Two lightweight athletic shorts, one page. Breathable knit mesh for airflow and movement; smooth woven nylon with a DWR finish for a cleaner, water-resistant look. Both are lined, optional; both are easy to brand.
Knit mesh / woven nylon.
5, 7 & 9 inches.
Optional brief / mesh.
Nylon: DWR finish.
Mesh and nylon shorts look similar on a rack, but they’re built completely differently, and buyers choose between them for real reasons. Mesh is a knit: airy, jersey-like, breathable, and the basketball/athletic-to-street crossover. Nylon is a weave that is crisp, structured, and water-resistant with a DWR finish, giving it a minimal running/outdoor look. We put them on one page because most brands spec them as a pair, and the inseam, liner, and pocket decisions are shared across both.
This blueprint covers the shared build logic, a fabric-by-fabric comparison, inseam and liner options, decoration and private label per fabric, sampling, cost drivers, MOQ and compliance, sizing, and the questions buyers ask before ordering either.
Buyer tip: Mesh takes sublimation edge-to-edge; woven nylon takes heat transfer and clean logos. Match your artwork to the fabric, not the other way around.
Common to both shorts. The fabric, water resistance, and print method are what actually differ; see the comparison next.
Same shorts, two fabrics with different jobs. Pick by feel, water resistance, and how you’ll decorate it.
Knit poly tricot mesh, airy, breathable, fast-drying, jersey-like hand. The athletic-to-streetwear crossover. Takes full-surface sublimation. Usually lined with a brief. Best 5–9″ inseams.
Smooth woven nylon or taslan with a DWR finish crisp, structured, water-resistant, minimal. The running/outdoor and clean-streetwear look. Takes heat-transfer and zip pockets. Best 5–7″ inseams.
| Mesh short | Nylon short | |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | Knit (tricot mesh) | Woven (nylon / taslan) |
| Feel | Airy, jersey-like | Crisp, structured |
| Water resistance | None | DWR water-repellent |
| Best decoration | Full sublimation | Heat-transfer / clean logo |
| Pockets | Open side-seam | Zip-secured |
| Liner | Brief liner common | Mesh brief optional |
| Reads as | Basketball / athletic | Running / minimal |
Both share the same waist, inseam options and liner logic only the fabric behaviour changes.
Mesh is a poly tricot knit; the open structure moves air, which is why it owns the basketball and gym-to-street space; a double-layer or lined build keeps it opaque. Nylon is woven and tightly constructed, so it sheds light rain with a DWR finish and holds a cleaner, more structured line for the minimal running and outdoor look. Recycled versions of both are available. Choose mesh for breathability and bold all-over graphics; choose nylon for a crisp, weather-ready, logo-clean finish.
Match the method to the weave. Mesh takes dye-sublimation edge-to-edge, ideal for team kits and all-over graphics and gradients that can’t be screen-printed. Nylon takes heat-transfer, reflective trim, and clean embroidered or printed logos, plus branded zip pulls. Both take woven waistband labels and custom drawcord tips. Liners can be branded on the waistband too.
Both shorts sample quickly. If you’re running the pair, we sample them together so the waist and liner match across fabrics.
Send your tech pack, sketch, or a reference pair you like; if there’s no tech pack, we reverse-engineer the pattern from the sample.
We will quote within 24 hours based on your fabric weight, decoration, and target Incoterm and then confirm the spec in writing.
The proto sample was cut and shipped (7–10 days), so you can check the block, rise, and proportion on a real body rather than a flat drawing.
Fit + fabric sign-off: we grade the full size run to your measurement chart and match lab-dips to your Pantone colors.
Pre-production (PP) sample locks every seam, trim, and label; nothing enters bulk until you approve it.
Bulk cut, sewn, and finished (4–6 weeks), then AQL 2.5 inspected before folding, polybagging, and cartoning.
Ship FOB or DDP with your main labels, care labels, hangtags, and packaging already on the garment.
The lining and decoration method move these shorts more than the base fabric; they’re both light.
MOQ is from 50 pieces per colorway per silhouette. Ordering multiple silhouettes in one dye lot can share setup costs, and we’ll structure the quote around it.
| Quantity / style | Indicative unit price |
|---|---|
| 100–198 | Base |
| 200–598 | −1% |
| 600–998 | −2% |
| 1,000–1,998 | −3% |
| 2,000+ | −4% |
Exact pricing is issued on the quote against your fabric, decoration, and Incoterm.
| Size | Waist | Hip | Length (mesh / nylon) |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | 72 | 100 | 43 / 40 |
| M | 78 | 106 | 45 / 42 |
| L | 84 | 112 | 47 / 44 |
| XL | 90 | 118 | 49 / 46 |
Length shown for a 7" mesh vs 7" nylon build; 5" and 9" options adjust accordingly. Waist relaxed; graded to your tech pack.
Most factories treat mesh and nylon shorts as one cheap SKU and get the liner and print wrong. We build them as two proper products: sublimation dialed for mesh, DWR and zip security dialed for nylon, and sample the pair together so your range is consistent.
Both, if your range has room, hit different buyers. Mesh is the breathable, bold-graphic, athletic-to-street short; nylon is the crisp, water-resistant, minimal short. They share a waist and liner, so running the pair is efficient.
Mesh it takes dye-sublimation edge-to-edge, so gradients and full prints that screen-printing can’t do are easy. Nylon is better for clean logos and heat-transfer, not busy all-over art.
It makes the nylon shed light rain and splashes rather than soaking through; water beads and rolls off it. It’s a finish, not a membrane, and it wears down over time; we can specify a more durable grade.
Mesh is usually lined with a brief for opacity and support; nylon can be lined or worn over your own base. Lining adds cost and changes the sampling decision before the proto.
5″, 7″, and 9″ are our standard drops: 5″ for a shorter athletic look and 9″ for a longer streetwear length. Any inseam is graded to your tech pack.
From 50 pieces per colorway, per design.
Each links to a dedicated page with style-specific construction, fabric, and fit details.
