After two years of testing 80 pairs of women's running shorts — on roads, tracks and trails, in 95-degree Boulder heat and on a 11,000-foot elevation grind through the Grand Canyon — Outside's test team has crowned its winners for 2026, and the picks cover everything from race day to coffee-run errands.
The overall winner is the Tracksmith Session Shorts, praised for working just as well on a run as they do afterwards. The three-inch shorts use a soft knit polyester/spandex shell that testers initially doubted would handle sweat, then called a miracle for how fast it dries. An Italian-sourced nylon/elastane liner adds comfort, and there are four pockets in total, though one tester flagged the thin waistband as unflattering. If price matters, the standout value pick is the $50 New Balance RC Essential Short 5": a roomy, longer-cut short with perforated four-way stretch fabric, zero chafing in testing, and four drop-in waistband pockets plus a zippered back pocket — features usually found on much pricier kits.
Comfort gets its own categories. The Oiselle Flyout Chill won for loose shorts, thanks to a mineral cooling fabric treatment and a pajama-soft feel, while the Patagonia Endless Run took the short-tights slot: a six-inch tight with no centre seam that dried fast and stayed put on scrambling-heavy trail runs. Storage fans have two options — the Rabbit Stashems, whose mesh pocket wraps 360 degrees around the torso like a built-in waist belt for gels and phones, and the Janji 5" Pace tights, which carry a phone, gloves or even a long-sleeve layer and reportedly converted testers who swore they'd never wear skin-tight shorts.
More specialised picks round out the list. The Arc'teryx Norvan Short 3" is the trail pick in a classic shell-and-liner format, with a durable, water-repellent recycled polyester shell that survived sliding down rock slabs. For heat, the Janji 2" AFO Split Short Ultra offers an airy, high-split cut for full-stride mobility — immodest for some, liberating for others. The Vuori Daily Speed Shorts 2.5" handle the 2-in-1 brief, doubling from gravel runs to yoga, and The North Face Summit Series Pacesetter 3" earned the trail-running badge with power mesh pockets along the whole waistband and a quick-drying DWR shell. Race day belongs to the Rabbit Float n' Fly 3", a split short with a no-bounce zippered phone pocket and a key clip that testers wore comfortably from the first 8-miler.
Why should holidaymakers care? Because a run is one of the best ways to explore a new place, and the right kit decides whether that dawn jog along the coast or a trail outing in the Alps feels great or ends in chafing misery. Most sizes run XS–XL, though several models extend from XXS to XXXL, and New Balance offers 00–16. Whichever you pick, the consistent test feedback is simple: look for quick-drying fabric, a liner that doesn't rub, and pockets placed where you can actually reach them mid-stride.
Full reviews and current prices are in the original write-up from Outside Online.
