I’m not the biggest thong fan on UNB. I do have quite a few of them but they aren’t my daily pair I choose to wear. I usually wear them when I”m feeling super sexy or have a reason to wear them. My go-to style has always been the bikini brief or pouch brief. When I think back to when I got my first thongs. I’m trying to remember the very first pair I bought.

I remember seeing a brand in the 80’s in one of the fitness magazines. Either Exercise for Men Only or Men’s Workout or there was another back in the day. There was a brand called, I think, Michael David. They had a guy in a yellow brief with what looked to be a black thong over it. My 18-year-old mind had to have one. I had to find one. This was the days before the internet so getting one would be difficult. Plus I didn’t have a credit card to buy the one I saw in the magazine.

One a trip to Rich’s (which became Macy’s), I would always hit the underwear section before going to the bookstore down the mall. There on the shelf was a black thong. Just what I imagined was in the picture. I already had a yellow swim brief. I could recreate the look. I grabbed my sized and walked up to the counter and bought it. Being so excited I skipped the bookstore and drove straight home. The 20-minute drive was killing me. I ran to my room and put it on. I liked it and then did the look with the swim brief. I was in heaven.

There was one problem with that thong the strap in the back was way too wide and annoyed me throughout the day. This would delay any other thong purchases for a while. That was until I started to work out. I joined a gym way away from where I lived and would rarely go. But it was open 24 hours and I wanted something fun to wear. Another store across from the mall had more spandex, swimsuit type of thongs. I went over and bought 1 and tried it out. I loved the fit and feel. Especially at the gym. I was bold enough to change in plain view of anyone in the locker room, I didn’t care. The brands of these thongs were Sauvage. Which I know they don’t make anymore.

Then I went back to buy 2-3 more and told the guy working that I wore them to the gym and we had a conversation about them for about 10 mins. Looking back he was gay too and I think wanted to pick me up. I was so clueless back then on when I was being hit on. But I kept wearing them to the gym.

As of today I still have quite a few thongs. The one thong that brought me back to wearing them after I was a teen was the 2(X)ist Y-Back Thong. It was amazing and I still have several of these in my collection. Other favorites now are Joe Snyder Pride Frame, Gregg Homme Torrid line, and Cocksox CX05 thong.

I hope you guys have been listening to the rebooted UNB Brief Talk Podcast. It’ been since 2012 since we last recorded. I have thought about bringing it back several times but never got around to doing it. Now that it’s back, I have been brainstorming to come up with ideas for the show. I want to try to do at least one a month if not two. But we need some great content to talk about and have a group of great guys to talk undies.

UNB is about celebrating our love of undies no matter if you’re gay, straight, bi or even a woman! We welcome all to learn about better underwear! So here is a quick poll, you know I love them, about what you want to hear. Also feel free to write in your own topics too! I’m working on the next episode as we speak.

Looking for a company that can mix the sexiness of a harness and jock with the basics of a boxer brief? TenEleven underwear is for you. They can be classic and also super fun as the pic above shows I found the brand on Instagram and hope to have more about them soon.

Two recent UNB reviewers, Martin Taylor & Andrew Sullivan, jumped on an Atlantis cruise out of San Juan to the Southern Caribbean. They spent the week relaxing by the pool and dancing their nights away, all the while sending us some photos of their super fun outfits and swimwear. After some reviews and social media posts, we’ve had so many readers ask about the cruise that we’ve conducted a Q&A with Martin about his experience.

• White Party- 1st look: White harness with white mesh jock and white garter. 2nd look: Garcon Model white and gold harness and matching underwear.
• Out there Space Theme: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
• Call of the Wild Theme: Boy Scout
• Classic Disco: Our group did The Village People…I was the cowboy.
• Dog Tag: We were sailors

So I was in my neighborhood Target store recently, and on a whim, I decided to check out the underwear section. Last time I went I had been disappointed in the available selection and was presently surprised to see that they had revamped the area, with a few new options. I picked up the kind that looked the skimpiest. Surprising, right?

The micro mesh is not like it’s more risqué cousin regular mesh. The pairs are covered in small holes, which themselves are further subdivided by very thin thread into quarters, leaving a mesh fabric that isn’t too revealing. I’d compare it to Cin-2’s Zen line or 2xit’s own Sliq line if you are familiar with either of those.

Speaking of comparisons, I’d like to take a moment to see how this pair compares to other big name brief brands in my collection. Just how skimpy/unskimpy is it really? I compared it to some other 2xist briefs that I own, and while the leg opening hight is about the same on all of the pairs the evolve is a little bit bigger than the rest. So unless you feel that 2Xist’s main lines of briefs are too skimpy, if you are looking for small briefs you are better off elsewhere. The white stripes on the sides on the hips are a nice touch. These pairs are tagless too, and even though they are micro-mesh, the front is double layered so there’s no need to worry about showing off too much. Another positive is the price point. At only $12.99 US before tax, it wouldn’t be too costly to get a weeks worth of pairs for the same price as a couple designer name pairs instead. So there is some to like about these briefs.

Sadly, there are more than a few issues I have with the design. First, I am not a fan of the intermediate style waistband. It is too small to effectively grasp like a large waistband, nor does it give the pair a sleek look like on a pair without a waistband. I really don’t like this trend and hope it goes away. Also, The look of it is a little bit meh..but I am biased towards skimpier pairs, and this is marketed towards a mass audience of which this will probably be the skimpiest thing they have ever worn.

2xist had several other varieties in this new Evolve line, including cotton bikinis, and trunks, including some labeled under the Sliq line. If you guys are interested, I will continue to try these new lines from 2xist. Overall, it’s not great, but it’s not horrible either. Comfortable, with some perks, but nothing exceptional about them.

Still, the fact that this partnership between 2xist and Target persists is a good sign, no matter how good the product is. It points to a sign that men are starting to want more than the bare bones basics that have usually been pedaling in the past. It points to major retailers identifying this trend and making moves to try and get that market. Getting better underwear into more mad marketplaces at an affordable price point is a win in my book.

That’s one of our goals here at UNB, to get guys into good underwear no matter what the style. If you like the look of them, give it a try. About $7 per pair after tax is a good deal, and besides their questionable looks, they are reliably comfortable. Do you want us to review more styles from the Evolve line or other new semi-upscale brands that have begun to pop up in mass-market retailers like Target? Let us know in the comments below!

As always, if you have any comments or questions, you can find me on twitter at @underweardude .

It’s Jockstrap Wednesday! Time to check out something from Jockstrap Central. This is the PPU Slim jock. Something super sexy yet still something you can wear to the gym.  Check out the PPU jocks now!  (Note post contains an affiliate link)