Meripex Apparel Men's Freeballer 8" Athletic Gym Performance Sport Shorts – Perfect for Running, Weightlifting, and Yoga

I’m a big fan of Birddog shorts and these seemed similar when I saw them and they are about half the price. Now that I have them I can say that they are more then similar - they seem identical. Same style, same stitching, same fit and same color. Only difference is the color of the liner and the color of the pocket zipper. Not sure how they will holdup, but time will tell.

I bought this because some other reviews said they were clones of Birddogs. These are close but off just enough that I returned them. For one, the materials seem a little cheaper. The main material may be slightly thinner, and the liner isn’t as soft or cool feeling.Also, these Freeballers aren’t as fitted. I measured them versus my birddogs. I have Larges in both, which fit waist sizes 32-34. Laying flat, the unstretched waist opening on both is 14”. The Freeballers are 3/4” longer (17”) than the Birddogs (16.25”) and the leg opening laying flat is 1/2” wider on these (12.25”) compared to Birddogs (12.75”). Attached are my Grey Birddogs laying on top of these black Freeballers for comparison.It’s a small difference but for 15 dollars more I’ll get the ones I know fit me great and will probably last longer.

My friend has been raving about his Birddogs this summer, so I wanted to try something similar. Having never worn Birddogs, I bought the Ol' Faithfuls last week and LOVE them. I wore them 3 days straight (2 days with underwear as an every day short, 3rd day without for a long run), and they look great with t-shirts, collared shirts, active tops, or solo. They are extremely comfortable, seem very well-made, and can perform in pretty much any non-cold weathered activity that I can think of. The pockets are really nice (two front hand pockets, two side zippered pockets with different orientation).Activities these have gone through already: sitting in a conference room for 2 hours, 6+ hours of walking, 4+ hours of biking, lounging around the house, 8 mile run, and playing at a water park "splash pad" with my daughter. I wore these freeball, as intended, on my 8 mile run pushing a stroller in 90F CO heat, and they felt great (I'm picky about running shorts). I then kept my phone in a zippered pocket while playing with water jets with my 1yo daughter, and my phone stayed dry! I could pop it out, take pictures/videos, and secure my phone again. These shorts aren't supposed to be waterproof, but they sure kept my phone dry, and then the shorts felt completely dry 20 minutes later for me to run back home.

Pros:* Very soft/comfortable for casual wear* Fast delivery* Roughly half the price of BirddogsCons:* Large size is a little too snug for ‘slightly larger than average‘ male, Meripex needs to add an XL option.* It literally says “freeballer” in contrasting font large enough to read from a safe distance... I realize this is shown in photos, but the the scale of the font is larger than expected. I can’t wear these in public as an adult. Recommend replacing with “Meripex”, “Freerunner”, almost anything else.* No belt loops are included, this would be a good addition for hiding the elastic if you were to wear them somewhere other than the gym* Zipper pockets are a little small for holding a normal size wallet. Again, usability away from gym is limited.* Integral underwear sounds nice, but no matter how clean you stay during the day, (hopefully) you’re not likely to wear these shorts more than once without laundering them (common with Birddogs).* Not great swim attire. When material gets wet it becomes air tight and traps air creating an inner tube effect as you enter the water. The liner material is also air tight at this point,so the only way to expel the trapped air is to push it down and out of the leg opening. This results in a giant bubble that looks like you just made enough wind to push a sailboat. After the swim, the shorts continue to hold moisture making it cumbersome to dry off (common with Birddogs).

Like many, I was searching for shorts which are similar to Birddogs but don't cost an arm and a leg. These Meripex shorts are pretty close. In terms of color combinations, they obviously just copied Birddogs. The difference is in the fabric, construction, and fit. As others have mentioned, the Meripex shorts are made of a much thinner material compared to Birddogs. It's still stretchy and feels decent but it's definitely thinner and not as smooth. The way the liner is sewn into the shorts is different and adds some bulk. It's like they took the shell of the shorts and just sewn another pair of compression shorts into them - if that makes sense. It's like shorts sewn into another pair of shorts. In terms of fit, the leg openings are wider than Birddogs. To be more specific, I think the Meripex fit is actually somewhat similar to the Khaki & Oxford Birddogs which tend to have a wider leg opening and are less fitted. This isn't a bad thing but just something to keep in mind. If you're looking for that fitted look of Birddogs then Meripex may not be the right look. In terms of pockets, I think they have the same type as Birddogs. Two regular side pockets, one phone pocket, and one small pocket in the back for a wallet. I think someone mentioned that the back pocket can't hold a wallet - that's not my experience. I have a full size bi-fold wallet filled with cards and the back pocket is just fine.So overall, I think these shorts are definitely worth the money. They're good for being out and about as well as the gym. If you're looking for an exact copy of Birddogs then these are not going to do it for you. If you're looking for something similar and don't mind some subtle differences then I think you'll be happy.For reference - I got the Twilight 8'' ones. I'm 6' 220lbs and XL is nice and comfortable for me.