Arc'teryx  Gamma SL 9" Shorts - Men's

First purchase of an Arcteryx product. Was looking for a quick dry abrasion resistant pair of shorts for hiking. Liked the features of these shorts with 5 zippered pockets to retain personal items, adjustable waist belt and the 9 inch inseam. Price was very high but the brand has a reputation of high quality technical gear so I though I would give them a try. Overall they have performed reasonably well until recently when I was getting ready to go on a hike. Put my personal identification in the lower left pocket was collecting water and towels for the hike when suddenly my personal items were all over the floor. Upon inspection the lower left pocket seam had failed becasue they are not sewn in but attached we seam tape. From a construction perspective I find this unacceptable for a technical pair of shorts in this price range. To those of you who have a pair of these or considering them make sure to inspect your pocket seams regularly or you may be missing a dirvers license or keys somewhere on the trail. To Arcteryx I would suggest you re-think how the lower pockets are attached to the main fabric to deliver a reliable and high qulity techincal product worthy of the price being charged.

Hello everyone, I have 4 pairs of these shorts, basically my favourite shorts, daily driver since a few years, usually I would give 5/5 review, but I 100% lost trust in them. I love the zipper pockets, you can think they give you trust. Except the bottom ones, they're not stiched! So in one of my pairs they delaminated and have a hole I didn't notice. Lost my stuff, and need to an adventure to find it. Do not trust these shorts, super comfy and functional, built-in belt, great material. But even with zippers, you cannot trust the pockets. Getting rid of mine.

Great lightweight breathable shorts for warm weather. Never feel swampy in them it’s great. Have worn these shorts for years and the material stands up great to snags and abrasions. Perfect cut so I use them for everything from climbing to hiking and running without feeling restricted in my movements. Have worn these shorts in all kind of weather(yes even snow with leggings) and like I said they breath well but also protect you from the rain. Not a true rain layer but they offer light protection and it dries fairly quickly once the rain is over. These are my go to shorts for pretty much anything and I always recommend them to anyone who asks.

I thought these were the perfect hiking shorts. Good fit, good length, enough pockets.... They were perfect, until they weren't. I was hiking along the other day and all of a sudden my key purse hits the ground. It was in the lower pocket on left side. When I checked the pocket .. the lower and side edges of the pockets had come unglued. WTH. Why just glue in a pocket unless it is absolutely, positively going to stayed glued nearly forever. Now I cannot trust these shorts. When will another pocket fail, dropping stuff out who knews where. If I cannot trust the integrity of the pockets, I cannot trust the shorts.

Have a pair of the old quick dry shorts and used them for 3 months hiking on and off and they are faultless and so comfortable and easy to wash. This old model has two lower front pockets and a back pocket. Just bought the new SL equivalent and this model has one lower front pocket and no back pocket. I really miss not having the back pocket and second lower pocket. Both are really useful and provide extra utility for storing small stuff on the move where you don’t want to take off your back pack. Small point but really makes a difference and would really recommend going back to the old design. Can’t imagine it would cost much more to make and the customer only benefits.

My take is that they are good shorts. Good for backpacking, travel, and around the house on a hot day in Texas. These hiking shorts have gone down in quality since the last pair that I bought four years ago. However, it seems like just about everything in the retail market has gone Less quality over the last four years. I love the color and the fit. I am disappointed that you got rid of the zip pocket in the back. Please bring that back. And gluing in the front pocket I don’t think was a good idea either. However overall, I am happy with the purchase.

I previously had the 11" shorts for bouldering but noticed they are ever so slightly too long for high foot moves, these are literally perfect, very durable, i promise you, you will not find better bouldering / lead climbing shorts than these, i will swear by these. I've Climbed in these in multiple competitions even Finnish Nationals, these shorts have never failed me, the price might be steep but i promise you, try one pair, you won't be disapointed. i would love to sponsor and market these in Finlands Climbing Scene.

I liked the shorts, Fit was good, had the correct number of pockets for me, all with zipper closures (essential for traveling in areas with pickpockets and scrambling on mountains to keep contents secure. But I just returned from a 4 week trip and these shorts were supposed to be my main 'pants' for much of the trip. Then in the first week the fatal flaw showed up. The two lower front pockets are glued down, not stitched, and the glue failed on both at the same time. My precious key purse and coin purse fell to the ground, which I fortunately noticed at the time. I had to stop at the next city we passed through to buy another pair of shorts. Why in the world make secure pockets with zipper closures then glue the pockets in place using glue that can fail. Completely unacceptable manufacturing decision.

This is my second pair of the Gamma SL shorts, purchased again in a different color as last season they proved their value during the hottest summer I can remember. Super breathable and comfortable, they were brilliant for both extensive trail hiking and running around the city. The first pair held up extremely well after a hard season of use, and so I felt confident in purchasing a second pair.

I have three pairs of these shorts now and they are pretty amazing! Light, quick drying and durable materials. But for me the atandout feature is the cargo pocket. In other cargo pants if I put my cellphone in the cargo pocket it really flops around as I walk around. Not so with the Gamma short! Well done Arc’teryx!