The mesh liner in swim shorts is one of those details that either earns its place or ruins your day. Get it wrong and you have something that bunches, chafes, or clings in ways that no man should have to think about while trying to enjoy a pool in the south of France. Get it right and you barely notice it exists, which is exactly the point. We have spent more time than we care to admit thinking about this specific problem because most swim shorts on the market treat the liner as an afterthought. The ones we’ve pulled together here do not. We looked at cut, fabric weight, and how the liner sits when the shorts are wet because that is when it matters most. Some of these work well enough to double as a short on land without looking like you forgot to change. That kind of versatility is harder to find than it should be.