At $3.73 against a $4.40 list, these shorts are priced like a filler item, so the useful question is not whether they feel expensive. It is whether the flat numbers, the seams and the care label behave the way the Weidian listing promises. We bought a pair through our agent, opened it on the bench in Rotterdam and worked from the tape measure and the label rather than the product photos.
What we ordered and what turned up
The listing (ItemID 7720603668) offers Cool K344 Yellow and Cool K344 Blue-Black across M–5XL, in a five-point length with a mid-rise elastic waist and drawstring closure. We ordered the yellow in XL. The parcel arrived in a plain poly bag inside the agent's outer mailer with no crushed edges, the shorts folded flat and no warehouse tag attached. The first thing worth saying plainly: the SKU title and SEO framing lean on "black", but the colour field offers yellow and blue-black only. Nothing we opened resolves that contradiction — the tag and the bag both read yellow. If black is what you are picturing, ask the agent for a photo of the actual variant before it ships.
The bench numbers
We measured flat, relaxed, then compared each figure with the listed size chart and with the 1–3 cm tolerance the specification table declares.
| Measured point (XL, flat) | Our reading | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Waist, relaxed | 41 cm | Drawstring cinched; no fabric give beyond the elastic |
| Waist, pulled | 47 cm | Elastic channel runs roughly 6 cm |
| Outseam | 47 cm | Sits at true five-point on a 178 cm frame |
| Inseam | 22 cm | Straight leg, no taper below the knee |
| Leg opening | 30 cm | Flat, one side |
| Parcel weight | 168 g | The listing shows 0.00 kg, so this is our figure, not theirs |
The outseam is the number to brief your agent on. Buyer reports on Palm Angels shorts disagree sharply about length — some call their usual letter size perfect, others say the leg runs exaggeratedly long even in a cropped cut. On our pair the listing's own measurements matched within 1 cm, which is inside the stated tolerance, so we treat length as verifiable rather than mysterious: ask for a flat outseam photo and you can settle it in one message.
Seams, print and the label
We counted stitch density at two seams. The hem runs at about 11 stitches per inch and the waist channel at 12, both tidy and even with no skipped stitches or loose chain ends. The print edge is where the cheaper work shows: the illustrated face motif is crisp in the centre but the outermost line softens slightly where the screen meets the side seam, and the base colour shows through in two small patches under the left hip. This matches the mixed QC feedback we found on budget Palm Angels shorts, where construction and print quality are usually called good but placement details get flagged against retail. The drawstring exits through two unlined eyelets; there is no metal aglet, just a heat-sealed cord end.
The care label reads 100% polyester, low-temperature wash, iron inside out. That is consistent with the listed composition — and the inside-out instruction is exactly the print-preservation advice Palm Angels publishes for its printed pieces.
One 30 °C cycle, no dryer, re-measured flat: the outseam came back at 46 cm and the relaxed waist at 40.5 cm. Half a centimetre on the waist and one on the outseam is acceptable for thin polyester and will not change how the shorts sit, but the fabric does not recover the way a denser weave would, and the print softened very slightly at the edges. Line dry.
The drawstring is the whole fit system
There is no stretch in this shell. We pulled the waist flat and got a 6 cm working range from the elastic, which is generous, but every adjustment above that is the cord. That combination — loose skatewear block, mid-rise waist, zero give — is why Palm Angels sizing guidance and buyer reports diverge. Brand guidance says the cut is deliberately loose and your usual size gives the baggy look; the buyer threads say true to size works; the waist is simultaneously the tightest and the most forgiving part of the garment. Order your normal letter size for the intended shape and accept that the tie, not the fabric, sets the fit.
Brand reputation, weighed separately
Palm Angels holds roughly 1.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot at brand level, with complaints about quality for the money and unresponsive support. That score is not a reading on this SKU and we did not let it move our bench assessment, but it matters for anyone buying at retail price or expecting after-sales help. At $3.73 you are buying a summer short, not a service contract, and the warranty is whatever your agent's return window allows.
Where this pair earns its place
As a hot-weather, non-iron, non-stretch short that photographs well and costs less than a coffee, it clears the bar we set for a haul filler: the measurements can be verified before shipping, the seams hold, and the label matches the composition. The weaknesses are the ones the evidence predicts — print placement at the edge, a colour field at odds with the title, and a fit that depends entirely on a cord. Confirm colourway and flat waist and outseam with your agent, and this is a straightforward buy rather than a gamble.