The best choice in backpacking underwear. Exofficio or something else?

2 minute UL reviews on ultralight backpacking gear. Save money by buying the right product, the first time. Hit subscribe, should you please.

About me: Hmmm. Somewhere in-between getting old and kinda old. Proud to say being an active husband, dad and entrepreneur comes first -- which leaves me daydreaming about backpacking a whole lot more than I backpack!

[robpelton]

A great two minutes! Thank you so much for this comparison.

[lebowski]

Go with regular briefs and wear compression shorts over them. Junk stays put, zero chafe and great upper leg and pelvis support. Compression shorts stay put too.

[timhardman]

was warned about ExOff pilling in chafe areas...I hoped it was a one-off for the reviewer...bought some and had same problem but no "riding up" issues. had better experience with Under Armor

[shaqstudio]

I saw your review and bought the Patagonia tights. It is truly comfortable and very light, but sadly it doesn't provide enough support for my junk.

[hikeswithmikethorne]

Check them out online they’re lightweight really comfortable and if you wear them hiking for multiple days they don’t stink which is a major benefit for through hiker

[haydukeabbey]

Hmmmm. Did you ever make the video on shorts that you promoted at the end of this? Would be interested in that one.

[jdc]

Ex Os rode up my crack and were so uncomfortable. Bought a pair of Under Armour in the same size and didn't experience that at all.

[johnnythedane]

I have an athletic build as well and my many pairs of Ex O's have never ridden up and have never created vulnerable-to-chafing spots on myself, just my mileage in case viewers were wondering if it's a zero-sum game (it's not). Must be a certain thigh size/shape that may result in riding up? Mine soften and stretch just barely after days of use, just a normal/acceptable amount, but don't ride. Anyway, good vid, thanks

[ond]

Try SAXX underwear. With its ballpark pouch, you will not buy any other underwear.

It's really conformable, will not roll up, keep the boys in place, and really chaff free support

[commieslapper]

I go bareback with the body glide ohh yeeeahhh.

[forreststorie]

I couldnt find the patagiona under. can please send a link?

[anywhereroam]

Do they still make these? I can’t find them. They have Essentials and Sender, can’t find Capilene Performance

[julioonthepct]

Is there any ultralight shorts out there in the market that you can review? I like to wear shorts when I am in camp but I want them to be light because I will carry them all day long until I come to camp in the evening. I have found that most runners shorts are the lightest ones but they’re all are above 3 ounces or more. Any suggestions?

[hikeswithmikethorne]

They however are only an online company so you must order them online at Duluth trading.com

[hikeswithmikethorne]

Bare naked underwear by Duluth trading company

[WillNGo]

Ex Officio 'anti-microbial'? Maybe. Every synthetic I've ever seen, tried, been around: stinks. I'm a very stinky backpacker--if I'm wearing synthetics. Cotton? Takes me a full day to get stinky. Merino wool? days of stink free, or there's something in smartwool that causes nasal self-delusion. And what stinky I do put on 'em, a day or two airing out and they smell like lanolin again (and not my armpits). I do have the Adidas variant of the Ex Officios, don't know how similar they are, but they're actually pretty good about stinky. But not as good as smartwool. There are of course two types of stink. One is sweat, bacterial growth on it, B Oh. The other comes from little drops of pee. Even merino doesn't combat this as well as we'd like. This is why women wear panty liners, just more proof they're smarter than us guys. I might suggest cutting panty liners in half for guys to use as 'under- wear extenders, ' but then all the other guys would snicker at me, so I won't. If Ex Officios are those things I got at the Travel Store many years ago? they were awful. I've tried synthetics with the latest colloidal silver anti-microbial. Total joke. Synthetics stink. I still wear cotton at home, because I can take it off put it in my laundry basket and throw the pile in the machines once a week. On the trail: smart wool, 3 pairs of undies, two t-shirts, two long sleeves, one lightweight, one medium, and I'll soon replace the very expensive Patagonia Nano Puff with a heavy smartwool zip top. What's interesting about the Nano Puff is that the merino layers underneath can air out over night, no smell, but the Nano Puff, which if I wear it is usually layer #3, stinks, and stays stinky until I wash it.
Another bonus to smartwool. Because wool wicks moisture away from a source of heat, if you wash it and hang it up to dry, the inside wants to stay damp, turn it inside out and what's inside will become damp (but less so it is drying) But if you put it on, within ten minutes it's dry. I think most of us have been wearing smart wool socks for a few years, so we know that it works. An Icebreaker pair of boxer briefs or a basic t-shirt costs about $40 each. That's a lot. I'd suggest buying a t-shirt, wear it for a couple of hot summer days. It'll be slightly warmer than a cotton t, but not like synthetic. Sniff your armpits. Shower or not but wear the same t-shirt to bed or at least all the next day. Give it a sniff, well you can tell it's been worn. If you now air it out for a day, almost all the smell is gone. The only way I can tell a clean t-shirt from one I've worn is if I sniff both, or I can smell the perfume from laundry detergent (I use as little as possible). Often I've picked up a shirt, given it a sniff and thought, if it's been a week since my last laundry, I must have worn this... My 3 pairs of smartwoolies? I wore two of them for a three month trip, bought another pair during the trip, but didn't need it. So each pair got about 30 days of hard use, backpacking, hiking. They're still in new condition, so they do hold up.