Rip Curl Boardshort Guide

Surfers live in boardshorts. The water, the beach, cruising back streets in Indo or Mexico. While they’re ultra versatile, different boardshorts are better for different things. We’ve put together a quick guide to help sort your ultra-performance surf shorts from your casual shorts, to those that balance a bit of both. Find your best-fitting Boardshort below from the Ultimate Surfing Company.

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Man holding a surfboard on a beach with ocean waves in the background
Navy and yellow shorts with a logo on a blurred background
Person surfing a wave with a forest in the background
Person wearing blue boardshorts shorts underwater with a clear blue background
Man standing next to a surfboard with a shed and surfboard in the background
Person wearing blue shorts standing on a rocky shore with water in the background
Person wearing beige shorts and a navy shirt on a beach
Person wearing beige shorts
boardshort length

Boardshort length is as personal as surfboard choice. Performance, comfort, and showing off your sculpted quads (or not) are all factors. Here’s length vs look at a glance.

16” BOARDSHORT
16” BOARDSHORT
17” BOARDSHORT
17” BOARDSHORT
18” BOARDSHORT
18” BOARDSHORT
19” BOARDSHORT
19” BOARDSHORT
20” BOARDSHORT
20” BOARDSHORT
21” BOARDSHORT
21” BOARDSHORT
Person surfing on a large wave in the ocean

BOARDSHORTS FOR PERFORMANCE
Our performance shorts feature four-way stretch technology, lightweight construction and welded seams for complete freedom in the water.

Person holding a surfboard on a rocky outcrop with ocean in the background

BOARDSHORTS FOR LIFESTYLE

Boardshorts designed and developed for life beyond the lineup, bringing together style and functionality.

Mick Fanning on the Mirage Activate Boardshort

“I finally got my hands on a pair of the liners, put them on, went for a surf, and instantly it just felt like someone had grabbed my butt cheeks and lifted them together and made them real perky. What that did was ease up my whole back. The looseness that I felt in my mid back and upper back, I went surfing and didn’t have any stiffness whatsoever.”

Tough Is The New Stretch

We’ve worked with CORDURA® for nearly a decade to create the Ultimate Boardshort material. Tough yet stretchy, comfortable, quick drying, chafe resistant, lightweight. Whenever you see their mark on our shorts, you’re wearing a relationship made in surf heaven. Specialist fabric built for The Search.

Red board shorts with yellow waistband on a white background, featuring Rip Curl and Cordura logos.