I got two pairs of the board shorts on BOGOF and wear them over the top of dhb lycra shorts. They're really good, though the velcro fly did put some holes in my merino base layer when I washed them together.
Howies stuff is expensive, but all the stuff I had has lasted brilliantly. I had three T shirts (until I spilt oil on them when cooking) that I still referred to as "my new T shirts" even though they were 4 years old.
My similarly aged trousers have just worn through at the knee, so I'll be replacing them once the new autumn stuff appears on the website – this will be my first full priced Howies purchase.
I also bought a Nedster jacket from the Caranaby Street shop when we were down in London last month, and my kids first howies clothes arrived yesterday.
I suppose that makes me a bit of a fan boy 🙂