Faraday's Prototype

An up-and-coming underwear company called Faraday’s decided to send me some samples from their upcoming line to write a review on. (Since they didn’t give me a proper style name, I will just refer to it as “the prototype.”)  The prototype’s design is an interesting one, mixing some features that are common on high-end men’s underwear with one that is quite new and original: A special material in the pouch that purports to shield the user’s genitals from EMR (electromagnetic radiation). While I can’t attest to the success it has in that endeavor, I can attest that, for a new underwear company’s first attempt at a product, this is a very respectable effort, and I’ll be interested in seeing their further developments. 

Materials and construction: The prototype is a boxer brief design that’s fairly short on the legs. While not obvious from the external appearance, there is an internal pouch with some small sheets of fabric to separate the scrotum from the legs. There are two types of fabric here: A bamboo fabric surrounds the entire garment, which is reinforced by a “silver metallic” fabric lining the inside of the pouch. The thin, stretchy bamboo material around the hips and legs made the sizing flexible: The company sent me two adjacent sizes, both of which fit me comfortably. The waistband is very limp, and there is little extra elastic around the legholes, two features which, together, do significant damage to the functionality of this underwear, despite its overall practicality. 7/10  

Comfort and usability: Slipping these on, the first thing that struck me was the lower-temperature feel, not only due to the thin material outside the pouch, but also the cool first touch of the metallic pouch material. The pouch is more accommodating than it looks, although it will never compete with something like Obviously or Sukrew for space. The position of the pouch also makes it significantly more comfortable standing up with than sitting down. This prototype should be considered a low-activity underwear, because the thin fabric is unsupportive and unsuited for anything athletic. Finally, it’s held up well after a number of washings, with no obvious signs of wear. 7/10  

Aesthetics: The focus of this pair of underwear was not on appearance, but it doesn’t look bad. The grey accent on the waistband and lack of branding (or any other form of text) on the outside give this a sleek, space-age look. 6/10

Overall score: 7/10

Big enough? Not quite, but it is better than most underwear and not bad in a standing position.

MeUndies Boxer Brief

 
MeUndies is an underwear company from Los Angeles that has gained a reputation for making comfortable underwear for both sexes. The company’s items for men are the standard options (boxer brief, trunk, boxer, brief) and a few miscellaneous items, such as t-shirts and leisurewear. All of these items are offered in fairly conventional designs, so does MeUndies live up to its reputation?

Materials and construction: The MeUndies BoxerBrief is offered in 92% modal fabric blended with 8% spandex, which is a blend that is common in high-end men’s underwear. Besides the sizing (very small unless you go a size larger than usual), the shape is fairly conventional, with some semblance of a pouch in the form of some extra fabric in the crotch. The stretchiness of modal fabric helps with the fit, although I’d prefer a more substantial pouch. Overall quality seems quite good, with just a small tag stitched onto the inside of the waistband, which provides no discomfort. Overall, the item is a little longer than most boxer briefs, which means that it resists riding up a little more than most, but the only boxer briefs I’ve tried which don’t ride up any significant amount are long enough to come close to the knee. The item has held up well after numerous washings, with no noticeable deterioration to the stitching or fit. 6/10

Comfort and usability: The MeUndies Boxer Brief neither fits particularly tightly around the legs nor is baggy. While I ultimately did not find this comfortable to wear, I can understand why people who do not have comfort issues in normal underwear enjoy MeUndies as leisurewear. People looking for something to wear during vigorous exercise should look elsewhere (and keep in mind, modal dries slower than most other materials). The material is a little thicker and softer than the other modal garments I’ve tried, and is warmer, too. There aren’t any exceptional features, but this is a little more comfortable than the average pair of underwear. 5/10

Aesthetics: The green color matches the purple inside of the waistband, which makes me wonder why they didn’t make the entire waistband purple. Nothing is either offensive or compelling about the way this looks, with MeUndies preferring a practical, rather than stylish, approach. 5/10

Overall rating: 5/10

Big enough? No.

MyPakage Weekday Boxer Brief

MyPakage is an underwear company that uses “Keyhole Comfort Technology.” These are internal pouches, akin to Saxx and 2undr, and offer an handful of other features as selling points. While the features MyPakage offers aren’t awful, I was disappointed by my experiences with this item. There are much better alternatives on the market.

 
Materials and construction: The material is 95% modal and 5% spandex, which is a common blend among higher-end men’s underwear. The Weekday Boxer Brief’s thin, stretchy material is fitted around the legs and back, and a little looser on the outside of the pouch. The “Keyhole Comfort Technology” of  the pouch itself is a horseshoe-shaped layer of fabric that supports the genitals, very similar to what was found on the 2undr Swingshift Boxers, but without the extra space between the pouch and waistband. It’s also significantly smaller, in comparison, and substantially less accommodating than the internal pouches used in Saxx underwear. The “No-Rub Tag” on the side of the waistband, is a feature touted on the company’s website, is an unimpressive feature.  The waistband itself is comfortable but loose, and has a cheap feel to it. The Weekday Boxer Brief has held up well after getting washed a number of times. 5/10

Comfort and usability: Like the 2undr Swingshift Boxers, This takes a lot of adjustment to fit into place properly, but unlike that pair, once you’re in place, you can move around a fair amount without falling out of the pouch, although the pouch can’t accommodate certain movements like deep squats. The “No-Rub Tag” the website boasts of is indeed more comfortable than a traditional tag sewn below waistband in the back, although it’s no better than many of the other alternatives that are found in high-quality men’s underwear. The best thing I can really say about this is that the thin material is fairly comfortable in warmer weather. Most of the features here aren’t bad, they’re just superfluous in a market that offers comparable features with better execution. 4/10

Aesthetics: These look like diapers. Not a good look at all. 2/10

Overall rating: 4/10

Big enough? Not really, but it’s not too bad.

Too Tight to Review 9: Sukrew Full 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.

Sukrew is a company I’ve reviewed once before, and I had mostly positive things to say about my experiences. The first pair of Sukrew I received was oddly small in the back (an issue that I had never experienced before that), but had a big, comfortable pouch and solid construction quality. That experience made my experience with the Full Trunk surprising. First of all, the backside on this one is so short that it won’t even fit over my hips in any normal way. (The material is stretchy, but enough so to compensate for the bizarre dimensions.) As a result, the only way I could put these on was with the entire garment rotated upwards in the front. This strange fit forced me deep into the bottom of the pouch (which is slightly smaller than the pouch on the Full Brief), and I couldn’t wear these for more than a few hours without pain.

I should also make a not about the durability. After washing the Full Brief just once, the seams starting coming loose, spilling a spider web of threads that tore at my skin the second time I tried wearing these. Looking at the inside of the waistband, the stitching is uneven and poorly integrated. Even the white Sukrew label on the front was coming undone. This is perhaps the fastest any pair of underwear I’ve owned has deteriorated, and was surprising, given the solid quality of the Full Brief.

Too Tight to Review 8: Jack Adams Relay Brief

 
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.

 
Jack Adams is an underwear company that I have heard mentioned a few times in terms of comfortable underwear, so I decided to give them a try. The first thing I noticed is how small the overall garment is; even though I followed the size chart on their website and ordered a size up from what I usually get, it still felt extremely small, the backside was too short (a complaint I rarely have), and what little extra fabric it had where a pouch should have been would be far better as an actual pouch. I had to take it off after a few hours. The Jack Adams Relay Brief is not an outrageously bad item, but I certainly can’t recommend it as a comfortable one.