Waterman Trunk

Awesome buy!

Awesome baggies!

The Waterman trunk is an old, classic design, emulated by somewhat younger brands and at least one southern California heritage surf shop label. There are small variants. One old made-in-US brand uses two layers of nylon cloth instead of one, and a button fly rather than Katin's metal snaps. A Costa Mesa swim fin brand, for a while, offered US trunks with Velcro-type closure for the fly. All these similar versions point to the utility of the Katin design.

The snap fly closure (like a western shirt, but with only cloth showing on the outside and inside. No pearl look. The side pocket has a velcro closure, and a modern key bungee cord inside the pocket (this is a nearly universal feature but a few times, I've had to create them for myself). The pocket has a metal drainage grommet on the outside, same as the grommets for the drawstring, which is cylindrical rather than flat. Serious boardshort brands prefer one type to the other.

I like the fly snaps. The short outseam helps make it good for swimming, and I've not noticed problems with chafing. Considerable effort has gone into making high-end boardshorts super-smooth on the inside, with welded seams. The old-style construction seems to work. Dries fast, as much so as anything on the market.

Made in Taiwan.