First off, I love these shorts. 20+yrs of training at the elite levels of multiple sports means a LOT of time in spandex. I've tried just about everything and have very strong opinions about different features.My previous favorites were the Nike Pro shorts, unfortunately they have raised the waist on those and made the waistband excruciatingly thick and heavy. Which left me searching for something new.Queue Gradual.Sheerness: Similar to Nike Pro, maybe a touch more sheer. If in doubt size up to prevent things from being see-thru. (overstretched spandex is the primary cause of that problem) But I feel perfectly comfortable in public with these.Length and staying put: I got the 7in, because anything shorter than 6in rides up horribly on me. These were a fantastic length as advertised, and I haven't had any problems with the legs rolling or creeping up.Stretch: As good as it gets. Zero movement restriction, just go do what you want without concern.Sizing/fit: As expected per the size chart. Some brands I'm a large, some I'm an XL. I went with the XL because that fit my measurements and they've been as expected. I am very pear shaped naturally and have disproportionately thick muscular thighs relative to the size of my waist from decades of training. As with every pair of off the shelf shorts I've ever purchased I'd love for the legs to be a touch looser relative to the waist, but these definitely fall on the more accommodating end of the spectrum for folks like me. Which is wonderful because that's hard to find. If you have narrow hips and thighs relative to your waist size you may find these a bit too loose in the leg.Rise: They are mid-rise as advertised. Personally I'd love for the front to be a touch lower and the back a touch higher, but that is likely a byproduct of the size of my butt relative to the size of my waist. Your results may vary. I have not had any problems with the waist being uncomfortable or my butt-crack even coming close to showing.Smell: I know this is funny to see as a factor in a clothing review, but I've been having more and more clothes that come in brand new that reek horribly of some sort of chemical stench. Often it won't wash out. I've purchased two 3-packs of these and neither have had bad odors even to my super-sensitive nose.Overall these are a welcome breath of fresh air in what has become a stagnant cesspool of a market over-filled with ultra-high waist shorts that leave anyone seriously doing a sport that requires bending over barely able to breathe. As an even bigger bonus they are very affordable. I hope they don't change because I would be thrilled to continue to buy these for decades to come. It would be nice bonus if they'd offer colors other than black in the 7in.
