Best CrossFit Shorts of 2026

The fabric is the first thing you notice: a smooth, stretchy knit that feels more expensive than the price suggests. It has enough give that the bottom of a squat does not turn into a fight with the hem, and it stays smooth rather than clinging after a sweaty session.

Seven inches, linerless, one zippered pocket, and a flat elastic waistband that holds without needing to be cranked tight. We rate it the best-looking short in this group: the cut is clean enough to wear to coffee after class without looking like you have come straight off the floor, and the pocket is deep enough to hold a phone and a key while you are at it. It is also the one for anyone who hates a brief liner but still wants a tidy line under a tee.

Two things to know. It comes in one length only, so if you want a 5-inch hem this is not the short for you. And the phone sleeve sits under the front of the waistband, where it can press into your stomach on a longer run, so the zip pocket is the better home for it. For lifting days and the walk afterwards, neither matters.

Five inches, seven, or nine: getting three lengths out of one design is most of why this is the short we recommend first. Inseam decides where the hem lands when you are in the hole of a squat, and it is the variable almost every other pick here fixes on your behalf. The 5-inch cut clears the knee entirely, the 7-inch is the middle-of-the-road option we suggest starting with, and the 9-inch suits anyone who wants coverage down the leg and does not mind the extra fabric.

Then there are the pockets, all of which zip. Keys, a phone, and a card stay where you put them through burpees, box jumps, and a round on the rower instead of scattering under the rig. The fabric is among the lightest in this group and dries quickly, so a soaked pair is not heavy on the walk home. There is no liner, which means you wear whatever you normally wear underneath, and for plenty of people that is the point rather than a gap.

What you do not get is a guaranteed fit. These run small for a stretch of buyers, so measure against a pair you already own rather than trusting the label on your usual size. Otherwise it is a plain, well-made short that answers the practical questions, and the price leaves room for a second pair in another color.

The liner is the entire argument for these. Once you have done a session with a built-in brief holding everything in place, the seam of an ordinary pair of underwear rubbing against your inner thigh becomes the thing you notice in every other short. Ours stayed put through running, jumping, and a lot of squatting, with no creeping up between the thighs and nothing to adjust at the water break.

We think the details justify the money more than the liner alone does. The liner is cut short enough that it never peeks below the hem, the fabric has noticeably more body than the other men's shorts in this guide, and the phone pocket is sewn into the liner itself, so your phone lies flat against your thigh instead of swinging off your waistband. The back pocket zips as well, which is the one you want for keys.

The catch is the length: 5 inches, one option, no 7-inch version to fall back on. If you want something closer to the knee, this is not it. If chafing is the reason you are replacing your shorts, the extra money here buys the most useful piece of construction on the page.

Two layers, and the inner one is why these earn a place. It is a short compression liner rather than a mesh brief, long enough to cover the inner thigh, snug enough to stay there through running and burpees, and soft enough that you forget it is a second layer. Between the outer short and the liner there are four pockets: zip pockets on the outside for keys and a card, plus drop pockets in the liner that hold a phone flat against your leg.

For women shopping this list, this is the pair we hand over first. The price sits at the bottom of the group, the fabric is soft without going sheer in the darker colors, and the length is enough that you are not pulling at the hem between movements. Plan around the side pocket, though: a phone in it pulls that side of the short down and leaves one leg longer than the other, which is irritating halfway through a set of cleans. Use the liner pocket for the phone and the outer zip for everything else.

A wide waistband that comes up over the belly and stays there is what this short is built around, and on a lifting day that is a genuinely good thing: nothing rolls down when you hinge, and the band holds everything smooth underneath.

The pockets are the other draw, each deep enough to take a phone, which is more than most women's shorts here manage. The fabric is comfortable through a long session and holds its color and shape through repeated washing.

Where it stops working is anything with impact. For a WOD that mixes lifting with a run or a set of box jumps, the Stelle above is the better bet. On a straight lifting day the wide band does exactly what it promises, although the top edge does not lie flat on everyone and can leave an indent rather than a smooth line, so give it a short test fit before you cut the tags.

No front seam sounds like a small thing until you have spent a session adjusting. With nothing running up the middle there is no seam to press where you do not want pressure, no seam to pull when you squat, and one less thing to show through the front of the short.

The fabric is the softest in this guide, closer to a legging than a woven short, and thick enough in the darker colors that squats and burpees do not turn it transparent. The high waist sits flat over the belly, and the side pockets take a phone and a key.

They are biker shorts, though, and that shape has one weakness here: the legs roll. Run or jump in them and the hems climb, which turns a repeat on the track into a series of tugs at the thigh. We like them for lifting days and for wearing under a tee afterwards; for a mixed WOD with running in it, a 2-in-1 like the Stelle does the same job without the rolling.

Two pairs for less than one of the pricier picks in this guide is the headline, and for plenty of people that settles it. A two-pack means one pair in the wash and one in the drawer, which matters more than any fabric upgrade when you are training most days of the week.

What you get is a proper training short: a 5-inch inseam that sits well above the knee and stays out of the way in a squat, very light fabric that dries off a hook overnight, and zippered pockets that keep a phone or a key where you left it through jumps and inversions. The cut is not baggy, which helps when you are moving fast.

Sizing is the thing to get right. These run small, so go up a size if you are between sizes or carry your weight in your legs, and check the measurements rather than ordering your usual.

Where the money was saved is the construction. The seams and the zippers are the parts that let go: a split at the crotch, a pull that sticks, a pocket that gives way. Rope climbs or a lot of barbell work resting against the thigh will hurry that along. We still like them as a second and third pair for class days, just not as the only shorts you own.