O'Neill Hyperfreak Boardshorts
UPDATE: There are now 6 colors for the O’Neill Hyperfreak boardshorts: Green, Black, BLue, Red, Yellow and Charcoal. You can find all 6 O’Neill HyperFreak colors online and on sale here.
Summer is almost here and you’re looking forward to all the new boardshorts that are around the shops and online. Well, there’s one boardshort that’s going to make a lot of people very happy this year, the O’Neill HyperFreak boardshort.
For a long time, I had shyed away from stretch boardshorts, but over the last year, I have discovered that stretch boardshorts are not only comfortable, but durable. Spending a day’s work on a pair of boardshorts seemed like a bit much to me and without trying a pair, I was slkeptical at best.
I first ran across these boardshorts on the day they came in and knew, I would have to get a pair. The HyperFreak boardshorts are so lightweight and had so much stretch, I just had to break down and get a pair and test them for myself. Good thing the water gets warm enough for boardshorts in May around here. I had my pair even before I could wear them, but tried them under the wetsuit a few times before making the plung. I have now been using these shorts for 3 weeks and I think it’s time I made my report.
The Good: O’Neill HyperFreak Boardshorts
Stretch. How about 100% stretch? I don’t know how much they actually stretch, but damn, it’s a lot. The O’Neill HyperFreak boardshorts have a lot of stretch – unbelievable stretch, more than you’re going to ever need. It’s also four-way-stretch, which means the fabric stretches across 4 directions (up, down, left, right). Some boardshorts have 2 way stretch (up, down or left,right). Not being a fabric guy, this wasn’t something I knew about before hand, but it seems to make a difference.
They’re also very light weight, which is a really nice thing to have. I don’t know if the light weight makes them dry faster or not, but these things dry really, really fast. Also, on the tie, there are these little rubber squiggles. The little squiggles seem to keep the tie string from slipping. It’s one of those things you slap yourself about and go ‘duh, that makes sense’.
The Not So Good: O’Neill Hyperfreak Boardshorts
Colors! I know black is my choice for best boardshort color, but not everyone feels that way. The O’Neill Hyperfreak boardshort are only available in a limited color selection: All black, Green Fade and Blue Fade – that’s it, 3 color choices for the best pair of stretch boardshort O”Neill has ever made? I hope O’Neill come up with more colors for next season or even Fall 09. The only other down side I can find with the boardshorts are the side pocket. It’s a zipper and once you get enough wax and sand in that pocket, how long is that zipper going to last? Mine is still good, but I just trust velcro more than the zipper, at least for now.
O’Neill HyperFreak Color Options
Overview: O’Neill HyperFreak Boardshorts
The HyperFreaks are a damn fine pair of boardshort and worth the $$. I wish they had a few more color options, but they are a new style, so I will forgive them of this minor problem. The stretch is really almost ridiculous in how much they stretch, but that also makes them very comfortable and unlikely to chafe and that’s always a good thing. They also work very well under a wetsuit, dry fast and are very light weight. Overall, I will give them a 8.5/10.
