This is going to be an unusual review for two reasons: 1) it’s the first review I’ve ever written (for anything… ever), and 2) the review concerns a pair of underwear that is more likely to be found at a Target than from the specialty retailers online.  So bear with me.  Hopefully Tim and the gang won’t beat me up and take my lunch money on my first day.

I’ll start with the facts.  The pair I’m reviewing is the Jockey “Cuffed Trunk” (insert party favor noise here).  There is nothing exotic about these.  It’s everything you would expect from a trunk style boxer brief in terms of cut, fit, and materials.  Jockey offers this pair in three colors; hibiscus, olive, and blue indigo.  The material is a blend; 48% cotton/48% modal/ 4% spandex.

To test these out I wore them to work.  My job straddles the fence between white collar and blue collar.  I spend about half of my day pointing and clicking but the rest is usually spent outdoors wearing coveralls and a hard hat.  Being on my feet and performing physical tasks puts all of my clothes through a proverbial gauntlet (hence the coveralls).  So finding a comfortable pair of underwear that can hold up over 12 hours is like finding a unicorn.

Sizing of this pair is consistent with domestic (U.S.) size charts.  My waist is roughly 32″ but depending on the brand of underwear I wear either a small or a medium.  In this case I chose small and it worked just fine.  It was very comfortable, not too snug at all.  I think their choice of materials is partially responsible.  The cotton/modal blend is very soft, but strikes a good balance between comfort and support.

The thing that most impressed me about this pair was that it looked and felt really good over the entire workday.  It’s very common that a pair of underwear will accomplish only one of these.  Either it will be very comfortable but look like a train wreck by the end of the day, or it will look great but feel awful after a few hours.  Let me tell you how much I enjoy having to adjust my underwear at a work site (insert sound of crickets here).

This pair remained stable over my entire workday.  By ‘stable’ I mean that it did not droop, sag, or wander into places it shouldn’t have.  As far as the pair looking good, I am going mostly by the feedback from my fiance.  She really enjoys seeing me in these as her loiter time in the bathroom while I shave has increased by roughly 800%.  Jockey has chosen some colors and contrast stitching that are just far enough from mainstream to make them visually appealing without being flamboyant.  I picture the scenario in which I have a job-related accident and have to be resuscitated by EMTs.  Do I want my co-workers to see me wearing a pink thong while being defibrillated?  Not really.  But not worry, these will send the message that you’re a man dammit… but you might listen to Annie Lennox occasionally.

As far as drawbacks, it’s hard to pick apart a pair that I enjoy as much as these.  I am, however, going to knock them down a notch by mentioning that the construction of this pair is roughly equivalent to any other chain store bought pair of underwear. They’re fine, but not great.  I fully expect that sometime in the next few months the first visible frayed end of a seam or waistband elastic will rear its ugly head.

I MUST mention here that I bought this pair at the price of 2 for $12 from the Jockey website.  I’ve owned enough ‘fancy’ underwear to know that other brands who shall remain nameless would easily charge double for an equivalent pair.

To sum things up:

Pros

• Very comfortable material and level of support
• ‘dimensionally stable’ even with moderate physical activity
• Your significant other will suddenly look at you as if you’re the guy from those ‘Old Spice’ commercials
• For what you get, these are dirt cheap

Cons

• Don’t expect these to hold up forever.  Mass produced just like most of our clothes.

Ratings

• Daily Fit         8
• Sizing         8
• Construction/Materials         7
• Styling         10
• Daily Performance         9
• Overall         8.4

Find these at the Jockey Site.

Note: Gabe is one of the newest writer/reviewer on the site. He will have a speedo article very soon!