PURPOSE BUILT: DEVELOPING THE AIRTEX 2-IN-1 BOARDSHORT

Spend enough time in the lineup and the small details in your gear start to matter.

For the Florence brothers, a typical day often means hours in the water. Gear that shifts, drags, or chafes quickly becomes a distraction.

That reality drives the philosophy behind every piece of Florence equipment: build tools that work with the body, not against it.

The Airtex 2-in-1 Boardshort is the latest expression of that approach. Combining a compressive inner layer with an ultra-light outer shell, the design delivers the feeling of surfing in a performance base layer, while maintaining the look and function of a traditional boardshort.

But arriving at that balance took years of testing and refinement.

What began as an idea inside the Florence office eventually evolved through countless surf sessions, prototype revisions, and real-world testing with the Florence Test Pilot community.

At the center of the process was a simple question the Florence brothers return to often:

What can we make that’s really purposeful?

Below, Florence Founder John Florence and Director of Innovation Bruce Moore break down the thinking behind each layer of the Airtex 2-in-1 Boardshort.

The Concept

Like many Florence designs, the idea started with a small observation.

John Florence:

"It actually started from a running short we saw in the office with a really light outer layer and tights underneath, and we thought that would be pretty sick for surfing. Around the same time we were starting the Hydratights project, and we realized how good compression feels. With this [Airtex 2-in-1 Boardshort], you get that same feeling of wearing tights, but it looks like you’re wearing boardshorts."

The idea was simple: combine the performance advantages of compression with the familiarity of a traditional surf trunk.

But translating that concept into something that actually worked in the water required deeper experimentation.

Learning From Base Layers

While developing the Hydratight system, the Florence crew noticed something unexpected.

During surf trips, some of the best-performing sessions were happening in compression layers alone.

Bruce Moore:

"The whole concept came when we were developing the Hydratight and Hydratight Short. When John and the crew were on a trip, they were just surfing in base layers. From a performance standpoint, a base layer is actually the most functional boardshort you can wear, but it looks a little odd in the lineup. The inner layer is based on the Hydratight Short, but it’s even lighter because we didn’t have to prioritize durability in the same way. The outer shell is an ultra-light mesh that allows water and air to pass through instantly. The idea is that you feel like you’re surfing in a base layer, but it looks like a standard boardshort."

The goal quickly became clear: deliver the performance of compression while preserving the freedom and familiarity of boardshorts.

Built for Movement

Surfing powerful waves places constant pressure on gear. Boardshorts twist, legs drag through water, and fabric catches in the turbulence of a barrel.

John Florence:

"The goal was to create the most high-performance trunk you could have for surfing. There’s no drag, no flapping around. I’ve been wearing mine a lot in big barreling lefts because the compression helps when you’re dragging your leg, and the two layers make it seamless. You can’t even tell the trunks are getting pulled up. Another big benefit is rash protection in tropical places when you’re surfing day after day. A lot of people already wear compression tights under boardshorts, so we wanted to integrate it so it feels like one layer, not two."

By integrating the compression liner directly into the design, the boardshort moves as a single system rather than two layers working against each other.

Eliminating Bulk

Integrating two layers into one garment introduced its own challenges—particularly around the waistband.

Bruce Moore:

"It’s a great cross-functional short. It’s going to surf insanely well, but it’s also excellent for training or working out because it’s so lightweight. What’s also nice is that the base layer doesn’t have its own waistband. It’s integrated into the boardshort’s waistband. Normally if you wore a base layer under a short, you’d have two waistbands stacked, which adds bulk. This way it’s ultra-light at the waist, but you still get the performance of a base layer with the appearance of a standard short."

The team also incorporated design features from the Cordura Airtex boardshort platform, including a stabilized elastic fly system.

Bruce Moore:

"We’re also using the elastic insert like on the Cordura Airtex. The elastic insert stabilizes the drawcord area so it doesn’t bunch up, and it provides an automatic fit. As soon as you pull the short up around your waist, the elastic snaps the fly closure into place. We were also able to eliminate the traditional lycra fly insert, further reducing bulky layers."

Tested Across Years of Surfing

Like every Florence product, the Airtex 2-in-1 evolved through constant real-world testing.

Prototype after prototype was worn across tropical surf trips, heavy North Shore sessions, and long days in the water—each round refining the balance between compression, structure, and weight. After years of iteration, the design finally landed where the team wanted it.

John Florence:

We went back and forth on shell materials and ultimately landed on the lightest weight that still has structure. The inner tight is more structured too, so it feels tighter and better when you’re moving. Between me and my brothers we’ve tested it everywhere for the last couple of years, and our test pilot cycle validated everything. It’s been heavily tested and it’s ready to go.

The final validation came through Test Pilot Cycle [014], where Florence Members pushed the design through extended real-world sessions.

The result is a boardshort built for long hours in the water—delivering compression, mobility, and protection in a system designed to disappear once you’re in the lineup.