One pair of shorts for hiking, swimming and travel

Most of us own too many shorts. A pair for the gym, a pair for the beach, a pair for walking, a pair that only comes out on holiday. They sit in a drawer doing one job each, and three of them stay home every time you actually pack a bag.

The idea behind a do-it-all short is the opposite. One pair that handles the walk, the swim, the long travel day and the evening after, without you having to think about which it was made for. It is a simple idea, but most shorts fall down on it for the same reason: they cannot get wet and carry on.

That is the real test. A short that does everything has to be one you can swim in, dry off in, and keep wearing.

What actually makes a short do-it-all

A few things have to come together, and they are easy to spot once you know what to look for.

They have to dry fast. This is the one that matters most. If a pair takes hours to dry, it is a swimming short or a hiking short, never both. Quick-drying fabric is what lets a single pair move between water and land without a change of clothes.

They have to pack light. A do-it-all short earns its place in the bag by weighing almost nothing and crushing down small, so taking it is never a decision.

They have to hold a few essentials. Pockets that keep your key, phone or a bit of cash where you can find them, on a walk or a wander round somewhere new.

They have to fit a range of days. An adjustable waist means the same pair works whether you are moving all day or sat by the water doing nothing.

The Gator Quick Dry Shorts

The Gator Quick Dry Shorts were built for exactly this. They are the pair we reach for when we don't know what the day holds, which is most days worth having.

For hiking, ripstop fabric is hard-wearing and flexible, so it moves with you on a climb and shrugs off the scuffs that come with real use. At 158g (in a size M) they are genuinely light, which you notice on a long warm walk and again when you are packing.

For swimming, they do the thing most shorts cannot. Quick-drying ripstop means you can swim, get out, and carry on walking without sitting in wet fabric or planning your day around drying off. Wild swim, river dip, or just cooling your legs at the end of a hot stretch, then keep going.

For travel, two hand pockets and two leg pockets give you somewhere sensible for the bits you want close, and the elasticated waist with a drawcord and snap closure means a secure, comfortable fit through a long travel day. Pack them for a trip and they cover the walk to the station, the afternoon by the sea, and the evening after, all on one pair.

What they can't do

A do-it-all short is a generalist, and that is the whole point. If you want a dedicated running short or a tailored pair for a smart evening, buy that instead. What the Gator gives you is one pair that does most things well, so you can leave the other three at home.

For a lot of trips, that is the better deal. Less to pack, less to think about, more time spent on the actual day.

Looking after them

Quick-dry fabric likes a cool wash and a line dry. You shouldn't use fabric softener, as it can clog the fibres and slow the drying that makes the short worth owning in the first place. Cared for correctly, a single pair will see you through a lot of summers.