Western Rise Evolution Shorts Review
The Evolution fabric’s evolut….ugh who am I kidding - that pun writes itself. Let’s get into it!
Western Rise Evolution Shorts Review Introduction
WESTERN RISE is a known quantity at this point, and I mean that in a good way. Even if not every product is a winner for you specifically, you know their lineup is going to have things that are well made and well thought out. In this case, I’ve been looking at rounding out my travel clothing kit by finding the best shorts for travel. Enter the Western Rise Evolution shorts.
They’ve got their work cut out for them - as there’s another heavyweight in the traveler/reddit crowd that many will claim takes the crown. That would be the Outlier New Way shorts. I’m not going to be doing a direct comparison in this article (Gotta leave room for more content in the future, eh?), but that’s the comparison you should be considering. The Evolution shorts play in the same space/role. They are aiming to be a lightweight and versatile, travel friendly fabric that still looks good and like normal khaki shorts.
This is my Western Rise Evolution shorts review. Please note that if you’re visiting from the future, all Evolution Shorts links may now point to the updated versions.
As always for full transparency, I did reach out to Western Rise to request a pair to review and they were nice enough to send them over. This review is not sponsored in any way however, and the opinions are solely my own as always. I do use affiliate links which help to support the site if you decide to use them to make a purchase, but you’re under no obligation to do so and there’s no additional cost to you. Thanks for stopping by!
Evolution Shorts Overview
The Evolution shorts are the first such shorts in the category from Western Rise, so you can consider them the OGs (They’ve since launched another model as well as some active shorts). They are made from WR’s lightest material, the same as in their very much well-received Evolution pants. They are made for warm weather (of course) and to pack lightly. Very lightly, we should emphasize that.
The material on these shorts is made with Supplex nylon - which due to the spinning and manufacturing process makes a more durable form of nylon weave, leading to an overall fabric that is both lightweight and durable - while remaining soft. At least, that’s what the website says. I’ll be the judge of that! Here’s the specs on the fabric from the brand’s site:
• Woven twill
• 173 gsm
• 2-way stretch
• Water and stain resistant
• Breathable
• Lightweight durability
They come with an 8 inch inseam (vs the 9 on the other shorts, which is why I chose these).
The Evolution shorts are meant to replace both khaki shorts and your swimsuit as they are water-ready (more on that later). They also have the durability as a fabric to work for hiking
Coming in at $98.00 US, they might seem on the higher end. But since you’re replacing two pairs (or even 3) of clothing, look at it more that way. They are usually only available 2 seasons per year, so keep that in mind. Usually there are three colors available: a gray-ish/slate, khaki, and navy.
Western Rise Evolution Shorts Features
You can see the unique texture of the fabric here.
The good news is since the Evolution shorts are a clever piece of kit, they DO have features! Let’s run through them.
For one, the fabric. Western Rise is a tech-fabric brand at heart, so it’s got to include that for these. It’s lightweight, soft, and durable.
Further, these are swim-ready. You can legit just go from street to sea in these. With that, there’s an inner drawstring for when you need to transform into swim mode. This drawstring is even quick-dry fabric so you’re not walking around with a wet string down your crotch for 3 hours after a dip. Nice touch. I should note, there is no liner.
Along these same lines, they use what they call “Powermesh” for the pockets. This means water can still drain when you do go for a swim vs. standard fabric pockets floating to the surface on you like a numpty.
The shorts are also coated with a DWR (durable water repellent) that helps them to bead water. That doesn’t make them water-proof, but what it does is help in those scenarios where you spill a drink on your lap or leg, get caught in light rain, etc. I did test this by pouring water on my leg because I’m not in the habit of wasting my cocktails and pouring those on me, and it was just as expected. For the most part it rolled right off. It’s very cool to see in action. DWR coatings are not permanent, so keep that in mind. That’s not a Western Rise thing, it’s a DWR thing. But another benefit to DWR is that it also helps the fabric stay clean and not attract dirt - it’s not just for water repellency. Travel. Friendly.
Lastly, there is a nice zippered pocket behind the normal right-rear pocket. This is good for placing cash, a credit card or room key, passport, or even an entire wallet when gallivanting through some pick-pockety areas.
While I haven’t done a scientific test, they dry pretty quickly in a normal humidity environment which is good for travel. Cotton shorts never will.
The Good
On these shorts, I really liked the fabric. It has a pretty cool hand feel that kind of doesn’t translate to when you’re wearing them. That’s a good thing. It just feels like a nice, lightweight pair of shorts on your body, but when you touch them you can tell there’s something going on. And not in that swishy, plastic-y tech fabric way you see on some other brands.
They pack very, very well because of their lightweight nature and are very versatile because they aren’t an athletic short. They aren’t even an ath-leisure short. They are just shorts. Made out of great fabric.
The dual ability to wear them around town, or even golfing, but also pop right into a pool or the ocean for a quick dip is a major reason they are so travel friendly. I wouldn’t live on the beach with these, if that makes sense. I’d bring a true bathing suit for that. But if I expected to only have a few quick dips here and there, shorts like this make sense because you can kill two birds with one stone and just pack one item. On top of that you can definitely use these for outdoor activities. The fabric resists pulls and snags. It’s durable stuff.
The fit right off the (virtual) rack was great, and so was the quality of the finish. I did not have to alter these at all (like I did the OTHER brand) and I felt they looked good right away for the most part. On the construction - I saw no issues with any threads or poor workmanship. Don’t just take my word for it, my wife is a designer and works directly with her own factories (both professionally and on her personal brand). She took a look and said the same. The teamwork over at Always Wander is so inspiring! Haha.
Zippered pocket. I won’t consider a piece of clothing “travel” specific if it doesn’t have this. I think this is a basic feature for travel peace of mind and is a must have.
DWR, mesh pockets, etc. All good stuff.
The last thing to note here is the wrinkle performance, as I was actually pretty surprised. Clothes get wrinkled when you travel. Anyone telling you otherwise is either overmarketing/being untruthful at worst, or over promising at best. So, after not wearing for a few days and the shorts remaining packed, they came out a bit wrinkled. Nothing earth shattering mind you, but noticeable. Happy to report that after putting them on - either due to the air temp or my body temp, the wrinkles kind of just fixed themselves. I don’t think this would work with extreme wrinkles due to actual negligence in packing, LOL. But for light issues, it’s great to see. This same behavior was noted in the very detailed review for the pants versions over on ABrotherabroad.com in case you need more reinforcement.
The Bad
I found no issues on lacking features, build-quality, or price. Nor on fit, straight out of the packaging.
Availability could be an issue depending on when you need them. Since they are usually only available during the spring and summer, it might not meet your travel schedule for when you need them.
The zippered pocket is only on one side, which might be a problem for left-side walleters. Not an issue for me, but noting this because I know those folks are out there and wondering!
8 inches might not be everyone’s favorite length. Some like 9 inches (I’m short, so I don’t) and some like 7 inches (I like this as well). But as I said, the length here looked good on me for a casual pair of shorts and were wife-approved so YMMV like always on fit. All depends on your leg proportions.
Lastly, some might want that liner. I think it’s just one more thing to have to let dry if you go into the water, and if it’s attached then you HAVE to wait for it. But again, noting it here in case it’s a must-have for some of you reading.
The Improvement Requests for the Evolution Shorts
Even the best employee can always improve on something, right? So let’s see what we can do here.
On the availability, maybe in the off-season they can switch to a pre-order model. I think if people want them badly enough, they’d be fine with that. Could help reduce the need to carry inventory.
Perhaps offer more than one length? Maybe an 8 inch and 7 inch to give people more options? I think this would make the shorts really hard thing to argue against as a product.
Final Thoughts On My Western Rise Evolution Shorts Review
OK so the final verdict? Well, these are now my go to travel-shorts. I had planned on taking them to test with me on a trip to Vietnam and really put them through their paces in some steamy weather, but I had to cancel that trip twice for obvious pandemic reasons. Instead, I took them with me to Italy in September 2021. Now, I often won’t wear shorts in a lot of European cities if I can help it because oftentimes they themselves don’t. But when it gets to 35C/95F - I’m sorry but I’m wearing shorts. These were great the whole way. (Those shots taken in Alberobello were in the BLISTERING mid day heat in Puglia).
The DWR worked in my test and I’m confident it would be great if caught in some light to normal rain, but luckily I didn't really need to use it with real life spills. The rest of the features here are great for travel, the fabric is very lightweight and strong, and packs down very small in your bag.
When I got home, I just kept wearing them, much to the chagrin of my other shorts.
The Western Rise Evolutions aren’t your only options for travel shorts of course (Outlier, Olivers, etc. also have well-liked options), but they certainly are an excellent option. They are currently my go-to as of Jan 2022 (I’ll grab these before I grab the Outlier New Ways now), and I recommend you give them full consideration when deciding to optimize your kit further with travel friendly/versatile shorts.
Do note, that in March 2021 they’ve recently launched a Kickstarter for an updated 2.0 version of the entire Evolution line. Through April you can check out and back that project here: Evolution 2.0 Campaign
They sell directly from their website:
Travel more - and travel smarter - everyone.
Head on over to our Travel Clothing Reviews page for more reviews on clothing like the Bluffworks Ascender 5 Pocket pants review, or the Aviator Travel Jeans review. Or, check out our Travel Accessories reviews, Travel Clothing reviews, or Best of Travel pages as well!
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