Note: these shorts were provided for review.

Living in Southeast Texas you learn very quickly which workout clothes actually breath well. When even pre-sun workouts can be humid 80°F workouts, it matters. And shorts are a must, lots of workout shorts are in my house.

The Ministry of Supply Newton Active Shorts are among the best I have on hand, and the reasons for that are surprising to me. Let’s dive in.

Material

Since these are shorts with a liner, there are two materials at play. The outer ‘short’ is 88% recycled Polyester, 12% Elastane and while Ministry of Supply doesn’t list a gsm on these, I’ll add they are extremely thin feeling. Overall a very light shell which never binds or gets in the way.

The liner itself is a different makeup completely at 75% Nylon, 4% S.Cafe Silver, 21% Elastane. I was actually surprised to see Nylon here, as it very much feels like polyester, which is a testament to the nylon being used. Here’s what Ministry of Supply says about that “S.Cafe” bit: ”S.Café® Silver threading to help naturally control odor.”

We’ve had our fair share of silver infused garments here, and they exist to manage odors. This is one of the big selling points here.

Fit & Style

These are athletic shorts with an athletic short fit. The outlier shell is decently short as the length varies by size, but never more than 7.25 inches on the inseam. The liner is almost the same length as the shell, which might seem odd and first, but is actually great, it prevents the edge of the shell from chaffing against your leg.

Performance

There’s four main claims here, so I will go through each:

• Moisture-wicking: yes, everything but the waistband wicks moisture extremely fast. And I would rate the waistband as wicking moisture ‘pretty’ fast.
• Hidden pocket: I had no clue this existed until I started writing this review. I am not sure why a pocket there is needed but this does expose the one big problem: storing keys securely proved challenging. This pocket doesn’t solve it, as it could only hold a phone or wallet.
• Featherlight: they really are lightweight and fantastic.
• Breathable: I have two pairs of lined shorts (including these) and they are easily the most breathable. I can’t say if it is the shell also, but the liner itself really works well. Very comfortable.

The one thing not touted, which I think is my favorite part is the waistband on the shorts. They don’t sit too tight, and are very soft and comfortable against the skin while sitting very flat. I didn’t even realize this until I switched out to another pair of shorts and then back to these the next day. Just an excellent waistband.

As for odor control: I never noticed the shorts smelling, and I don’t need much odor control on my workout shorts. For me this is a bit of a moot point, unlike a button down shirt, I am not essentially going to be trying to wear lined shorts more than once such that I would need odor control. And thus they got through every workout without adding to stink, which is more than good enough for me.

Overall

If I were doing floor workouts and needing to keep my keys in my pocket, these would be problematic for me. But if all I needed was to keep my phone or a keycard in them, they would excel. For my workouts (rucking) I have found that I can easily carry my keys and phone in the hand pockets without issue. They don’t smack against my leg uncomfortably nor do they threaten to fall out.

The biggest downside to these for most might be the price. At $95 they are certainly in the ‘expensive’ bracket for workout shorts. I think the value is there, but I think that you need to know what you are getting at that price. If you are someone going into a gym and lifting weights moving from bench to bench, I think I would want something different to secure my phone or keys. But runners might prefer the lining pocket for a phone. That said, the lining on these is far and away better than I expected and better than any underwear I own.

I really like these shorts, and think the liner on these is excellent.

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