Men's Cotton Cargo Shorts

Cargo shorts with pockets that actually hold something.

Hot day, and you are carrying what you always carry — phone, keys, a multi-tool, a torch, maybe a notebook. Ordinary shorts give you two shallow slash pockets and an open back pocket that tips the lot onto the seat the moment you climb into the ute.

So you either leave gear behind or you carry a bag for it, and a bag is the thing you put down at smoko and walk away from. These are plain cotton cargo shorts built the old way: flap pockets with buttons on both legs, buttoned welt pockets at the back, proper belt loops, and a zip fly with a button at the waistband.

They come in ten colourways across three different builds, and the difference is real — four have camo trim panels, four are plain, and two are all-over camo with a drawstring waist. The option names on their own do not tell you which is which, so here is the table.

Which Colourway Is Which

What It Does

• Carries the awkward stuff: flap-closed cargo pockets on both legs take a torch, a multi-tool or a phone without them riding out when you crouch.
• Buttons the back pockets: both rear welt pockets close with a button, so a wallet stays in the pocket rather than on the seat of the ute.
• Takes a real belt: belt loops sized for a standard webbing or leather belt, not the token loops you get on beach shorts.
• Breathes in the heat: the supplier lists the fabric as 100% cotton, which is what you want standing in the sun and not what you want in the rain.
• Sizes off a tape measure: the supplier publishes waist, hip and length in centimetres for sizes 29 to 38, so you can measure rather than guess.

Key Features

• Fabric: 100% cotton, stated on the supplier's own information panel.
• Closure: zip fly with a single button at the waistband.
• Cargo pockets: button-down flap pockets on both legs, with smaller flap pockets below on the camo-trim colourways.
• Front and rear pockets: curved slash pockets at the hips and two buttoned welt pockets at the back.
• Metal keeper ring: the camo-trim colourways carry a flat metal rectangle ring at the front hip for clipping keys or a carabiner.
• Drawstring waist: fitted to the two all-over camo colourways only. The other eight are belt loops alone.
• Contrast facing: the camo-trim versions carry a camo inner waistband facing; the plain versions use a printed cotton facing.
• Sizes: eight sizes — 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 38 — offered across every colourway.
• Cut: the supplier's panel marks the fit as regular — neither slim nor loose.

Limits

Here is what these shorts are not, so nobody finds out the hard way.

• Not work-site PPE: no flame resistance, no cut resistance, no hi-vis. Nothing on this garment is tested or marked to AS/NZS 4602.1, AS/NZS 1906.4 or any other standard, and no certificate has been sighted. If your site requires rated workwear, these do not meet it.
• Camo is a pattern, not a credential: the trim panels and the printed colourways are decoration. There is a small woven brand label on the rear yoke of some colourways that carries a flag motif — that is a manufacturer's badge and nothing more. No military issue, affiliation or approval is claimed or implied.
• Not quick-dry: cotton holds water. Wet through, these will stay wet a long while and they will feel heavy. For paddling, wading or anything where you expect to get soaked, pick a synthetic short instead — cotton is the wrong tool for that job.
• No stretch stated: the fabric is listed as 100% cotton and no elastane content is given. Do not expect give in the waist or the seat.
• Size 28 has no measurements: the supplier's chart runs from 29 to 38 only. Size 28 sells but its waist, hip and length are not published, so it is a step down from 29 and nothing more precise than that.
• The size numbers are labels: 28 to 38 are the supplier's size codes, not a waist measurement in inches. Go by the centimetre chart under Specs.
• Belt is not included: the webbing belt in most of the photographs is there to show the loops. It does not ship with the shorts.
• Anti-shrink is the supplier's word: their panel describes the fabric as anti-pilling and anti-shrink. No wash test, standard or shrinkage figure is printed anywhere, so treat it as a description rather than a tested number and wash cool.
• Pocket layout varies: the camo-trim colourways carry the most pockets, the plain ones fewer. Check the photograph attached to the colourway you are picking.

Free delivery to Australia and New Zealand. Allow 10 to 14 days from the day you order, and up to three weeks to regional and remote addresses.

Q & A

Are these shorts or full-length trousers?

Shorts. Every one of the ten colourways is a short, cut to somewhere around the knee. The supplier's own panel calls them casual cargo shorts and there is no trouser in the range. The old title said "Cargo Shorts Pants" and that was simply wrong — it has been corrected.

What is the difference between Khaki and Khaki 01?

Khaki has green woodland camo trim on the pocket flaps, waistband facing and welts. Khaki 01 is plain khaki with none of it. The same applies to Blue, Army and Black against Blue 01, Army 01 and Black 01. The two names ending 02 are the all-over camo prints with a drawstring waist. The table in the Features tab spells all ten out.

Which size do I order?

Measure your waist with a tape and match it to the centimetre chart under Specs, then check the hip figure too. Do not order off the number you buy in Australian jeans — 28 to 38 here are the supplier's size codes, not inches, and the chart is the only thing that means anything.

How long in the leg are they?

The supplier gives a total length from the waistband down, running 59 cm (590 mm) on a size 29 to 70 cm (700 mm) on a size 38. That is the full outside length of the garment, not an inside leg.

Will they do for fishing or on the boat?

For a dry day on the deck, yes — the pockets button shut, which is the thing that matters when you are leaning over the side. For anything that gets you properly wet, no. Cotton soaks up water and holds it, so a synthetic short is the better pick for wading and paddling.

Does the belt come with them?

No. The belt in the photographs is a prop to show the loops. The shorts take any standard belt.

Specs

Size Chart

Published by the supplier in centimetres. Waist and hip are measured flat around; length is the total outside length from the top of the waistband to the hem.

Need something to hold them up? The BushLine belt range covers canvas, nylon and leather.