Last week I was at my local gym waiting to jump on a treadmill when I became confronted with a mini life crisis. I was holding an IPod in one hand, my locker key in the other, my phone was tucked into the waistband of my high school gym shorts, and I was clenching my post-workout smoothie money between my teeth. For a second I actually wished I had a fanny pack!
Now, I’m 27 years old. There is no plausible situation where I should be thinking about fanny packs unless I’m watching a rerun of ‘I Love The 80s.’ I decided to struggle through the workout full-fisted and take action when I got home.
I told my girlfriend about my predicament and she quickly offered her support. “Of course you were struggling. You’re wearing the same nasty, holey, stained shorts you’ve had for the past ten years. I’ve been telling you for years that you need some nice, new pocketed shorts.” I explained that those are the shorts I was wearing when I went 10 for 10 from long range during a pick up game in college. She called me an idiot and told me to get on the computer and look for some new shorts otherwise she was going to incinerate my ol’ luckies.
I was quickly reminded why I’m attracted to her: she knows what she’s talking about. Turns out Nike offers some of the coolest looking pocketed athletic shorts I’ve ever seen. Take for instance the Hawaii Rainbows Nike Durasheen Fly High. Not only are they lightweight and lengthy, they have an embroidered logo on perfectly matched school colors. And, oh yeah, they have pockets.
Pretty sweet in their own right are the Duke Blue Devils College Nike Force Durasheen Shorts. They’re not as long as the Fly Highs (more of a workout short than a basketball short) and they have some more shine to them so the school colors really pop. And, oh yeah, they have pockets.
Not to be overlooked are the USC Trojans Nike Classic Mesh Short. They don’t have the shine of either of the Durasheen shorts so they are a good fit for people who don’t have to stand out. They’re made with Nike Dri-Fit material which makes them lightweight and breathable. Length-wise, they are about the same as the Force Durasheen model. Just like all the other shorts mentioned they sport an embroidered logo and come in low-key school colors. And, oh yeah, they have pockets.
Just when I thought I had found a winner, my girlfriend pointed out a pair that I could not take my eyes off of. “And look, they’re reversible. This way you can trick people into thinking you own more than one pair of shorts.” She was right. The Illinois Fighting Illini Nike Reversible Mesh Shorts would be mine. Made of the same Nike Dri-Fit material as the Classic Mesh Shorts, the Reversible Mesh Shorts offer the same benefits (breathable, lightweight), in addition to having a little more length (a la the Fly High Durasheen shorts). The best part though, is that they are reversible! Both sides offer a different school color, with one side using an embroidered logo and the other the name of the school. And, of course, both sides are pocketed.
Before I purchased them I thought I would take a quick look to see if I could find any cool fanny packs online. When my girlfriend saw what I was doing she grabbed my ol’ lucky gym shorts and a book of matches. I immediately clicked off the fanny pack site and had the Nike Illinois Reversible Mesh Shorts shipped express.
