This article is primarily for guys but women shopping for their guys might care too.
Let’s face it. Guys don’t typically talk about underwear. In my life, I can count on one hand the number of guys that I’ve discussed underwear with.
However, I think it’s about time to raise the conversation for comfort. Having been a guy all my life, I feel I have a certain amount of experience. So, here is my subjective discussion on underwear.
A little background on my range of underwear experience. I grew up in tighty whitey’s like everyone else. Wanting to look sexier, I tried speedo styles (aka mens bikini or mankini). As time moved on I transitioned through boxers, boxer briefs and sculpted boxers. From all these I’ve learned that what I like and don’t like.
I’ve also been a runner for well over thirty years with varying degrees of intensity and frequency. Support is foundational for that effort. Commando while running creates chaos, irritation and discomfort. This makes it a foundational need to prevent excess motion with physical activity.
Now, when I run, jock straps aren’t comfortable. They are typically made of rough elastic material and either cut into me or the material rubs me raw. However, it does provide a cradling function which prevents the flopping.
Contrary to popular belief tighty whiteys aren’t so tight and their cradling factor is minimal. Plus, they are cotton and don’t breathe when wet from sweat.
Straight boxers? They are like cotton curtains hanging from your waist. No support at all. And because of the construction, if you put on pants, they tend to bunch up and wad making you look like a doofus when your fixing it or you wear the pants draped around the crack of dawn so there is no bunching. The materials can be anything. The most comfortable to me are the softer nylons that wick real well.
Cradling and wicking are important.
How about the mankini? Typically they are designed so tight as to be uncomfortable, although they do cradle and can be made of quality wicking material. Plus, as revealing as these are, very few guys can pull the look off with a woman. And it’s disturbing to other men.
How about those sculpted boxers that fit like spandex? Some people like them. I wear them, but not in hot, humid or sweaty activity. My feeling is the materials that accomplish this tend to trap moisture in.
So where does that leave me? Well, by chance I actually found what I feel to be ideal. They’re actually made and marketed as running shorts which is why I bought them in the first place. But as I ran in them realized they were so light weight that it left little to the imagination even though they were incredibly comfortable.
Since they are running shorts they wick well and have a built in cradling liner. The shorts are cut small with a smaller profile than even standard boxer shorts. They are a bit more expensive than run of the mill underwear but well worth it for 24 hour comfort. The company name is Soffe and the model is M020.
So, if you’re in the hunt for some decent underwear, give them a shot. Nothing to lose but a lifetime of comfort.
21 Buzzards 