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Yes and no, Nike fleece shorts tend to shrink more easily than Nike dri-fit, pro, or woven Nike shorts.
In the journey of finding great Nike clothes, we have already covered the size guide for Nike pants (must read to get a great fit), and today, we are going to look shrinkage possibility in Nike shorts.
Can Nike Short Shrink While Washing?
Whether your Nike shorts shrink or not while washing depends on two things: 1) type of fabric and 2) water quality. It is hard to shrink if your Nike shorts are 100% or above 80% polyester. Moreover, even if it is a natural fabric, washing in cold water and following the wash instruction will not help it shrink; even if it does shrink, it will not be more than 1-3%, following the care tag in your shorts.
Though shorts that consist of more than 60% of cotton can quickly be shrunk when washed in boiling water, nonetheless, 100% polyester clothing will only show negligible shrinkage.
Do Nike Running Shorts Shrinks In The Dryer?
The coin has two sides, and so do the Nike running shorts; if you go with Nike fleece shorts, then nearly all shorts will shrink when thrown in the drier with high heat settings. Though if you buy sweat-wicking running shorts like the Nike Dri-fit, don’t torture your dryer because all of these shorts are made with synthetic fabric, which demands high temperature to yield shrinkage.
And, there’s no guarantee that your beautiful shorts will shrink symmetrically. For this matter, go with polyester/nylon Nike shorts if you don’t want them to shrink; otherwise, go with cotton-made fleece shorts to get the flexibility of some shrinkage to reduce the size.
Let’s See Which Nike Shorts Are Easy/Hard To Shrink (Category Wise):
Fleece
| Fleece Type | Shrinkable or not? |
|---|---|
| Phoenix Fleece | Easily Shrinkable due to 80% cotton |
| Tech Fleece | Still Shrinkable due to over 65% cotton content |
| Club Fleece | Easily Shrinkable due to 80% cotton, including Alumni short, which takes some work to shrink noticeably due to only 58% cotton |
| Essential Fleece | Easily Shrinkable due 80% cotton & jsut 20% polyester |
Dri Fit Shorts
No, Nike Dri-fit shorts can not shrink regardless of the method, including boiling water or high heat tumble drying. The only reason for this is that all dri-fit shorts are made up of 100% polyester, which, if you try to shrink, may result in the melting of the fibers cause it demands a very high temperature for relaxation to happen in the dimensions of polyester fibers.
And your effort of shrinking a dry-fit short from Nike even an inch may result in ill-shaped shorts. So I recommend you either go to the tailor for the fitting or take the benefit of Nike’s free return/replace policy for better-fitting dri-fit shorts.
Though please read this article where I’ve talked about how Nike pants fit so that you don’t need to go through the extended return/replace process.
Pro Shorts
Have either Nike pro-HyperStrong, standard pro, pro 365, or pro-dri-fit. The Nike pro shorts are so hard to shrink that it does not worth the time, money, and effort. The only reason for that is above 80% is polyester in terms of materials uses, and the rest consists of spandex, ethylene vinyl, polyethylene, etc.
Woven & Tempo
All Nike Woven and tempo shorts are either made of 100% polyester or 100% nylon, excluding some that are stretchable, so around 80% polyester with other elastic materials are used. In all cases, the woven Nike shorts are not shrinkable because of polyester dominance.
So it is a piece of happy news for all those runners worried about changes in size and fitting after washing; throw your worries.
Michael is heavily inclined towards traveling to natural places and documenting cultures/people from different parts of the world. He also loves hiking and camping and is spirited toward all outdoor activities. He will share his passion for outdoor life and brands or products we use outside our homes. He has good research skills, and that’s why you can see why his articles are packed with info that is factual and not readily available. He also has the vision to travel the whole world and share it with all readers of Outdoor Favor.
