Men's Workout Essentials Base Woven Shorts vs Men's Waterman Strands Regular-Fit 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
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
Quiksilver
Men's Waterman Strands Regular-Fit Shorts
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 16/100
Verdict
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Hazard flags
⚑ 1
Material
Polyester blend with water-repellent coating treatment
Confidence
42%
PossiblePFAS in water-repellent coating treatment
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 Quiksilver.
- We flag PFAS in DWR treatment on the Quiksilver and not on the Adidas.
- The Adidas is Woven polyester/nylon blend, no waterproof or stain-resistant treatment specified where the Quiksilver is Polyester blend with DWR treatment, 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 Quiksilver grade, at 42% 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