J.Crew vs Rhone: is the pricier short worth it?
The Rhone Mako Short (Lined) runs $78; the J.Crew Stretch Chino Short is $80 — about 1.0× the price ($2 more). Here's the side-by-side, and what that gap actually buys.
| Rhone | J.Crew | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $78 | $80 |
| Material | 90% polyester / 10% elastane stretch woven with a DWR water-shedding finish and a GoldFusion anti-odor boxer-brief liner; lightweight and quick-drying but warm and synthetic-feeling. | Mid-light cotton chino twill with a touch of elastane for give; comfortable but not heavyweight. |
| Fit | Athletic, lay-flat elastic waistband with a drawcord and a mid rise; offered in 5", 7", and 9" inseams — the lined liner runs snug like light compression, so size the short itself true to waist. | Sits at the natural waist with a slightly tapered leg, true to size; offered in 7", 9", and 11" inseams, with slim cuts that can grip a thicker thigh. |
| Quality | Strong build — gusseted seams, secure zip and stash pockets, no chafe — but the DWR finish wears off with washing and the anti-odor effect degrades over a year of hard use. | Solid mid-tier construction with clean seams, but the lighter cloth fades and softens with washing and color consistency varies between batches. |
| Best for | Lifters and gym-to-street wearers who want a do-everything lined short with secure pockets — not for anyone who dislikes a built-in liner or runs hot in synthetics. | Warm-weather smart-casual wear and anyone who wants to dial in a specific inseam and color rather than take what's in stock. |
| Care | Cold machine wash inside-out, skip fabric softener (it kills the anti-odor and DWR finishes), and hang or tumble low; air-dry to extend the water-shedding coating. | Wash cold inside out and tumble low or hang to limit fading; the stretch holds up but darker dyes lighten over time. |
These two shorts cost within $2 of each other, so this is not a price-gap question — it is a use-case question. The Rhone is a synthetic gym short with a built-in liner and anti-odor treatment; the J.Crew is a cotton chino short built for casual wear. The materials, construction priorities, and failure modes are different enough that the choice is almost self-selecting.
- The case for Rhone
- The Rhone wins on workout-specific engineering: gusseted seams, a secure zip pocket, a compression liner, and a DWR finish make it a credible gym-to-street short in a way the cotton chino cannot replicate.
- The case for J.Crew
- The J.Crew wins on versatility in casual settings — cotton breathes better in heat, the natural-waist cut reads as dressed rather than athletic, and the range of inseams and colors lets buyers dial in fit and occasion in a way the Rhone does not.
The bottom lineIs the pricier one worth it?
Buy the Rhone if the short will spend meaningful time in a gym, a weight room, or any activity where sweat management, a secure liner, and pocket security matter — at near-identical prices, the performance construction is the obvious choice for that use. Buy the J.Crew if the short is going to a restaurant, a weekend errand, or anywhere the athletic silhouette and synthetic feel of the Rhone would read as underdressed — and wait for a J.Crew promo to pay $50-60, because at full price the cotton-elastane fabric does not justify $80. The $2 gap is meaningless; the gap in intended function is everything.
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