Cocksox Bikini Briefs Comparative Review: CX01, CX01BD, CX16N

 

Cocksox is an Australian company that makes underwear and swimwear for men. They offer a wide range of fits and styles, including four different pouch variations, two of which are smaller (the Snug and Contour pouches), and two of which are bigger (the Original and Natural pouches). As I mentioned in my previous review, I’ve been trying out bikini briefs for the first time in my life, and since I’ve always been impressed with the quality and longevity of Cocksox products, I decided to give the three main Cocksox bikini brief varieties a try. Cocksox ended up being the bikini briefs I was most impressed with. A comparative review of the three follows.

 
Materials and construction: Cocksox is the only company I’m aware of that primarily uses Supplex as its fabric. As a result, it’s hard to determine if it’s the material or the manufacture quality that is responsible, but Cocksox underwear has the best longevity of any company that I’ve tried. Supplex also dries faster than any common material. The 8% spandex blend makes it a tough but accommodating material. The differences between the three come in terms of the shape and support. While all three of these items use the Original pouch, it fits differently due to the different shape of the items. The CX01 is the most minimal of the three, with just a small, thin, streamlined silhouette that covers as little as possible and is supported by some minimal elastic. The CX01BD is quite similar, but has thicker layers of material surrounding the waist and leg holes (highlighted by the second color). The CX16N is a completely different design, similar to a jockstrap and utilizing a normal waistband, but with a normal backside rather than just two straps. The pouches on the CX01 and CX01BD are both positioned much more upwards than the comparatively relaxed CX16N. The CX01 and CX01BD are both quite stretchy around the waist, while the CX16N is has a tighter, stiffer waistband, possibly in an attempt to help alleviate the shifting on the backside (see next section). 9/10

 

Comfort and usability: The pouches on the CX01 and CX01BD are the same shape, but the CX01BD ends up being a better, more consistent fit, because the superior traction keeps everything more firmly in place. (A minor tradeoff to this is that the CX01BD is somewhat warmer, albeit still much cooler than most underwear.) Despite not covering much on the backside, the CX01 and CX01BD both stay in place better than one would expect, but can be irritating if they do fall out of place, which lots of sitting or friction against tight pants can do. The positioning of the pouches in the CX01 and CX01BD give more room for your penis than your testicles, but can be comfortably rearranged, and the lack of seam right behind the pouch gives them an advantage of comfort and flexibility that most pouch underwear lacks. Keeping the package away from the legs makes walking more comfortable. While I’m usually not a huge fan of low-rise underwear, both the CX01 and CX01BD surprised me with how comfortable they felt after I got used to the fit. While the CX16N’s pouch is as big as the other two, the tightness of the elastic pulls it in closer, restricting the amount of space. It’s still more spacious than most underwear but much tighter than ideal. The waistband is tight and narrow enough to dig into your skin, and the overall cut creates more friction against the inner thighs while walking around. In addition, the backside is rather unstable. The CX16N isn’t ideal for daily wear, but I did like it as a superior alternative to a jockstrap: The lack of strap attachments behind the pouch allows it to lie flatter and be much more comfortable against the body. I would definitely recommend the CX16N for people considering a jockstrap for workouts. 6/10

 

Aesthetics: I think part of the appeal of the pouch on the CX01 and CX01BD is that it’s supposed to make your bulge look bigger and more conspicuous, but it’s not very flattering in that regard. The minimalist approach to the tags/branding is welcome. The CX01BD’s two-color scheme looks good, and will please those who enjoy lively and unique color schemes. The CX01’s toned-down look is more of my style. From the front, the CX16N looks like a jockstrap. It’s not a bad look. The stitching around the angles in which the different parts of the item comes together looks a little rougher (but doesn’t indicate poor quality in this case). The CX01 and CX01BD (and arguably the CX16N) have a low enough fit that people who wear looser pants or shorts shouldn’t have to worry about the top of their underwear being visible under their pants. 7/10

Overall score: 7/10

Big enough? I could make the CX01 and CX01BD work, with some adjustment. They have bigger pouches than most underwear and can be worn low for comfort. The CX16N offers enough space for workouts, but not for prolonged usage.

Ergowear EW0334 X3D Suave Bikini

 
Ergowear is a Chilean underwear and swimwear company that utilizes innovative, unique designs. Since their products have some of the biggest pouches available on the market, they’re of keen interest to this blog. I’ve reviewed them before and was impressed with what I experienced. The EW0334 is the first bikini brief I’ve tried from the brand, and I was generally pleased with what it had to offer overall. 

Materials and construction: The “SuaveMicrofiber” is listed as 95% polyester and 5% spandex. It’s a thin artificial material, which is moderately stretchy and dries fast, but is a little warmer than other fabrics found in high-end men’s underwear, such as modal fabric. The pouch, which is fairly large, is effectively smaller than the pouch on the MAX Light Boxer due to the less stretchy material, and it lies comfortably downwards. The narrow strips of material on the sides of this item are well-stitched and stay more secure and flat against the body that I had originally suspected they would. This garment has kept its shape after washing it numerous times, although the material has gained a bit of a fuzzy texture, which indicates that it will not last forever. 7/10 

 
Comfort and usability: I have only tried wearing bikini briefs recently, looking for something to help keep me cool during the hot weather. Despite my initial reservations, I managed to enjoy the fit after a little adjustment. The lack of waistband and very low cut results in a few differences from other briefs: First, that the pouch, which is a little smaller than ideal, could fit simply by wearing the item lower on the hips; second, that this vertical narrowness means the item can be quite cool if you need to wear warm clothes (such as a business suit) outside on a summer day, and third, the drawback that the lack of waistband will mean that the waistband of your pants will rub against your skin, which might be uncomfortable, depending on the pants in question. As leisurewear and with light exercise like walking, it stays in place most of the time, although when it does get out of place, it gets quite uncomfortable and will have to be fixed. For that reason, I can’t recommend these for intense exercise. The downward position of the pouch will give you a less conspicuous bulge than you’d find in a Cocksox bikini brief or even an Obviously Anatomax item. 6/10

Aesthetics: The lines, especially the horizontal line across the top, are a little more tastefully subdued than many bikini briefs. In person, the color is a pale purple, not far from white, and although it has a mild shine to it, it’s not too gaudy looking. 5/10

Overall rating: 6/10

Big enough? It’s a variable fit. I’d prefer it to be bigger, but it can be worn in such a way that it is comfortable.

Sukrew Full Brief

 
Sukrew is a British underwear company founded in 2013. Their offerings are divided into “Full Styles” and “U Styles,” and the big pouches in the former made me curious to test them out. Sukrew obviously puts a lot of effort into engineering unique, high-quality items. While I think there were some fit issues with the Full Brief, I still was impressed by what it had to offer, and suspect that the longer varieties of Sukrew’s items (the Full Trunk and Full Sprint) might be even better.

Materials and construction: The Full Brief I tried is listed as 80% polyamide and 20% elastane (spandex). This fabric blend dries fast and is stretchier than the typical blend of cotton and spandex. The cut is a fairly sleek one, but not quite shaped ideally for staying in place (more on that below). The pouch is one of the biggest pouches on the market, but positioned more downward and less to the front than a comparably sized pouch, such as the Obviously AnatoMAX. Overall quality is good: After numerous washings, I’ve seen no signs of deterioration. 8/10

Comfort and usability: My biggest complaint about the Full Brief is that its proportions aren’t quite right: If you pull the waistband up to where it should be, the material in the back will ride up, since the material in the back isn’t tall enough. The large pouch is quite comfortable. It’s positioned further down than most pouches. I found it to be perhaps the most comfortable pouch I’ve worn while sitting down, and the most comfortable pouch for my testicles overall. The downward position of the pouch will make this less conspicuous under pants than other large pouches, but might make exercises like sprinting less practical due to the pouch’s proximity to the thighs (depending on personal body shape, of course). The waistband is comfortable and firm. 6/10

Aesthetics: Above the pouch, there’s a white stripe that reaches up to the waistband, which creates the visual impression of increasing the pouch’s height. It’s just one of a few unique touches that makes the Sukrew Full Brief look great. 8/10

Overall rating: 7/10

Big enough? Yes, this is one of the biggest pouches available.

Obviously AnatoMAX Boxer Brief with 3-inch leg

 
Obviously is an Australian underwear company that makes high quality underwear and undershirts for men. I’ve reviewed a number of their products before, and I am usually quite impressed with their offerings. The design of the AnatoMAX Boxer Brief with 3-inch leg, taking a place between the Hipster Trunk and the Boxer Brief with 9-inch leg, is a good way to wear one of the largest pouches on the market for those who don't like briefs.
 

Materials and construction: The Obviously AnatoMAX Boxer Brief with 3-inch leg is made out of a micro modal/lycra fabric blend. This fabric blend is soft and flexible, but dries quite slowly. The pouch, while significantly larger than the AnatoFREE varieties, still has the same horseshoe-shaped pouch design seen on the other Obviously Boxer Briefs and Trunks. This means the pouch is deeper but more constrained horizontally when compared to Obviously briefs. The design is high quality, as is usually the case with Obviously products. I have washed these numerous times with no obvious signs of deterioration. The design is tagless, with the relevant information printed inside the waistband. 8/10

Comfort and usability: The AnatoMAX Boxer Brief with 3-inch leg is among the most comfortable pairs of underwear I’ve worn. The legs stay in place much better than in the trunks that Obviously offers, although they do ride up. The pouch is imperfectly shaped, and slightly less comfortable than the more flexible pouch in the AnatoMAX Brief. This rigidity, however, makes it more appropriate for light exercise, although I wouldn’t recommend doing anything intense. The fabric on the AnatoMAX items absorbs odors a little less than on Obviously’s Core items. The AnatoMAX Boxer Briefs stay in place with a tucked-in shirt a little better than the AnatoMAX Brief. 8/10 

Aesthetics: No complaints here. I think the waistband’s logo looks sharp, and the overall look nails the sharp-but-simple aesthetic that Obviously does well. (It does look better in the flesh than these photos indicate.) 6/10

Overall rating: 7/10

Big enough? Yes. This is one of the biggest pouches available.

2undr Swingshift Boxers

 
2undr is a Canadian underwear company that aims to “create a high-performance men’s athletic underwear.” Like companies such as Saxx and MyPakage, they use an internal pouch. While the Swingshift Boxers are an admirable attempt in certain ways, the final product is a deeply flawed one. For anyone thinking about purchasing these boxers, I’d recommend the far superior Saxx items. 

 
Materials and Construction: The fabric is a modal blend. It has all the stretchiness and comfort one would expect from modal, but the thinness of the fabric gives it the extra advantage of drying a little faster and having a cooler feel. The internal pouch is a sort of horseshoe-shaped sheet of fabric within the crotch (see the photograph above), and you put your package in front of it. It’s not a very stable or natural fit, which I discuss in the next paragraph. The length is good (this is the 6” variety), a nice midpoint between the shorter and longer varieties of boxer briefs (and 2undr has short and long variations of the Swingshift Boxers). The fly is big enough to be usable. As far as quality goes, one thing I did notice is that the stitching on the outside is visibly uneven, which is not something I’d expect to see on a high-end pair of underwear. This item has, however, held up fairly well after getting washed numerous times. 5/10

Comfort and usability: Putting the Swingshift Boxers on requires much more adjustment than one could expect from most underwear. Since there isn’t much depth to the pouch, it doesn’t hold you in place very well, and the somewhat loose fit exacerbates this problem. Sitting down and standing up pulls you out of place much more than standing and walking. 2undr seems to market their products heavily to golfers, and the combination of breathability and reasonable stability during very light exercise probably makes it a decent item for that, but I cannot say that this is a good item for general use. 3/10

 

Aesthetics: In terms of appearance, there’s nothing particularly offensive or good about this pair of underwear, although the silhouette is a bit shapeless. 4/10  

Overall rating: 4/10

Big enough? It is big enough, but it’s not a particularly good item.

Obviously Downtown AnatoMAX Brief

 
Obviously is an Australian clothing company that makes high-quality underwear and undershirts for men. I’ve reviewed them a few times before, and am consistently impressed with their quality. Their AnatoMAX line offers some of the biggest pouches on the market (“Downtown” is just the colored versions), and the AnatoMAX Brief is a higher-quality, bigger-pouched item similar to the first Obviously item I reviewed, the AnatoFREE Brief. The AnatoMAX boxers will be reviewed in future posts. 

Materials and construction: The Obviously Downtown AnatoMAX Brief is made out of a micro modal/lycra fabric blend. The pouch is similar to that of the AnatoFREE Brief, but bigger: Instead of just extending out towards the front, it extends to the front and down (see the photo). As a result, it gives you less support and more flexibility, allowing you to hang comfortably. The fit on the entire garment is more relaxed than most briefs, while still being form fitting. The item holds up well after getting washed numerous times, and the minor deterioration I’ve started to see in the waistband of the AnatoFREE Brief hasn’t shown up. I expect this to last a long time. Overall, if you’re looking for underwear with big pouches, the AnatoMAX line should certainly be on your radar. 9/10

 
Comfort and usability: The comfort of the AnatoMAX pouch in this brief is among the best I’ve encountered: Very comfortable and flexible, and the fabric feels very soft against the skin, especially after a few washings. The main issue I had with the AnatoFREE Brief was that it started to ride up in the back when I was wearing it with a tucked-in shirt and a belt. This is also true for this item. I usually wear suspenders with my suits, and there is no riding up with this arrangement, or if I wear a pear of pants with an untucked shirt. The relative lack of support does not make this a great item for vigorous exercise, and there is more vertical flexibility than the AnatoMAX’s biggest competitor, the Andrew Christian Trophy Boy Brief, which tends to hold your package straight down. Another thing to keep in mind is that this item will not hide your bulge at all. Overall, I think this item is best suited as leisurewear, and it’s very comfortable for that. 8/10  

Aesthetics: Obviously doesn’t do much flamboyant or flashy, instead sticking with a more conservative aesthetic. The Downtown colors are about as flashy as this company gets, and it’s a welcome change. The blue color looks great in person, and the two varieties of blue on the waistband’s logo has a high-quality, textured look to it. 7/10  

Overall rating: 8/10

Big enough? Yes.