These are some nice shorts ...especially now they're on clearance. Super comfortable and highly versatile with lots of quality details: plastic grommets where the drawstring enters the waistband, a YKK zipper for the thigh pocket, a drain hole for the rear pocket, a thick woven nylon drawstring and a neat REI logo on the left leg opening.
The exposed drawstring gives these shorts a defininte swim trunks vibe ...but there are belt loops too. Worn with a belt (you tie and cover the drawstring with the belt) these pass for a nice pair of casual or hiking shorts ...you're not gonna look like you're wearing your bathing suit on a day hike or afterwards at "Happy Hour" or just out running errands. Which is kinda why I bought them.
The material is a bit scratchy at first but after a couple of washings things soften nicely. Everything about these shorts seem to be of high quality. The overall fit of these shorts tends to the looser side just a bit but they are def not "baggy". I have a 32" waist, a non-gut bearing body and the mediums fit perfect ...I don't need to tie the drawstring. The San Juan's sit at normal waist and like most mens shorts today, fall at your kneecap. The mesh lining feels smoothly comfortable and lightly supportive down there in "Man Land". The leg openings are comfortably wide and that's about the only thing on them boardering on "baggy". There's plenty of pockets for a lightweight short and the thigh pocket uses a high quality YKK zipper. There's an inside waistband pocket big enough for a key and looking like it's big enough for an ID card ...but not. Unfortunately the REI QC department dropped the ball on this pocket; the way it's designed makes it all but impossible to insert a drivers license or key card in this pocket. And if you do get it in, you'll have a harder time getting it out. You'll probably get cited for indecent exposure trying to work this pocket.
I can wear these shorts all day ...they're the ticket for hot weather. The mesh lining is very comfortable and I wear my San Juan's for day hikes, for swimming, for casual wear and they'll sub on occasion for running shorts. They're great on trips; I can roll them up, they take little space in my travel bag or pack and they come out just about wrinkle-free when I get to where I'm going. Overall I find these to be some very comfortable shorts that are highly versatile for wear under a variety of activities.

I bought these because they model that classic swimsuit look in both style and both the blue and reddish "Spanish Spice" colors. I would have preferred a 7" option in the inseam, these being 9", and I plan to hem mine. I found the recommended size too large and went down one size to fit closer to the appearance of the model in the product image. A white draw string would also be an improvement over the black. And I could probably do without the belt loops, which appear to be sewn separately and should come right off with a seam ripper.

Good shorts for someone < 6ft. tall.