The first main sections they divide board shorts into are: men, women, and children. The differences between these are mainly in size and pattern. Ensure that when choosing your board short they fit properly as this will bring less resistance for when you are in the water or on your board. They need to be loose enough to be comfortable but not too loose that they’ll come off in the water.
Another major difference between board shorts is the price. It can be difficult finding the right board short for the right price. Cheaper board shorts are available but tend to not be of the best quality or material which in turn will not be good for surfing or any other water activity. The best quality board shorts are usually the well known branded names such as Quicksilver, Billabong, Rip Curl and so on. These are more expensive but well worth the extra cost.
The difference in the different brands of board shorts:
The different brands available nowadays with board shorts are large and sometimes its hard to know which brand is better than the other. All the main branded board shorts are similar in that they are all worth the money and will be comfortable to wear and surf in.
They do however have slight distinctions between them, such as Billabong which renowned for its triple-stitching making them more durable. Other brands such as Hippy Chix cater for the larger size, and so if you have a more curvaceous figure and finding it difficult to find a pair of board shorts to fit you, these are designed slightly differently so they fit on the backside and the waist perfectly.
All brands provide a variety of different patterns and colours. All board shorts tend to be bright colours, some with floral patterns,

