What does a man get when he buys underwear at the mall? A comparative review

Most men receive their underwear as gifts, and the majority of men’s underwear sold falls into two categories. The first is the multipack: An option for convenience and a cheap price, multipacks are offered by companies like Hanes and Jockey and are a quick way of replenishing a rapidly depleting underwear drawer. The second category is a more pricey and varied section of the market, men’s underwear offered by general clothing brands. This variety caters more to discriminating men (or their significant others), usually is sold as individual items, and is usually offered at a higher price point. While many men will end up with underwear purchased alongside other clothing items, what do men actually get when they purchase underwear from a common shopping mall brand? To investigate, I wrote four reviews on products by American Eagle, Gap, Hollister, and Express, and I compare my findings here. 

• American Eagle AEO Mesh Panel 9” Flex Trunk: Compared to the other three items, the AEO Mesh Panel 9” Flex Trunk combines the best construction quality and materials with the worst design. Created as activewear, the AEO Mesh Panel 9” Flex Trunk is abrasive on the legs and very hot. Combined with the lack of room in the crotch, this is undoubtedly the least comfortable and practical item of the bunch. Still, given the mesh panel design, one could tell that the company had actually made an effort rather than just releasing a cheap item to the market with as little thought as possible. 
• GAP Stripe Stretch Trunks: This has the most conventional design of the four. The quality is not much better than what would be found in the cheapest underwear available, and the Stretch trunks began to degrade within a few washings. The fit is slightly more relaxed, and there’s noticeably more room in the crotch than the American Eagle or Hollister items. 
• Hollister Active Classic Trunk: Slick, rubbery feeling makes the Hollister Active Classic Trunk unpleasant to wear. The stretchiness of the fabric makes the crotch a little more comfortable than it would be otherwise.
• Express Vintage Star Print Boxer Briefs: The highest quality of the four, this one is certainly my favorite.  The elastic around the legs is among the best I’ve seen, which prevents the Vintage Star Print Boxer Briefs from riding up. While this is not competition for high-quality pouch underwear, I can at least say that what quality and features are offered are reasonable for the price.

Overall, I was actually disappointed by my experience trying these four items. While my expectations were not particularly high, three out of the four pairs seem like they are closer to the bottom end of the market than the top end (despite some redeeming features). Half of the items, the offerings from American Eagle and Hollister, were so clumsily designed that it seems like they were released to the market prematurely. My unsurprising observation that the best underwear tends to be made by dedicated underwear companies is vindicated by these four items. What one actually gets when they purchase a pair of underwear from a shopping mall brand varies significantly, but is no better than what one could find from an underwear company at a similar price.

Obviously Essence AnatoFREE Boxer Brief with 3-inch leg

 
Obviously, as I’ve reviewed before, is an Australian company that makes quality underwear and undershirts for men. I’ve previously reviewed the Essence AnatoFREE Hipster Trunk, and today I’ll be reviewing the very similar but superior Boxer Brief 3-inch leg version. 

Materials and construction: The Essence AnatoFREE Boxer Brief is made out of Obviously’s top grade fabric, which is a micro modal/lycra blend a little thicker than the bamboo rayon/lycra blend found in their Basics Collection. It a bit softer and seems to dry a little faster. The waistband sits fairly low on the hips, but stays in place very well. The pouch, which is attached to the body of the item by a horseshoe-shaped seam, is much larger than one would find on most underwear products, but a little higher and smaller than the AnatoMAX products Obviously offers (which I plan to review in the future). The 3-inch leg variety makes a very small visual difference, but a very big functional one, as I discuss below. As an added bonus, there’s no tag, with washing instructions printed on the inside of the waistband. Overall, this is a great set of features. 9/10

Comfort and usability: Like all the AnatoFREE items, especially the boxer briefs/trunks, this does lift you a bit, so it runs the risk of causing a noticeable visual bulge if you’re wearing thin pants. It also requires some more adjustment than the AnatoMAX pouches, which slide into place comfortably with minimal adjustment. There is a major difference between the trunks/boxer briefs versions of this item. Whereas the trunks feel like they have zero traction to stop them from riding up, the boxer briefs stay in place pretty well. The material is a little on the warmer side, and absorbs odors a little more than many materials, so these do not make ideal exercise garments. Overall, I’d say that a bigger pouch would make this an ideal leisurewear item. 7/10

Aesthetics: The solid black appearance with the finely-stitched blue logo looks great. No complaints here. 9/10

Overall rating: 8/10

Big enough? The AnatoMAX line has the ideal pouch, but this is another good offering from Obviously. I could wear these with only occasional adjustments.