We all love underwear but we have our pet peeves that drive us crazy about underwear. From tags to ill-fitting pouches. Here are you guys top factors that drive you crazy. They have been pretty much standard but at times things annoy you guys more than other times. I took a day break in the schedule for a much needed vacation.

We asked you 17 items in the previous reader surveys that annoyed you guys. Before this survey, it was a write-in question. After 3 years of data, we narrowed it down to these items. However, if guys could always write something in.

1. Sizing Issues – this was no surprise. Sizing is one of the biggest issues we have had at UNB. The problems arise from sizing that runs small to brands with inconsistent sizing. It sucks when you get the perfect underwear, put it on, only to discover it’s’ too small/big.
2. Labels/Tags – This one rotates in and out of the top spot. I have several pairs that I avoid wearing simply for the tag. One pair, in particular, I can’t take the tag off!. If it’s a great pair you can wear them inside out. But if it’s printed it may not look the same. More brands are starting to use the tagless tech in their undies.
3. Pouch too small – Our endowed series has always been a big draw for guys. The pouch not being supportive and too small always ruins an experience. It’s not just for the bigger guys. There are brands that do run small in the pouch department.
4. Pricing – Underwear is expensive! Especially great underwear.
5. Store selection – This is for more in store rather than online. Or that’s my assumption. Department stores rarely carry a lot of the pairs we cover. They have several big brands but rarely branch out. Not to mention that they aren’t carrying many thongs.

These are the most annoying things about undies to you guys! Check out the rest of the list above.

Underwear is made for all. That is the philosophy here on UNB. Speaking as the big guy side, 6’4″ and over 275, I think I could be considered a big guy. Yes, I’m working on getting more healthy but I’m never going to have abs. It’s not a goal I have or for that fact ever had. I do want to get to around 225 or under and stay there.

I often hear on social media when we post a bigger guy in underwear, “OMG you shouldn’t be wearing that.” I have even gotten similar messages on “dating apps.” It’s like we shame bigger guys for wanting to be sexy. I personally thing beefy guys look amazing in singlets and swim briefs. I still wear them but it depends on where I am. I shouldn’t let it get to me and just rock them where ever I want, but society frowns on bigger guys.

My underwear I still rock my bikinis, string bikinis, briefs and more. I wear whatever I want too. I don’t listen to guys who post on dating apps about my underwear of choice. Also, I’m not really on those apps anymore. I want more out of a date than a fun time. I want to make a connection.

Here is a list of things bigger guys should not even think twice about wearing:

• Bikini Briefs
• String bikinis
• Thongs
• jocks
• spandex
• singlets
• swim briefs
• swim thongs

Next just because a guy is bigger waist doesn’t mean he’s out of shape. Look at @sixfootfiveguy on Twitter. He’s a tall beefy guy but not out of shape. He posted on twitter (I think) that he wanted something in XXL. I responded that its unlikely the brand only goes to Large.

The next thing we need to tackle is having pairs in our size. Many brands go only up to a 36 inch waist. Anything higher and you’re out of luck. Luckily there are a few good brands making larger sizes.

We maybe an underwear blog but we love swimwear as well! We always ask the question about swim briefs but in the last two years we added in the swim thong question as well. Swim thongs have taken off big time, especially in the straight guy segment. It’s just amazed me we went from almost no swim thongs to brands releasing 2-3 a year.

For the last few years, we have had the Swim Brief Challenge. Where we try to get you guys to wear swim briefs and make them more mainstream. We seem to be succeding with our readers! Now is we can branch out to the public that would be awesome. I am super happy to see how many of you have worn them in public. Next to that, how many have worn to a private pool. You guys seem to like swim briefs! Which is an awesome thing.

More than 50% of you guys have either worn or want to wear a swim thong. Those not interested didn’t surprise me. Thongs are something you either love or hate. There is very little middle ground in the whole thong debate. Over 25% of you guys have worn a swim thong already. It shows this is growing more each year.

Here are the pairs you guys wear on a regular basis. Notice the swim thong is lower than board shorts? We need to change that. But the number one pair you guys like are swim briefs. I knew we had a fashion forward readership!

Share your swim brief or swim thong challenge story with us.

Who Influences your underwear buying? Or does anyone influence it? We asked who in your life has input into what you buy. If you’re single like me it’s prob different, but more on that later

I was shocked by this one. Most say their significant other doesn’t influence their decisions. When I dated I loved my partner to pick out undies for me. Or hell even buys them for me as a surprise. I also would wear what they thought was sexy. As many of you know what we think is sexy on us and what our partner does can be two separate things.

I knew that emails are a big driver of sales. But over the years I realize how much you guys get info and sale information from brands. It’s a great source of info and lets you know when pairs are available. Sometimes we post things that aren’t yet out and instead of reading it’s out on our blog, you can get the email.

Overwhelmingly you guys don’t rely on friends. I know very few guys who love undies that have a good group of other undies loving friends. It would be great to say “Hey have you tried the new Ergowear?” and have a conversation about it. But we aren’t there yet. I think more guys are starting to talk undies but it’s not a fast progression in the US.

This is something I knew and am glad you guys confirmed it. You like to read reviews of underwear. If you’re going to drop 20 bucks or more on a pair you want to hear things from a guy who’s tried it. We now put in our reviews negatives on pairs. My personal reviews I try to think of what issues would guys have with this pair, and list as “some guys may not like.” Because we are all different in our preferences.

I thought this would be way higher than it is. On Instagram and Twitter, there are tons of guys posting pics in undies. From muscle guys to bears. But they don’t seem to move the needle when you guys want to shop.

This is great news for me! UNB is a lot of work and glad to know we pass along some value to you guys. We try to tell you about your favorite brands and expose you to new ones. It’s not easy but it’s still a lot of fun to me.

If you have any different influencers let us know!

Shopping for underwear is serious business. There are more places popping up selling undies than ever before. So we asked which types of sites and stores do you shop on a regular basis for underwear.

You guys really love shopping brand sites. I figured this would be lower on the list. But Most of you “often” shop a brand site. One advantage to shopping a brand site is they offer every pair and color in a line. Not all retailers take every color or style. Plus, it’s more likely to be in stock on a popular pair.

This one didn’t shock me at all. The Close out stores are not what they used to be. Back in the early 2000’s you could get awesome underwear at a great price. Now they have pretty much the same boxer briefs and such. For a true underwear lover you’re not going to find much that will make you go “I must have this.”

Most of you guys shop the bigger e-commerce sites. Such as Jockstrap Central, International Jock, Men’s Underwear Store and the like. It’s super easy to find new stuff and what you are after in one place.

This would be higher if we had more underwear stores. They are pretty much few and far between. There is something awesome about going and looking at underwear, touching it and seeing it in person, rather than a picture. It’s a joy I hope many of you get to experience.

I think department stores have taken a tumble in our polls. I haven’t been in one in a while. But unless you are after the bigger brands, such as CK. They don’t really bring in much else. To get the newest and hottest undies you have to turn to a site that specializes in them.

No shocker here. Big box stores don’t carry much undies at all outside the Hanes and FOTL. Target is stepping up their game with the Evolve brand, which I call the gateway underwear into better undies. But the others are just catering to the boxer brief crowd and not introducing them to better and underwear made to fit a guy.

This is kind of a mix. Some of you do and others don’t. There can be some great deals had out there in the online world. I have scored many pairs from Cheapundies over the years. The downside is a lot of sites, including the one we just launched, doesn’t have free shipping. The business model doesn’t support it, the undies are at such a great deal that you can’t figure in free shipping. But the shipping is usually a flat fee.

Here’s where you guys shop! If you have a favorite store let us know

We love visiting with 2EROS, this video is from February 2013. It’s when the Black line came out! We reviewed this exact pair back in the day. We will see new 2EROS this trip as well.

It’s 100% acceptable for women to wear yoga pants or spandex to the gym and it’s acceptable. We have heard stories over the years of guys wearing runners to the gym and being asked to wear shorts over them. This even happened to our own UNB Shawn. There seems to be a bit of a double standard in the world of spandex and gym wear. UNB Shawn covered that in his post.

I think the core issue with the debate boils down to body image. I know guys who are built and have six packs who wear shorts over runners. On the other hand, I have seen bears just walk out in gym with all the confidence in the world and not care what people say. I used to wear them while working out, when I did years ago, and never thought twice. Now that I’m bigger and need to get in shape, I hesitate to put them on.

Another argument is that it’s “obscene” for guys to wear just spandex. Let’s not be afraid of the curves of a guys body. Specifically the bulge. Some guys have more than others in that department, and can’t do anything about how much bulge they show. Most guys aren’t at the gym to show off, they are there to work out. They feel comfortable in the runners and want to wear them.  Wearing shorts over them makes things bulkier and contracts movement.

As you can tell I am very much pro “No shorts.” We should be able to wear them to the gym without being told we need to wear shorts over them. The double standard of it’s good for one sex and not the other needs to end. Guys are branching out to wear more things that have not been considered “masculine” by traditional standards. We are creating a new masculine definition!

Choosing new undies is serious business. We all have our favorite factors that go into our buying decision. To one guy a pouch is more important, and another the back side is the important factor. We asked you guys to rate some of the trends we have seen over the last few years. Instead of asking we just wanted to confirm what we know and if you guys change your opinions.

This is pretty much a given. We all want underwear that is made well. We don’t want to spend $20 and have it fall apart after a few wearings. We want our money’s worth. 

Granted fashion is subjective to the wearer. We want something that doesn’t fit well but also looks great. We want to know we wearing something fun and now.

This is one for me it depends on the undies and it’s function. Date nights, hell yeah I want sex appeal. Undies for work I want more function over form. But you guys want underwear that has great sex appeal. I say bravo and always wear sexy AF undies. 

This is another no-brainer. We want underwear but we don’t want to break the bank. There are brands we will all splurge on. But we won’t buy the entire line. It goes into the decision making process. 

Color is part of our personality. In what we wear to work and out. Our underwear is no different. We want to wear our favorite colors. Personally it makes me feel better when I wear colors I like! 

I love this question. I knew this would blow out the VERY IMPORTANT. We buy the style we love. We are not going to look at boxer briefs when we want a thong. 

Sizing is a big issue. It matters if a brands sizing is consistent or off. We want to know the undies we buy will be the size that is stated. I’m not talking not looking at the size guide, but if it says it’s a 36 and you’re a 36. You get it and put it on and it’s a 33. That’s not a good thing.

We hope you enjoyed this peek into the underwear drawers of others, we have so much more to share!

Let’s get down to business. What is your favorite style to wear and what do you wear on a regular basis. We asked the major styles in this and we had some write in’s but for this, we are just focusing on what was asked. The very first question is what is your all-time favorite style. We gave you one choice in this question. So you had to pick just one.

The most popular style is the Brief. Almost 30% of guys say that’s their fav style. Next is one that has moved up this past year is the thong. It’s the number two at 21%. Right here is 50% of you guys. Next is the Bikini at 17% and the biggest surprise is the Boxer Brief at 14%. I was not expecting it to be so high. We need to up our boxer brief game!

Then we asked you what pairs you wear on a regular basis. So you can respond always to never. Here are each of these pairs broken down:

This was not a shock, not a lot wear Jock Briefs. It’s a pair that I think you love or hate!

This chart proves that thongs have grown over the last year. We have a lot of “never but a lot of sometimes. This is more than in years past. 

If you said jocks were dead you would be wrong. There are a lot of you out there who still wear them. It can be for working out or just fun. But More of you guys wear them than don’t. 

This was no shock due to the main graph above. The brief is the go-to style on UNB. It’s the classic we all love, including myself.

This one surprised me by the number of guys who never wear a bikini. I was not expecting that, at all. I figured it was a more popular choice. 

The Boxer brief didn’t surprise me. It skews more on the don’t wear side. I know most of you guys love more fun pairs that give greater support. 

Last is the trunk, It’s a bit higher than boxer brief but still skews to the Maybe wear category. But this tells us we need to cover more boxer briefs and trunks.

If you missed out this year, we will have new survey next year. Also, we will have several smaller polls throughout the year.

On UNB it seems every guy is a massive thong lover. Thongs are experiencing a renaissance in the last two years. Back when I was younger, they were bigger, then they died down and now it’s like it has exploded overnight. Everywhere you look on Instagram, guys are in thongs. And, there are weekends popping up all over for like minded guys to get together.

Starting an underwear blog, I pretty much like all undies. Yes, there are even a few boxer briefs I like, although, that list is very short. Thongs have always been something I have liked but rarely worn. It’s not that I don’t like the style so to speak. But, rather there are styles I like better. I would rather have a sports brief or bikini over a thong. Put on an amazing pouch and I’m sold.

If it sounds like I’m anti-thong, it’s further from the truth. The only pair of underwear I”m against is the boxer.  When I was 18, I joined a gym and would often wear my thongs to the gym as workout underwear. Yes, I even changed in the locker room. I got a few looks but being 18 and a twink, I didn’t even care. This probably got me labeled as the F@g of the gym, but I didn’t care what others thought of me.

The very first thong I remember loving is the 2(X)IST Y-Back thong. It was super comfortable and had an amazing pouch. I would wear it to work and out on dates. And it would definitely be appreciated by several dates I had over the years. I was like if we are going to get busy then why not wear something good for them to see. I’m glad that 2(X)IST has brought this pair back.

As for now, thongs are something I don’t buy very often. I think if you look like Scruffy Gear or UndiesGeek85, go for it. They have enough in the back to pull off a thong. Plus they look amazing in them. Even if you don’t and are like me with not so much junk in the trunk. If it’s what you want to wear, rock that thong and enjoy! Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t wear whatever underwear you want. Give them the finger.

Reading an underwear blog, we assume you buy underwear. The question is how often do you guys buy underwear? I have talked to readers over the years who buys daily and those who buy monthly. It all depends on how much you LOVE underwear… well not really it more depends on your disposable income.

Most of you guys buy underwear monthly or every few months. Which doesn’t surprise me. Underwear we report on is pretty darn expensive. And spending $20 or more on a pair limits how many you will buy. Granted we do have a very few who buy daily or weekly.

Next question is if you buy at regular price or on sale. This was one I guessed wrong on before I saw the results. I thought I knew more people would buy on sale. This proves you guys buy a mix of on sale and regular price. We didn’t ask what the mix is but there are the pairs I will spend full price on because I know the brand and the quality they represent.

I hope you enjoy these results! We are running them every day until we are done!