If I were to design my ultimate mountain bike shorts, I'd copy the Gore C3 exactly. Here are the highlights:- Lightweight and comfortable;- Belt loops. There is elastic in the back of the waistband, but it is unobtrusive and does not look like dorky toddler pants (ala Zoic Ether). Also, no side adjustment tabs with patches of velcro or other silly adjustment schemes. The elastic is enough to secure the shorts on me; I imagine that it will eventually give out. Thanks to the belt loops I'll be able to use one of my webbing belts.- Zipper fly with double snap waistband closure. There is a little strip of velcro outboard of the snaps that keeps the closure tidy. That velcro is concealed. The fly is crucial, but the zipper is not. I had a pair of Fox shorts that had a zipperless fly. I was surprised that I liked the no zipper design. The Fox shorts self-destructed after about a dozen rides.- Hand Pockets: Hand pockets are zipperless (Good!), perfectly sized, and have channels that keep earbud wires from dangling and getting snagged.- Cargo pockets: I hate cargo pockets so I almost did not buy these shorts. But these pockets are different. Instead of a flap closure there is a zipper (Good!) and the zipper is oriented at the proper angle. Contents of the pocket stick out instead of getting pressed into my leg like they do in shorts that have the leg pockets sewn on the inside. I love these pockets.- Back pockets: There are none. Back pockets are useless on bike shorts.- Fit: Comfortable, but not baggy. I move around the cockpit a lot. Looser shorts snag on bike parts, especially the saddle. These do not. If you must wear a padded liner, order a size larger. But I recommend that you eliminate the need to pad your butt. Try a better-fitting saddle and modifying your riding to getting off the saddle more often. You are missing out on lots of advantages by staying on the saddle.- Style: Style is the least important aspect of functional clothing. However, I dislike functional clothing that is designed to scream "I want to look like I'm an awesome participant of (whatever activity)!" The Gore C3 style is understated and to my eye, among the best-looking MTB shorts.- Durability: I haven't ridden in these shorts enough to have an opinion regarding durability.- DURABILITY UPDATE: I've worn these shorts on 118 hard trail rides, according to my Strava records. The shorts still look and feel exactly like my backup pair that have never been worn. AMAZING!- Price: The first time I bought these (Nov '19), the price was $32. A month later, the price was $23, so I bought a second pair. There is no way that I would recommend buying any shorts for $100. You can buy three excellent Columbia Silver Ridge Cargo quick dry shorts for that much and they will be just as good. Or, 4 Carhartt shorts, if you don't mind cotton.