Never lose your phone, wallet, or keys with zipper pocket shorts
Guarantee the security of your valuables with zipper pocket shorts for running and hiking! Breathability and range of motion are great reasons to choose short inseam length running shorts, but most models have shallow, bouncy pockets prone to losing their contents. Lay down or sit back at your own risk; doubly so while deep in the backcountry. Hence, zipper pocket shorts. Whether you’re climbing over a log, lounging in a meadow, or crossing a scree field, nothing will ever be lost as long as you remember to zip up.
Complete you legwear quiver with our guides to running pants, running socks, hiking pants, men’s long boxers, running caps, or hiking shorts which have ample cargo pockets, tougher fabrics, and belt loops.
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The Best Zipper Pocket Shorts for Running & Hiking
- Tied for Best: Path Projects Graves PX Relaxed Fit
- Tied for Best: Patagonia Multi Trails Shorts
- Top Pick: Salomon SHAKEout CORE Shorts
- Honorary Mention: Janji AFO Middle Short Ultra
- Honorary Mention: REI Co-op Active Pursuits 6″ Shorts
Patagonia Multi Trails Shorts, Photo by Simon Pratt
Zipper Pocket Shorts Comparison Table
Mobile users rotate device for full width table view
| Price($) | Weight(oz) | Liner | Pockets | |
| Patagonia Multi Trails | 79/69 | 4.0 | Yes |
2 zip hand, 1 snap rear
|
| Salomon SHAKEout | 60 | 3.8 | Yes |
2 zip hand
|
| PP Graves PX Relaxed | 68 | 5.1 | No |
2 zip hand, 1 zip rear
|
| Janji AFO Mid Ultra | 80 | 4.7 | Yes |
2 zip hand, 1 zip rear, 2 drop-in side, 1 interior
|
| REI Active Pursuit | 50 | 6.3 | No |
2 snap hand, 1 zip hand
|
Editor’s Choice Zipper Pocket Shorts
Patagonia Multi Trails Shorts
We love the wearing the Patagonia Multi Trails zipper pocket shorts because they offer the best blend of stretch, comfort, breathability, and zip security. This is a great all-purpose pair of shorts that’s particularly good for hiking, but also great for running and athleisure use. Read more in our full-length Patagonia Multi-Trails Shorts Review.
- Weight: 4.0 oz (our measurement)
- Price: $79 M’s | $69 W’s
- Pockets: 2 zippered hand, 1 snap rear
- Material: 90% recycled polyester, 10% Spandex
- Inseam: 8″ M’s & 6″ M’s | 5.5″ W’s | K’s 4″
- Built-In Liner: Yes (recommend cutting out)
- Waist: Elastic band with internal drawstring
- Average User Review: 4.5 stars
- Pros: Very stretchy. Very breathable. Sustainable. Zippered pockets. Comfiest.
- Cons: Cut out the liner.
Features
To summarize the big picture build, Patagonia Multi Trails Shorts are medium length inseam running shorts with an elastic waistband + drawstring, zippered hand pockets, and built-in mesh liner. It’s a really nice feature set for hikers. The fabric is extra stretchy and movement-friendly thanks to the 10% spandex blend. However, the more spandex, the slower the fabric is to dry, so it’s always a matter of pros and cons.
Starting from the top, Patagonia Multi Trails Shorts have an elastic waistband that is about as standard as they come. It’s wide enough but not particularly wide. The drawstring has a light bit of stretch without compromising their ability to stay up.
Perhaps their best and most useful feature are the zippered hand pockets. There’s two of them, each more than large enough to store a full size phone or a few smaller items. Interestingly, the zipper pulls are loops of cord rather than tabs or plastic bits. This makes them easier to grab, but more prone to snagging. They also have a single rear snap-closure pocket, which isn’t the most useful, but it’s there if you want to stash an empty bar wrapper or maybe a pair of gloves.
Both the men’s and women’s versions of the Patagonia Multi Trails Shorts come with a built-in mesh liner that replaces underwear. The men’s version gets a boxer-brief liner while the women’s has a brief liner. All built-in liners are bad, and we recommend cutting them out and replacing with your preferred underwear.
Verdict
Thanks to the comfy stretchy fabric with a loose airy fit, the Patagonia Multi Trail zipper pocket shorts are an exceptional, all-purpose pair. This is what we hiked in most from 2023-2025.
Path Projects Graves PX Relaxed
We’ve been running and hiking in the Path Projects Graves PX Relaxed zipper pocket shorts, and they’ve fast become a summer staple. What separates these shorts from the pack are their 100% polyester mechanical stretch Toray brand fabric, zippered hand pockets, and attention to detail on all of the trim.
- Weight: 5.7 oz
- Price: $68
- Pockets: 2 zippered hand, 1 zippered rear
- Material: 90% recycled polyester, 10% Spandex
- Inseam: 5″ or 7″
- Built-In Liner: No
- Waist: Elastic band with internal drawstring
- Average User Review: 4.7 stars
- Pros: Quick dry and durable. Mechanical stretch. Zippered hand pockets. Great looking. Good waistband. Tall notch. Really nice Toray brand fabric. Pockets hold phone without bouncing much. Available in multiple inseam lengths.
- Cons: Upside down side-zipper direction; small opening bites hands. Men’s-only. Their version of relaxed is more of a standard fit. Interior pocket durability. No side thigh pocket. A bit heavy.
Construction & Features
Starting with the fabric, we’re very keen on the 100% polyester composition. It’s not as stretchy as those models with Spandex or elastane, but is lighter weight, absorbs less water, dries faster, and is overall more durable – perfect for all things trail. The respectable but modest amount of stretch is why we recommend the relaxed pair instead of the originals, and find even that version still runs a bit trim. The manufacturer of this fabric, Toray, based out of Japan, has been making killer tech fabrics lately, and we’ve had very positive experiences with all of their outdoor textiles, including rain gear and windbreaker fabrics.
Path Project has truly achieved a great looking pair of trail running shorts, easily the crispiest design in our roundup. The waistband is soft, and has the perfect amount of elastic, supplemented by a drawstring with mechanical stretch. We’re grateful for the tall side notch which increases range of motion and reduces friction.
The two generously-sized side zippered hand pockets are made with stretch mesh, which offers a good hold on phones to prevent bouncing as you move. However, stretch mesh can snag and tear, and ripped pockets have the potential to ruin any activity if valuables fall out. A phone or snack is unlikely to ever damage them, but a key chain or something sharp/pokey could potentially snag and rip.
But perhaps the oddest thing about these zipper pocket shorts is the upside down zipper orientation. Unlike all other shorts, in order to close them, you zip downward, and open them by zipping upward. When they’re open, the zipper pull sits at the top, rather than the bottom. We’re still figuring out if we like or dislike this, but for our money, it seems to slightly increase the likelihood of something falling out. But maybe it doesn’t matter. As a last note on the pockets, we have also found that reaching in and out frequently scratches up the back of hand a little bit. Not a deal breaker, but we’ve met comfier zipper pockets.
Verdict
This is an elegant, beautiful looking and highly functional pair of zipper pocket shorts, despite the unusual zipper orientation. The 100% polyester Toray fabric offers excellent performance. Hopefully they design a women’s pair too!
Top Pick Zippered Pocket Shorts
Salomon SHAKEout CORE Shorts
The Salomon SHAKEout CORE are a simple, lightweight pair of zipper hand pocket shorts available in a multitude of great colors for both men and women.
- Weight: 3.8 oz (manufacturer provided)
- Price: $60
- Pockets: 2 zippered hand
- Material: 100% recycled polyester
- Inseam: 5″ M’s & 7″ M’s | 4″ W’s & 6″ W’s
- Built-In Liner: Yes (recommend cutting out)
- Waist: Elastic band with internal drawstring
- Average User Review: new and statistically insignificant
- Pros: Zippered hand pockets. Very lightweight. Stretchy. Breathable. Sustainable. Comfy. Great colors. Quick drying.
- Cons: Cut out the liner. Zipper pulls could be larger. Fit could be looser. Lacking stretch.
Features
We literally only recommend running shorts with zippered hand pockets, and the SHAKEout Core easily clear that bar. They have two large functional pockets, though they could have benefited from larger zipper pulls. There are no other pockets, such as on the upper center back of the shorts, which is fine because that slot is wasted on hikers wearing backpacks anyway.
In regard to fit, they have a cinchable elastic waistband that runs true to size, with standard girth thighs. We wish they were looser around the thigh, as those with beefy quads will find them a bit tight and slightly movement impairing. A small side slit helps alleviate this somewhat, but it too could have been enlarged.
The fabric is a 100% recycled polyester with mechanical stretch, meaning no Spandex. This is great news because despite its stretchy nature, Spandex makes garments less breathable, slower drying, heavier, and smellier. That being said, because of the aforementioned slimmer thigh fit, a bit of Spandex could have improved things.
Lastly, both the men’s and women’s version come in an array of fun colors (good news), and with built-in liners (bad news). Built-in liners are vastly inferior to your preferred underwear, so we recommend cutting it out before you wear the shorts.
Verdict
Choose the SHAKEout Core because they’re the lightest, quickest drying trail running shorts with zippered hand pockets, as effective to wear as they are to stow in your pack.
Janji AFO Middle Shorts Ultra
Beloved running brand Janji now offers a zippered hand pocket version of their best-selling AFO Middle Shorts series, surname Ultra.
- Weight: 4.7 oz
- Price: $80
- Pockets: 2 zippered hand, 1 zippered rear, 2 side drop-in, 1 interior w/ key clip
- Material: 88% recycled polyester, 12% Spandex
- Inseam: M’s 5″ or 7″, W’s 3″
- Built-In Liner: Yes, recommend to cut out
- Waist: Elastic band with internal drawstring
- Average User Review: 4.7 stars
- Pros: Zippered hand pockets. Lots of pockets. Largest hand pockets in category. Soft, stretchy, airy. Does not impair movement.
- Cons: Hand pockets placed way too far forward, causes bouncing and swaying. Expensive. Cut the liner out. Run big, potential fit issues.
Construction & Features
If you like pocket access, check out all six of them on these Janjis, roughly twice as many as average. This includes two large zippered hand pockets, two side “gel pockets,” a zippered back credit card pocket, and a inside key pocket with clip.
Unfortunately, the placement of the side gel pockets nudges the primary zippered hand pockets closer to the front, which in turn shifts the pocket’s contents away from resting tightly against the side hip to swaying loosely in front of your quads. So despite the large capacity and zippered closure, they’re not actually very good for storing heavy valuables like a phone as it moves around too much with each stride. However, if you aren’t planning to store heavy objects in those pockets, it’s no issue at all.
On the good side, we really like the soft, stretchy, recycled polyester AFO Middle fabric, and how it’s cut to promote airflow and allow full range of motion with a nice side notch. The not so good side is that all versions of the Ultra come with liner underwear, which we always recommend cutting out. Note, the sudden popularity of liner underwear is an industry wide issue, not specific to Janji, so we won’t hold it against them.
However, if you intend the leave the “compression” liners in, you might find that they run a bit tight compared to the size of the waistband. The men’s size XL 8″ boxer brief lined AFO Middle Short Ultra 2-in-1 shorts we tested had a true XL waistband (not a running brand XL mind you), but extremely tight liners more akin to size Large. No matter, as we cut them out anyway, but worth noting for those who have muscular quads.
Verdict
The Janji Middle AFO Ultras are a notable zipper pocket shorts design from a beloved running brand! However, because of the poorly placed hand pockets and liner which needs to be cut out, we can only give them an honorary mention at best.
.
Honorary Mention, Snap Closure
REI Co-op Active Pursuit Shorts
The unisex REI Co-op Active Pursuits Shorts with 6″ inseam are a comfy, stretchy pair of trail shorts with snap-closure hand pockets and a bonus zipper pocket, all of which can safely store essentials without impeding your stride.
- Weight: 6.3 oz
- Price: $50
- Pockets: 2 snap hand, 1 zip inner hand
- Material: 90% recycled nylon, 10% Spandex
- Inseam: 6″ unisex
- Built-In Liner: No
- Waist: Elastic band with static internal drawstring
- Average User Review: 4.6 out of 28
- Pros: Very stretchy. Very airy and loose. Side slit. Relatively secure pockets. Comfy. Good value. Good durability.
- Cons: Snap pockets are less secure than zippers. On the heavy side.
Features
Starting with fabric composition, the REI Co-op Active Pursuits Shorts are a 90-10 nylon-spandex blend, which results in a very stretchy, movement friendly design. If you’re familiar with the Outdoor Research Ferrosi material, these feel very similar. They may not have the softest feel, but are quite durable, and respectably breathable/quick-drying.
Their fit around the thigh is very loose, which is perfect for running and hiking and definitely enhances both comfort and air flow. This is further improved by the 3″ side slit, and the end result will basically never, ever impair your stride in the least. The elastic waistband is fairly secure on its own, and can be tightened and sealed by tying off the static cord for a locked-in fit.
But what really sets these shorts apart from the pack are the snap-closure secured hand pockets. When choosing trail running shorts for hiking, it is imperative that you pick a model with secure hand pockets to prevent your phone or valuables from falling out as you move, sit, and lay down over the course of a day.
While the snap closure is less secure than a zipper and could conceivably come undone with an untimely tug or snag, it is augmented by an interior right zipper pocket which gives absolute peace of mind for locking down a phone or keys. Yes, the inner zipper pocket is large enough to store a full size phone. The only upgrade here would be if that zippered pocket was placed as a side hip pocket, rather than inside of a hand pocket, such that the two pockets don’t stack and share volume (ala the Janji Transit Tech Shorts layout).
Verdict
The REI Co-op Active Pursuits Shorts are a crowd pleaser at a great price. They are comfy, airy, designed to fit anyone, and feature both zip and snap hand pockets to meet your secure storage needs.
Graves PX, Photo by Simon Pratt
Learn How To Remove Liner Underwear
Liner underwear is bad and we recommend removing it. Check out our complete guide which explains why and how to remove liner underwear.
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