We ordered the $7.46 Foreign Trade short in M and 3XL, weighed both, measured them flat twice, quantified the "slight stretch" and ran a five-person panel, then checked what the $8.51 original price means for our retest clock.
Hands-on score 4.0 / 5Editor score 4.0 / 5
Two numbers on this listing travel ahead of the fabric. The Foreign Trade black athletic short is priced at $7.46, with an original price of $8.51 attached to a sale flag. That gap is 12.3 percent, and it matters on our desk for a reason that has nothing to do with marketing: a price move above 15 percent is one of the triggers that sends a product back to the bench. This pair sits just under that line, so the sheet below describes the batch we received rather than a refreshed sample. Every figure in it was taken twice, flat, with the tape photographed in frame.
What arrived, and what the parcel scale said
The listing returns a shipping weight of 0.00 kg, which is a placeholder rather than a measurement. We photographed the courier label, then put the unopened parcel on the calibrated scale: 468 g including the mailer and paperwork. Inside were one M and one 3XL in black, the colourway named in the title. On their own the shorts weighed 168 g and 204 g.
That weight is the first honest description of the garment. This is a thin, light warm-weather short, not a structured piece with a heavy hand. Both pairs arrived folded flat with the drawstring already threaded, and the script lettering and lower-leg patches matched the position shown in the listing photographs.
The bench sheet, taken twice
No waist, hip or inseam figure appears anywhere in the listing, so we built our own from the two pairs we bought. The table records the second of two passes; the first pass differed by no more than 0.5 cm on any line.
| Measure (flat, cm) | M | 3XL |
|---|---|---|
| Waist, relaxed | 36.0 | 46.0 |
| Waist, firm pull | 40.5 | 51.0 |
| Front rise | 29.5 | 33.5 |
| Inseam | 20.0 | 21.5 |
| Leg opening at hem | 29.0 | 32.5 |
| Weight (g) | 168 | 204 |
Two things follow. First, the "five-point" cut is real and reasonably consistent across the run: the inseam grows only 1.5 cm from M to 3XL, so the short stays above the knee at both ends rather than turning into a knee-length short in the larger sizes. Second, the straight-leg shape holds — the hem opens 3.5 cm across the run while the waist opens 10 cm, so the silhouette stays close to the leg instead of flaring.
How much "slight stretch" actually gives
The spec sheet says micro-stretch, which is one of those terms that can mean anything. We pulled the waistband to firm resistance, held for 60 seconds, released, and re-measured after a minute. The M gained 4.5 cm of flat give; the 3XL gained 5.0 cm, and both returned to their relaxed figure inside the minute.
That is genuine but modest elasticity, consistent with a drawstring waist cut from slightly elastic polyester rather than a full elasticated band. Buyers who size by pulling a waistband wide will be disappointed; the drawstring, not the fabric, is doing most of the holding.
Five colleagues, one size
Our panel tried the M. Waist circumferences across the five ranged from 70 cm to 79 cm. Everyone inside 76 cm found the drawstring waist comfortable without cinching hard; the 79 cm tester could close it but reported the fabric pulling across the front when seated. The straight leg cleared the thigh on all five, and two testers noted the hem riding up slightly when sitting on a low seat — normal for a mid-thigh cut, but worth knowing.
Drawstring, hem and print
The drawstring cord is flat, roughly 8 mm wide, and slides without fraying at the exit holes after repeated adjustment. Hem stitching ran straight on both pairs with no loose thread ends at the side seams. The script print on the front and the small patches near the hem took a 30-second firm rub with a dry thumb without lifting or transferring colour, and both pairs came through three 30 °C washes with the print intact and no visible shrinkage on re-measurement. We did not test bleach, tumble drying or hot water.
The price question, and two brand names
At $7.46 the short is cheap enough that the arithmetic is simple: seven wear days across two editors produced no seam or print failure, so the cost per wear is already under a dollar. Availability is listed as in stock, with four colourways (white, black, orange, green) and sizes M through 3XL. The title names black specifically, so a colour choice needs confirming with the seller.
One inconsistency is worth flagging. The listing is filed under the Foreign Trade name, while the specification field carries a different factory brand name, Chensida. That is common on source-factory listings and does not change the garment we received, but it means the brand line on the page is not a reliable identifier — match the photographs, not the label text.
Ask before you pay: "Please send flat waist, hip, front rise and inseam measurements for the size I am ordering, plus the fabric composition percentages."
What we could not confirm
The listing gives polyester as the main fabric but no percentage split, so we cannot say how much of the garment is the stretch component. There are no independent buyer reviews attached to this item, which means nothing in our sheet should be read as a durability record beyond three washes and seven wear days. Sizing remains the real risk: with no published measurement chart, the numbers above are the only traceable figures we could produce, and they describe two sizes, not the full run.
- Editor verdict
- A light, straight-cut polyester short that matched its description at both ends of the size run, held its print through our rub and wash checks, and costs $7.46. Sizing still depends on a message to the seller.
- Who this suits
- Buyers who want a light, plain polyester mid-thigh short for summer at under $8 and will send the seller a measurement request before choosing a size.
- Who should skip
- Anyone who needs a published fit chart or independent durability evidence before ordering, or who wants a heavier short with more structure than a thin warm-weather layer.
- What works
- Five-point cut measured consistent: inseam grew only 1.5 cm from M to 3XL.
- Waist gave 4.5–5.0 cm and recovered within a minute in our pull test.
- Script print and hem patches survived a 30-second rub and three 30 °C washes.
- Watch-outs
- No published waist, hip or inseam figures, so sizing starts with a seller message.
- Polyester is named without a percentage split, so the stretch content is unknown.
- Listing weight reads 0.00 kg, so shipping estimates need your own parcel figures.