Hawaiian South Shore Unisex Surf Leggings

By the Hawaiian South Shore team · 320 Ward Avenue, Honolulu, since 1996 · Updated July 2026

What are the Hawaiian South Shore Surf Leggings?

They are surf leggings made to keep the sun off your legs for hours at a time. The fabric is a stretchy Lycra knit, the same material we use in our rash guards and Wet Rash series, rated UPF 50. That means it blocks the sun the way a good rash guard does, except it is doing it for your legs.

Most people buy them for one simple reason. You can put sunscreen on your legs in the morning, but four hours later it has mostly washed off, and the backs of your knees and thighs are the spots you always miss. A pair of leggings does not wash off. You put them on once and forget about them.

They come in black only, in unisex sizes XS through XL.

How do they protect you from the sun?

The whole point is all-day cover for the parts of your legs that burn the most. The back of the knee is one of the most common spots people get sunburned, because it faces up while you are lying on your board. Leggings take that worry off the table for the whole time you are out.

That is what customers tell us too. Zach, 5'8" and 150 pounds in the S, said it plainly: "So comfy, I forgot I was even wearing them while surfing." They protect his knees and the backs of his legs from the sun, and they do not ride up.

The same fabric that blocks the sun also holds a little warmth, which is nice on a cool dawn paddle. If you want to cover the rest of you, the leggings pair naturally with one of our rash guards up top and a good reef-safe sunscreen on your face and hands. Together that is your legs, torso, and skin handled for the day.

What makes them different from regular leggings?

Regular leggings were not made for surfing. These were. That sounds like a small thing until you have tried to surf in a pair of gym leggings and had them roll down at the waist or ride up at the ankle. We built four things into these to fix exactly that.

The first is the waistband. A woman who came into the shop told David that most leggings have a thick waistband, and when you sit on your board it folds and your stomach rolls over the top. So ours is thin and low-profile. It does not do that, and it sits tight enough that it does not drag in the water.

The second is a drawcord that runs all the way around the waist. As David explains it in one of our shop videos, "we have a string that goes all the way around the waist, so when you cinch down on it and you're duck diving, you're not going to be showing your okole to everybody." Most surf leggings do not have that string. It is the difference between them staying on through a wipeout and getting yanked half-off in the whitewater.

The third is elastic around the ankles. Most leggings just end in a straight, loose leg opening. Ours gather at the ankle so the legs do not slide up your calf every time you kick. They also do not flare open like a yoga pant, which matters when you are standing up on a wave — you do not want loose fabric getting in your way.

The fourth is the stitching. The seams are sewn with pantyhose-grade stretch thread, the same as our rash guards, so they stretch with you instead of making that ripping sound you hear when stiffer seams give. They do not pinch, and they do not rub up a rash. That matters more than it sounds like it should, which we will get to.

Hawaiian South Shore's David on the Surf Lycra Leggings.

Do they stay put, or do they ride up?

They stay put, and that is the feature people end up talking about most. Between the thin waistband, the full drawcord, and the elastic ankles, they hold their position while you paddle, sit, and duck under waves.

Saresa, who wears hers for surfing and foiling, points to the waist: an "elastic waistband plus a tie drawcord that you can attach to the loop on your rash guard" keeps everything in place through a wipeout. And as she puts it, "The legs are tapered with elastic at the bottom, so nothing sags or moves around while you're moving. They stay exactly where they should."

Swimmers like them for the same reason — they do not slide off the way plain elastic-waist leggings do. And because they are black, they do not turn see-through when they are wet, which is a real question people ask before they buy. Dark fabric holds up far better than light colors once it is soaked.

Are they good for women?

Yes, and a few of the details came straight from what women told us they wanted. That thin waistband came from a customer's feedback, and the higher rise keeps you covered, especially paired with a rash guard or a front-zip jacket up top.

They are unisex, so there is one size run for everyone, and the fit works whether you are surfing, paddling a long way out, or doing yoga on the beach afterward.

What else can you use them for?

Once people own a pair, they tend to wear them for a lot more than surfing. The no-chafe fabric turns out to be the reason.

Daniel bought his to stop the chafing from his tail pad, then found his son wearing them under soccer shorts, and decided to grab a pair for surf trips himself — "when you're surfing four to five hours a day, every day," he said, "chafing will get ya."

We have customers who wear them foiling, under their board shorts on long surf trips, for yoga, for ocean swimming, for fly fishing out on the flats, and for sailing small boats. One customer bought a pair for his granddaughter to keep her covered while sailing. They are a simple layer that solves a lot of small problems.

Will they protect me from box jellyfish?

They give you a physical barrier against stings on your legs, which is why a lot of people in Hawaii own a pair. They are not a guarantee, and no piece of fabric is. But a barrier between your skin and a tentacle beats bare legs during jellyfish season.

David started wearing them for a reason he does not sugarcoat, and it is the reason they exist at all. He has been stung plenty of times, but the last time he ended up in the hospital, in anaphylactic shock. He had these made so he could keep surfing through jellyfish season without risking that again. As he tells it, "I used to never wear these things until I got stung really bad. It ended up in the hospital … Couldn't breathe … I'd rather surf and have fun than get stung, I guess, and end up in the hospital." And his doctor told him something worth knowing: the more you get stung, the more your tolerance goes down, so the reaction gets worse, not better.

In Hawaii, box jellyfish numbers tend to climb about eight days after the full moon, based on tracking from the Waikiki Aquarium. If you surf the South Shore, you already know those days. If you want the backstory on why they show up on that clock, we get into the jellyfish and sea lice connection in a separate piece. Dane keeps his pair for exactly that window, and for onshore days with a chance of Man-o-War. "It also blocks the UV rays and helps keep you warm," he says, and calls them highly recommended. The leggings cover your legs, which are the part hanging off the board and the part that gets hit.

Are they hot to wear?

They add a little warmth, but not much. This is worth being straight about. Woodrow, who wears his out on the flats, described it best: "They do seem to add some warming properties. The water here is quite warm and it did feel warmer wearing the leggings, but not an unreasonable amount." In warm Hawaiian water most people stop noticing after a few minutes, and on a cool early paddle the little bit of warmth is a plus.

What size should I get?

Go by your height and weight, and size up if you want the legs to reach all the way to your feet. They are unisex and stretch a lot, so the fit is forgiving. Here is what real customers of different sizes ended up in:

Height	Weight	Size they wear	Note
5'8"	150 lb	S	Could size up to M for full ankle-to-foot length
5'6"	170 lb	M	Full foot and ankle coverage
6'1"	185 lb	L	Fit great

The XS fits a real petite frame. If you are between sizes, or you specifically want the leg to come all the way down onto your foot, go with the larger of the two. Still not sure? Send us your height and weight and we will tell you where to start.

What do real customers say?

The pattern in the reviews is comfort and staying-put, with a fair share of people who found a second use for them. We will also be straight about the flip side. Not everyone loves the feel of leggings under their trunks. One customer, John, told us he did not care for how they felt while surfing, even though "the product worked for what I bought it for" and protected him as designed. That is honest, and it is worth knowing before you buy. Leggings are a personal-feel thing. Most people forget they have them on. A few never get used to them.

Across our verified buyers, the leggings hold a 4.9 out of 5 rating.

A few quick questions we get

RSCV1