Thermoplastic Revolution

The board short is a summertime necessity. In the water, it gets us through heat spells and swells. On dry land, it gives us places to put our wallet, keys and cellie. Either way, today’s boardshorts offer a little something for everyone.
For some, boardshorts are aesthetic amphibious differentiators—on the sand and at a BBQ. Functionally, boardshorts provide surfers with critical stretch, comfort and water-resistant qualities. No matter who you are, we all use board shorts. And most of us have several pairs in our cars, on our patios drying, stuffed in a backpack, or folded over our shower rod.
Board shorts have evolved immensely in the last 45 years: from short and basic to long and ridiculously stretchy. The common ground board shorts share is the essential fabric of which they are made -- nylon. The interesting thing about nylon is that many of us unknowingly depend it, but don’t know a thing about the fabric itself. So let’s go back to the beginning, shall we?
Pre World War II… Trade relations between Japan and the U.S. were poor; and Japan was the main, worldwide supplier of silk.  At the time, silk was all the rage and also heavily used for soldiers’ parachutes. Once the war broke out, the U.S. needed parachutes in a hurry and silk presented a major supply and demand problem.
This is where chemistry megladon Wallace Carothers and team (under DuPont) burst onto the mainstream science scene. DuPont Corporation courted Carothers away from his desk job at Harvard University to head a new research division. His new job was investigating the acetylene family of chemicals. Ultimately, Carothers’ new mission was to create a synthetic version of silk so that the U.S. wouldn’t have to rely on Japan for supplies.
Wallace, being the creative warrior he was, took condensation reaction to an entirely new level. In doing so, he created a new patented fiber called nylon. Carothers and his team obviously never imagined the impact their innovation would have on the surf industry—let alone the world.
The demand for the nylon boardshort was all but nonexistent as of the 1940s. The surf industry would have to wait another 15 plus years for the rise of the nylon boardshort – enter Katin, circa the mid 50s, in a surf shop nestled on the Pacific Coast Highway in Surf Side, California. Next to Carothers, Katin is perhaps the most integral contributor to the modern day boardshort.
In the 50s, Katin was a sailing equipment manufacturer. However, one day an inquisitive surfer asked Nancy and Walter Katin if they could make shorts out of the canvas the Katins used to make sailboat covers.  The surfer wanted shorts that could withstand surfing’s rigors and thought Canvas would be ideal. Walter Katin agreed to do it. Shortly thereafter, word about the Katin’s custom boardshorts traveled up and down the coast. The rest is history. The Katin shop stopped making sailboat covers and focused their attention on boardshorts and other surf-related products.
Though canvas material started the board short craze, nylon would soon replace it… and for good reason. Nylon has many advantages: Low moisture absorbency, good elastic capacity, exceptionally strong, easy to wash, resistant to oils, and can be dyed many colors.
But enough of the history lesson; let’s get to our modern day board short.
The new millennium has seen board short technology scale new heights. The fabric construction is getting creative with how yarns are interlaced, knotted, interloped and formed. Companies like Hurley are making shorts from space age nylon blends. Even today’s consumers expect stretch fabrics that are light weight and ergonomic for more radical water maneuvers. The use of water-repellent fabrics is also very popular in board shorts today. And surfers have shown increasing demand for such high priced textiles.
Companies still rely on artistic printing and creative patterning to maximize sales; yet, the technology has become a much stronger selling point.
Does it have a Lycra fly? Stretch side panels? Wicking fiber filaments? Tech key pocket? Laser cut seam with no stitching? Just a few of today’s board shorts standards.
The best new innovation? A few companies now use recycled fibers to help bring green awareness to surfers globally. Now that’s what I call being a progressive surfer.
In any case, the next time you’re shopping for a pair of board shorts, take a moment to inspect the fabric, the seams, Velcro placement, and printing techniques. You might appreciate them a little more—especially now that you know the story of the evolution of the modern boardshort…well, a super-condensed version, at least.