Pioneer Camp Shorts

The inseam is the decision and everything else follows it. Every card on this page prints one. Four and five inches sit high on the thigh and are running lengths: light, quick-dry, usually with a zipped pocket at the back for a key. Seven is where most people land for walking, and nine is the same idea with more coverage on a sunny hill. Fourteen and eighteen reach or pass the knee and read as trousers on a hot street rather than as sports kit: those are the ones that go to a barbecue.

Measure a pair you already like from the crotch seam to the hem and match the number rather than trusting a photograph: a model whose height you do not know tells you nothing about where nine inches lands on your leg. After the length, the two things worth checking are the waistband and the pockets. A drawstring waist forgives a size, an elastic one without a cord does not, and a shorts pocket without a zip will lose a phone on a stile. Several of the longer pairs carry a UPF figure, which describes the dry cloth over the thigh and nothing else. Sizes run XS to 3XL.