Men's Workout Essentials Base Woven Shorts vs Skateboarding Water Shorts: which is safer?

adidas Men's Workout Essentials Base Woven Shorts is our pick, better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.

Our pick

adidas Men's Workout Essentials Base Woven Shorts

Adidas

Men's Workout Essentials Base Woven Shorts

PFAS grade

Good 65/100

Overall grade

Poor 47/100

Verdict

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Hazard flags

⚑ 3

Material

Woven polyester/nylon blend, no waterproof or stain-resistant treatment specified

Confidence

72%

PossibleAzo dyes and heavy metal colorants

ReportedMicrofiber shedding from synthetic blend

PossibleFormaldehyde resins in finishing

adidas Skateboarding Water Shorts

Adidas

Skateboarding Water Shorts

PFAS grade

Bad 20/100

Overall grade

Bad 8/100

Verdict

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Hazard flags

⚑ 3

Material

polyester with water-repellent finish

Confidence

45%

PossibleFormaldehyde-based resin finishes

PossibleAzo dyes in synthetic fabrics

PossibleMicrofiber shedding from coating degradation

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag Azo dyes and heavy metal colorants, Microfiber shedding from synthetic blend and Formaldehyde resins in finishing on the Adidas and not on the Adidas.
  • We flag Formaldehyde-based resin finishes, Azo dyes in synthetic fabrics and Microfiber shedding from coating degradation on the Adidas and not on the Adidas.
  • The Adidas is Woven polyester/nylon blend, no waterproof or stain-resistant treatment specified where the Adidas is polyester with water-repellent finish, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
  • The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Adidas is the one to buy.
  • We are less certain about the Adidas grade, at 45% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.

Both products run through the same public rubric, which covers materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →

More waterproof sports gear, see the full ranking