Just picked these up. I've owned one prior pair of columbia shorts.These are made in a 6 pocket bdu/cargo short pattern, but it's 100% synthetic. The outer material resembles the fabric used in columbia jacket outer shells. It's a little rough and makes a rustling noise to rub against it. They feel almost like swimshorts, but they are very light, very tough, and breathe very well. My ideal short works for running, hiking and swimming and these should hold up. The alternative is cotton cargo shorts, which will hold water and wear out in the crotch if I try to run in them.Cons are, the front pockets are a bit small for jumbo phones, mine barely fits. They fit oddly, they slide off my waist and ride low on my hip. Additionally, the synthetic fabric, while tough and breathable, is noisy and likes to slip and slide off of some hard sitting surfaces. For instance, it actually slides on marine nonskid gelcoat. The fabric is also thin and sheer enough to reveal my religion.I've purchased shirts out of the same material and found them too annoying, wrinkly and noisy.