Longevity test 1

I switched from wearing loose boxers to higher quality pouch underwear about a year and a half ago. This has given me enough time to observe the actual longevity of these products. The following is some observations on some items of the first few brands from which I purchased. (You can assume that I’ve washed these on a gentle laundry cycle an average of about twice per month since I purchased them, and have air dried them each time [unless otherwise specified]. Of course, more use means more wear.)

Andrew Christian Trophy Boy Boxer, purchased November 2015: Andrew Christian is all over the place in terms of quality. While this was a very comfortable item when I first purchased it, it has deteriorated substantially, losing its color (the lime green is turning into a muddy gray), shape, and ability to stay in place well. The waistband is in particularly bad condition. I haven’t worn it much in the past six months, as it’s not very usable at this point.

 
Andrew Christian Trophy Boy Brief, purchased November 2015: Same as above, but to an even greater extent. The waistband looks shredded, and the color scheme makes the deterioration much more noticeable.

Diesel Kory Boxer Briefs, purchased November 2015: This is a cotton blend which has kept its shape well. There is noticeable shrinking, which I attribute to the times in which I carelessly threw this in the dryer with the rest of my clothes. There is some fading of the color, which is not surprising for a black clothing item. Overall, this has held up pretty well, and I’ll probably eventually purchase a replacement pair and be more careful not to put it in the dryer.

Obviously AnatoFREE Brief, purchased December 2015: This one has held up impressively well. The only obvious changed I’ve noticed are a little bit of deterioration on the waistband, which no longer lies perfectly flat (see photograph below). The AnatoFREE Brief fits the same as when I first purchased it. I expect these to last a very long time.

Saxx 24-Seven Boxer Brief, purchased December 2015: This item has become looser and has lost some of its shape over the time I’ve had it. It doesn’t stay in place while I’m wearing it as well as it originally did, and the comfort level has decreased. Still, there are no loose threads or parts coming off, which makes it much higher quality than most underwear products. 

Diesel Jack Striped Brief

 
Diesel is an Italian fashion company best known for their denim. Their men’s underwear is of a higher caliber than most underwear offered by general fashion companies. I’ve tried three pairs of Diesel underwear, and the fit between these three seems to be all over the place. The Jack Striped Brief is the first brief I’ve tried from the company, and offers a very different fit from the Kory Boxer Briefs. 
  

Materials and construction: The material is listed as 95% cotton and 5% elastane (spandex). It’s a rather boxy shape, and unlike the boxer briefs I originally reviewed, cut quite close to the body. The design is anatomically correct, although it doesn’t offer a particularly big pouch. (The pouch’s overall fit is similar to a smaller version of the Jor Speed Cotton Retro Brief.) The cotton/spandex blend is fairly stretchy all around, but the material has two layers around the pouch. The waistband is taut and the leg holes are reasonably stable. There’s a very long tag in the back, which is always a minus. The stitching seems good. 6/10

Comfort and usability: It took me a while to decide whether I should deem this item as “Big enough” or not. Sometimes, during days in which I spent most of my time sitting, it seemed tolerably comfortable. Other times, I would spend long periods walking and find it quite uncomfortable. I usually air-dry all of my underwear, but after accidentally putting this into the dryer once, it shrank substantially. I no longer find it tolerable to wear. In terms of other qualities, by keeping everything close to the hips, this pair will prevent an obvious visual bulge in your pants, and the material breathes pretty well. 5/10

 

Aesthetics: This is aesthetically quite brutish. The shape is too boxy, and the stripes have a slightly fuzzy and indistinct appearance.  The crisp logo on the waistband looks good, though. 2/10

Overall rating: 4/10

Big enough: No.

Too Tight to Review 5: Diesel Hero Fresh and Bright Cotton Modal Trunk

 
The “Too Tight To Review” series covers the pairs of underwear I’ve tried on that I couldn’t wear long enough to give a fair review. If I can’t keep a pair on for at least the length of the day, I’ll leave a few brief thoughts rather than a full review.

 
Diesel is a company I’ve reviewed here before. Their men’s underwear is varied in terms of fit, and some of the styles are quite comfortable. When I got the Hero Fresh and Bright Cotton Modal Trunk, I was hopeful about the fit. Many of the most comfortable pairs of underwear I’ve purchased are made of modal fabric, which is stretchy and soft, and this item is composed of 57% cotton, 38% modal and 5% elastane (spandex). Unlike the similar fabric blend found in the BOSS HUGO BOSS Cotton Modal Mini Brief, the fabric in this Diesel offering is thicker, tougher, and more rubbery. The item is well made, and fits over the hips and glutes impressively. The problem is that it is not anatomically correct to any significant degree, and the stretchiness of the fabric is not enough to accommodate the genitals comfortably. As soon as I put it on, I felt very uncomfortable, and couldn’t manage to rearrange it in a way that made it wearable. This experience was a disappointment, but not enough for me to discard my generally positive opinion of Diesel.  

Diesel "Kory" Boxer Briefs

Diesel is an Italian fashion brand that makes a variety of clothing items for both sexes. While the company is probably best known for their denim, I’ve found their underwear to be perhaps the most comfortable I’ve tried that is made by a major fashion company rather than a dedicated underwear brand. The “Kory” boxer brief, the item on hand today, is a simple design that works well.

Materials and construction: The material is listed as 95% cotton and 5% elastane. The simple design is form fitting while still being fairly relaxed. This pair doesn’t include the sort of pouch that is found in most of the items I’ve reviewed on this blog, but it is constructed to leave some extra room where the pouch would be. The overall design provides a good balance of support and flexibility without being constricting or tight. 7/10

Comfort and usability: The design is very comfortable. While I wouldn’t use this for activewear, everything generally stays comfortably in position both while sitting and while walking. The looser fit mediates cotton’s tendency towards warmth. If it wasn’t for cotton’s limited stretchiness, I’d name it as my favorite fabric, just because of its balanced feel and function. I think this garment portrays those advantages very well. 8/10

Aesthetics: Very basic, but there’s nothing wrong with that. The bold white stripe and “DIESEL” lettering works well on black waistband. The relaxed aesthetics work well with the design of the boxers. 6/10

Overall rating: 7/10

Big enough? Yes, I find it comfortable.