Deciding what to pack for your adventure can be, to be frank, painful... so it’s always good to start with the essentials. Guys, this means at least one decent pair of swimwear!

British designer, Jordana Yechiel’s label, Marcello Conti is the hottest new thing in menswear and aims to bridge the gap between high-end designer wear and basic sports swimwear. The range was featured recently by popular men’s magazine, Shortlist, and showcases board shorts in six different retro prints that have been inspired by seventies wallpaper, pretty cool stuff. The shorts are available in three different lengths, all of which have been named after some of our favourite holiday spots – ‘Mykonos’ which is the shortest, ‘Monaco’ which is mid-length, and the ‘Hamptons’, which is more of a tailored board short. All shorts are made of a quick dry fabric (perfect for travelling!) and come with a water-resistant zip-up wash bag in the same print, so that you can chuck them into your pack after a day at the beach at hit the road. Gotta love that! Prices are around the GBP110 or USD180 mark and you can check out and buy the collection at; marcelloconti.com.

If you’re after something just as cool but without the price tag, hit the high street or check out the surf stores for a huge selection of beachwear. Topman, H&M and Zara have all picked up on the seasonal trends of stripes, Hawaiian print and block colours and have a great range of board shorts in funky prints and pop hues.

Rip Curl, Quicksilver, Billabong and Hurley, are just a few awesome surf brands offering stylish yet functional pieces for the keen surfer. Hurley have just released its new range Phantom Create which allows you to design your own board shorts. You can start from scratch and choose the style short, the design and the colours or you can choose a preloaded design and simply pick the colours you’d like or vice versa. It all sounds a bit complicated but really it’s not. Head to www.hurley.com and get creative. The brand have worked with some top notch athletes including Rob Machado, Ace Buchan and Mitch Crews, who have all designed their own board shorts so if this all sounds too hard and you’re lacking inspiration then pick a design that the pro’s are wearing.

Guys, we want to know, how do you pick your boardies? Is it all about the way it looks or the functions?