in menswear.

For most of our lives, the fabric of a good pair of swim shorts was either stiff and uncomfortable or so thin and lightweight that it bordered on transparent. As for their designs, swim shorts were always very loud about the fact that they were swimwear: tropical patterns, tiny inseams, or billowy surfwear.

Anyway, you see where I’m going with this: we’ve figured out how to make swim shorts that look like casual shorts. No more praying there’s somewhere to change into another pair when it’s time to head to the bar.

Here are some very good hybrid swim shorts that I’ve tried myself!

What Is a Hybrid Short?

It’s a swim short that doesn’t look like a swim short. Hybrid shorts look like the same shorts you’ve always worn in hot weather, but they are made from fabrics that are both moisture wicking and quick drying — they perform like bathing suits and board shorts without obviously looking like them.

Most board shorts, after all, stand out in a crowd and obviously look like swimwear: bright patterns, thick drawstrings, abrasion resistant nylon… you can spot them from a mile away.

Not so with hybrid shorts, plus the options on this list are not only quick drying, they stretch. So you’ve got ultra comfortable shorts that are as versatile as the day is long. What’s not to like?

1. The Best Hybrid Swim Shorts: Faherty All Day Shorts

• Less synthetic looking and less synthetic sounding than competitors
• Looks just like a chino short
• Hidden drawstring for a great fit without needing a belt or elastic waistband
• Huge range of colors and 3 inseam lengths (5″, 7″, 9″)

These are the best hybrid shorts.

I first learned of Faherty well over a decade ago when I saw them featured in a photo shoot at Men’s Health, where I used to work. Not baggy and board-y like all the swimwear I grew up around in Australia, I decided they’d be the first pair of stylish swim shorts that I’d spend actual money on, and I went on to buy three pairs of their famously soft shirts over the years.

After making the most stylish swim shorts they became really well known for the most stylish hybrid shorts: the All Day Shorts. Fortunately for you, they became so popular that they’re now available in three inseam lengths and a huge range of colors, so there’s an option for anyone.

I won’t go on and on about them though — here’s why the All Day Shorts are so good:

• They’re quiet: Most swim shorts make a swish-swish noise when you walk. These don’t!
• They look like shorts: Most swim shorts (even hybrid ones) look more synthetic than these. That’s because unlike most products like this, they’re made from 20 percent (organic) cotton.
• Hidden drawstring: These have belt loops to make them look more like real shorts, but you can’t swim with a belt on. But a drawstring would make them look like swim shorts! The solution is to put the drawstring on the inside.
• The polyester is recycled: Synthetics aren’t good for the environment, but there’s no way to avoid them on swimwear. Using recycled polyester is the best way to do swim shorts.

They work well and they’re more comfortable, quiet, versatile, and sustainable than anything else on the market.

2. Best Hybrid Short for the Outdoors: Proof Equator Short

• Stronger material than most hybrid shorts
• Hidden zipper pockets for valuables
• 9″ and 7″ inseams
• Stretch fabric

While Faherty and Free Fly are all about making as lightweight a material as they can get — while, of course, remaining functional — Proof’s Equator has more robust, durable feeling that will feel appropriate for any activity that comes to mind.

While previous entries are great for wearing at the pool and the bar, Proof’s is also ideal if you were to then go on a grueling hike or play some football.

I used to own the Equator Short‘s ancestor, the Nomad short, which was less versatile: they looked less like chino shorts and more like outdoor wear. (Still hybrid, just not the same kind of hybrid.)

But the Equator Short has been updated to have a smarter look and a more secure drawstring, all while retaining remarkable functionality: the mesh pocket bags drain water and dry quickly, and there are hidden zipper pockets to keep any valuables falling out while you’re running through underbrush and somersaulting into canyons.

Best Hybrid Shorts for Working Out: Ten Thousand Set Short

• Hybrid gym/swim short
• Six colors
• Choice of 6.5″ or 5″ inseam
• Saltwater and chlorine resistant
• Order a size up

Lastly, if the kind of hybrid you want is workout short and swim short, the best hybrid short for working out is Ten Thousand’s Set Short.

Everything I work out in is from Ten Thousand: it’s a brand that makes workout apparel that’s both durable (1-year warranty!) and minimalist. It’s way too hard to find workout gear that’s not flashy or reflective or covered in dopey patterns (thanks, CrossFit). Ten Thousand’s stuff is subtle and robus.

The Set Short comes in two inseam lengths (5 and 6.5), it’s stretchy but not too thin or floppy, and it has a built in liner. And while it’s true that almost any workout short will work well enough as a swim short because they’re made to dry quickly from your sweaty workout, the Set Short has a DWR (durable water resistant) coating and it’s resistant to both saltwater and chlorine. That’s both kinds of swimming!

The sizing is a little odd, though; in all of their other shorts I’m a Medium, but I sized up to Large for these.

Wrapping Up

Hybrid shorts are more than just shorts that dry quickly. The industry has come a long way, and there are now options for dressier situations, more adventurous ones, and even beach workouts. I didn’t use to be confident that hybrid short technology could make comfortable, quiet clothes, but now they’re an indispensable part of any summer wardrobe.