Board shorts could be IPDs bread and butter. As all of us who work here are surfers, we are constantly testing and working on board shorts for our own selfish pleasure but also knowing our fans will be stoked and comfortable when they throw on a pair of these bad boys. The boardies need to be stylish, the right length (this comes down to preference), and most of all comfortable. The comfort really matters in the ocean, where you are usually surfing and going through the most movement in the shorts. But equally as important is the material drying fast post surf, and also being all good for some beach volleyball or any other non-wet beach activity.
Like we stated earlier, preferred length of board short comes down strictly to preference. There is no research, scientific data, test pools, or method to the madness. It comes down to the person's style and also their body. Some people might get less rashed skin when there is more board short. Others might prefer a longer board short as it doesn’t aggravate their skin as much. Length can also be broken down to location. If we are just talking about our home country, you could split the length into three areas: east coast, west coast, hawaii. Typically (and there are most definitely outliers), Hawaii likes them the longest, the west coast has the most variety, and the east coast is the shortest. But there are plenty of people on Oahu or any other island that love a 16” boardshort, just like some of our Florida ambassadors love the 20” and 22” board shorts. Ask any of our 100 ambassadors their preferred length and you’ll get vastly different answers.
However, if you do want some data and some cold hard evidence, our best selling board short is actually a 16” board short. It’s a short our ambassadors love, our internal employees love, friends of the brand love, and also the short that gets new fans of the brand inside the tent. The short is the CHASE B100- a 16” board short with a solid coloring and unique taping down the side. Comfort, style, and for most length, all in one easy to wear package.
The fabric of the CHASE 16” is actually a little bit of a tougher fabric than most board shorts out there now. Don’t get us wrong, they are plenty comfortable and far from stiff. But they do have some structure to them. For a brief board short history lesson: boardies had no stretch, then there were the stretch wars (with brands spending large sums of money on both technology and marketing to show just how stretchy they can get the board shorts), and now we’ve landed somewhere in the middle. Obviously no stretch is a bit less comfortable, since the fabric does not give while in motion. But too much stretch makes the board short not last as long and also not retain shape while in the water. So a happy medium was established. That was a bit of a tangent, but the main takeaway is that the CHASE fabric is a tiny bit more rigid than our other board shorts, and it seems as though our fanbase (as well as the person writing this, who has 2 pairs) enjoy it.
The CHASE also is clutch because it's solid. It’s easy to wear with anything, since there is no loud pattern, and can even be worn as a walk short in the right settings. The side taping then differentiates it from a basic solid. It's a one color short, but with a fun twist that also isn’t too loud. You can get em in black to match everything, khaki for an earth tone vibe, or a sweet canary yellow to highlight your tan. If you’ve made it this far in this blog post, I think it’s safe to say your interest has peaked about the CHASE. But don’t just take it from me, check out the product page and read the reviews.
If 16“ shorts aren’t for you and you like a bit more length, then let us recommend two more epic board shorts in the IPD family. First, let’s jump up 2 more inches to the 18”, and our personal favorites are the EJECT HOUNDS (actually an 18.5” trunk) & GOOD LUCK. Want even more length? Go for a 20” board short with the LANDLOCKED. You can’t go wrong with all camouflage.
