Arc'teryx  Gamma SL 11" Shorts - Men's

Dear Arc'teryx Team, On June 20th, I was hiking from the Grimsel Pass towards a bivouac site to spend the night with my partner, her daughter, and another young boy. I had left my car in the parking lot, and my car key was safely tucked away in the left cargo pocket of my Arc'teryx Gamma Quick Dry Shorts. It was supposed to stay there until we hiked back down the next day. The car was also parked there as a backup option in case thunderstorms rolled in during the night, despite a good weather forecast.When I wanted to go back to the car later to fetch wood for our campfire, I couldn't find the car key anymore. I had no idea when or how it could have fallen out of my pocket. Earlier, I had briefly put my binocular case into that same pocket and taken it back out. That was the only logical explanation for how the key could have slipped out. Even after retracing my steps and searching the entire path from the car to the bivouac site and back, I couldn't find it. Early the next morning, my father took the train from Interlaken to Bern to pick up my spare key. My roommate had previously hidden it outside for him to grab. My father then brought it back to Interlaken, where my mother picked it up by car and drove it all the way up to the Grimsel Pass that same day. In return, she got to enjoy a great hike up to our bivouac spot. Thanks to this, we finally had wood for our campfire on the second evening, and our backup vehicle was drivable again. As it turned out, thunderstorms actually did roll in that evening, and we decided to head home.Fortunately, I kept the key in a different place this time. However, on July 12th, during a hike with friends, I suddenly heard a clinking sound on the ground after just 15 minutes. My house key was lying on the gravel path. Suddenly, the penny dropped. The pocket had a hole in it—or rather, the glue had detached, turning the pocket into nothing more than a bottomless hole.In the meantime, I had a new spare key made for CHF 150.-. Just a mechanical one, because a remote key for my old 2012 Subaru Legacy would have cost CHF 250.-.Well, I wanted to share this story with you because while I think it's fantastic that the cargo pockets are seamless, I need to be able to trust my Arc'teryx gear 100% at all times. With these shorts, that is definitely no longer the case. I would have preferred a traditional seam here; it would have saved me all this trouble. Between my father’s train ticket, my mother’s car mileage, and the replacement key, this incident cost me over CHF 250.-. As a student and part-time intern, this hits me hard. I would much rather spend that money on gear that accompanies me into the mountains.I hope reading this brought you as much joy as I usually have when I am out in the mountains! :) And despite that, I love these shorts, the fit, the four pockets and the stretch. My favourite shorts for hikes or easy mountain tours on hot days. With humorous regards, Benjamin

Arc’teryx have lost their way on sizing and fit. I've always been a 34 but the 34 is baggy and the 32 is too tight. But you don't offer odd sizes. Then I find out the 34 is actually sized as a 36? What committee in their sane minds does this? It seems anything I'm trying on these days are odd fits. Generally wider all around. You used to be an athletic company. Are you transitioning to street wear? Got back and crack open your patterns from 5 or 6 years ago please. And yes, pass this along to your design team thank you. I have a bunch of Arc’teryx tops and bottoms and jackets. I can't find Arc’teryx items that fit an athletic build anymore. Too bad.

Stains unbelievably easy. Within the first day, I had a stain that would not come out. There is a flaw with this fabric, all my other shorts of competing brands do NOT stain this easily. Also, the internal belt gets turned around on itself and is quite uncomfortable until you straighten it out. The equivalent of fishing through the pull cord on a cheap sweatshirt.. All around, a poor product. This may be a good product for beathability, but it fails when it looks awful because of multiple stains. Have a word with your designers. Do better.

In June 2025, I purchased shorts for cycling and hiking. The shorts already have a tear in them, and I didn't do anything rough! The light material is definitely more suited for restaurant dining and city walking.

Would give five stars, but this product has changed with only three zippered pockets instead of the five that used to have. What can I say, I like the pockets.

If not the missing 2 pockets in the current revision, I would have rated the shorts with 5 stars. Previously, I would put a napkin, a key-holder, airdpods, and a phone into different pockets (and have one left for a hand), so none of them would feel bulky and it's easy to fetch any of those items. Now, I feel like I should rather wear a shoulder bag. Also, not sure what changed with the pocket mesh. When I take my phone out of a pocket, the mesh sticks out of the pocket every single time. That is not happening with the previous generation shorts. I hope to see the changes reversed in future, I would buy a few new pairs then. If not, I guess I'd have to find either another model or even a brand. :/ The only thing worth changing/experimenting with was colours, not pockets.

nice light shorts. they used to have a back pocket I think. also only one leg pocket, cargo pocket whatever you call it. If you're left handed you like the pocket on the left. But now there is just one on the right. So now I use a fanny pack. I like the way they were with more pockets but they probably have that and maybe I ordered the wrong one. Still it's good. But I miss the pockets.

These were great shorts, my favourite, but on ordering the latest pair I was very disappointed to find the reduction in pockets/zips. These are premium shorts with a premium price but a shame they are now trying to cut costs, with an impact for customers. Other reviews here make the same point. I am now waiting for 2026 to see if Arcteryx have acted on the feedback.

I wanted to buy another pair of Gamma Quick Dry 11" shorts because of the five pockets. They don't make 5-pocket shorts anymore. Yet the price for the shorts with fewer pockets hasn't gone down. It's sad to see how premium quality at a premium price has turned into mediocre quality at a premium price. I'll look elsewhere.

Extremely comfortable, nice fabric, and excellent fit. I had the opposite experience as another reviewer—I got a significant oil stain on the shorts the first day I wore them, but I treated it with dish soap and washed and now you can’t even tell there was ever a stain. Great fabric, and great shorts all around!