The Best Cargo Shorts for Men Are Ready for Redemption

The best cargo shorts for men deserve more credit than they get. While other military-inspired staples—like the M-65 jacket or fatigue pants—are menswear darlings, cargo shorts are still shaking off their frat-boy past. The difficulty seems to lie mostly in the very thing that defines them: the pockets. Guys tend to overstuff them like George Costanza’s wallet which throws off the silhouette and makes everything look bulky. Cargo pockets can carry things, sure, but they’re mostly there for texture. Detail: It’s a design element that adds style.

Luckily, in 2025, the best cargo shorts are a far cry from oversized, pocket-packed relics of the Fred Durst era. Short lengths are inching back towards the knees, but with smarter proportions. Think slimmer cotton khakis, longer linen styles, and techy hiking pairs that move easily from the trail to the city. Here are 15 of the best cargo shorts right now—cut with flattering fits and functional pockets you can build a whole summer’s worth of outfits around.

The Best Men’s Cargo Shorts, According to GQ

Best Overall Cargo Shorts: Polo Ralph Lauren Gellar Cargo Short

When it comes to shorts, guys have been showing some thigh for a while now, but lately, we’re seeing a quiet shift toward longer shorts. If you’re a fan of the classics—a real meat-and-potatoes type—these stonewashed cargo shorts from Ralph Lauren hit the mark. Cut with a comfortable, relaxed fit and a 10.5-inch inseam, they offer a bit more coverage (and should still fall above the knee) without feeling bulky or baggy. The silhouette stays clean and straight, and unless you’re using the pockets as a man-purse, they won’t throw off your shape. A true staple, updated just enough. Picture a pair of cargo shorts in your mind. These are them.

Best Budget Cargo Shorts: Gap Relaxed Cargo Shorts

Cargo shorts and The Gap—two ‘90s icons that have weathered the trends and come out the other side, maybe even better than ever. This runs a touch longer than the Ralphs above, offering an easy, broken-in fit that feels like you’ve owned them for years. We’re especially into the navy colorway, which gives off a Naval vibe and pairs cleanly with a white tee, denim shirt, or even a breezy button-up. Consider them a low-key essential: unfussy, versatile, and built to last more than a few summers. What else could you want?

Best Cargo Shorts for Getting Active: Nike ACG Snowgrass Cargo Shorts

This is one pair of cargo shorts where we fully endorse putting the pockets to use. These Nike ACG shorts are built for the outdoors, with lightweight, water-repellent fabric and enough storage to haul everything from energy bars to trail maps to your everyday gear. The integrated belt and adjustable waistband keep things in check, while the rich brick red hue stands out from the usual olive and khaki crowd, without feeling loud. Functional, durable, and genuinely stylish, these shorts are made for getting outside and looking good doing it.

Best Cargo Shorts for the Beach: Gramicci Explorer Nylon Short

We love Gramicci for their iconic hiking shorts and pants, but make no mistake, they do it all. These go-anywhere nylon cargo shorts are built for the spontaneous. Made from chlorine-resistant, recycled nylon, they’re tough enough for scrambling up a trail and quick-drying enough for a dip in a creek, or an impromptu belly flop into the nearest pool. The fit is relaxed and easy, with just enough structure to hold their shape when wet. Everybody in the pool!

Best Cargo Shorts for Goths: Reigning Champ Nylon Cargo Short

Black always adds a little edge—sleeker, cooler, and a bit more under-the-radar, which is ideal for cargo shorts, where pockets can make things inherently loud. Reigning Champ’s technical take is made from a durable two-way stretch nylon and comes loaded with smart details: a built-in adjustable belt, reinforced seams, and low-profile cargo pockets that won’t look like you’re hoarding trail mix. They’re built for movement but won’t look out of place in the city, which, let’s face it, is where most of us will be wearing these anyway.

Best Drawstring Cargo Shorts: Uniqlo Wide Fit Cargo Shorts

Uniqlo to the rescue once again—delivering an eye-catching, on-trend look made from solid materials, all for less than a round of cocktails. These cotton-nylon cargo shorts come from the Uniqlo : C collection, a line shaped by the vision of Clare Waight Keller, the former Givenchy and Chloé veteran turned Uniqlo Creative Director. The result? Elevated everyday pieces with a designer’s touch. These shorts have a sharp look with a wide fit that nods to current trends while still feeling wearable. The usual Uniqlo magic with a little extra polish.

Best Linen Cargo Shorts: Stone Island Garment Dyed Linen Cargo Shorts

Stone Island might be famous for its highly technical outerwear, but even a simple pair of summer cargo shorts showcases the brand’s obsessive approach to fabrication. These are made from a garment-dyed flax linen that’s both breathable and durable (linen is generally two to three times stronger than cotton). Even the iconic compass badge? Tonal, same fabric, barely there. Real flexes whisper didn’t you know. This is the kind of quiet innovation that sets Stone Island apart: pushing technical boundaries, even when the vibe is laid-back and linen.

More Cargo Shorts We Love

How We Test and Review Products

Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point.

Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t.

How We Make These Picks

We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price.

To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets.

We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price.

Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best of the category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs.

Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there’s bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ’s testing process here.)

Production Credits
Photographs by Bowen Fernie and Natalie Piserchio
Styled by Tyler Austin
Grooming by Laramie using RéVive and Oribe