International Jock

Friday, April 30, 2010

Bjorn Again - A Review

Brflines is no longer updating his undies status on Twitter, instead he is now documenting his daily underwear on Flickr.  Checkout the sidebar to see his pair of the day!
Bjorn Borg was an iconic Swedish tennis player from the 1970s. And like many professional athletes, once out of the business of playing a sport for a living, Bjorn branched out into the world of fashion. He joins another iconic tennis player who successfully transitioned over to the world of fashion, Henri Lacoste.

True to its origins, Bjorn Borg is sported by a lot of tennis players. As yours truly is an avid tennis fan, I’ve seen several players wearing them including Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra. So on a recent trip to Marshall’s, I saw the green Fun Stretch brief in a medium, I thought “why not?” So I picked them up and twenty minutes later I was at home slipping them on.

Brflines sporting Bjorn Borg.
Now, I’m normally into briefer cut briefs (low rise or no shows) so I’ll say one thing about the fun stretch brief from Bjorn Borg: it's very full cut. They’re very substantial on the sides and in the rear. I’d say that the fit of these briefs comes much closer to a trunk then they do to a lowrise brief. So if you’re looking for a skimpier cut, I’d steer clear of these.

So I thought I’d get super annoyed by having a bunch of material all over my groinal area. But not really, after I got used to being fully covered, it got very comfortable. The material's a nice combination of the softness of cotton and the stretchiness of just the right amount of lycra to allow give without making the garment feel too synthetic.

Brflines from behind.
I think a garment like the Bjorn Borg stretch fun brief is the perfect bridge for someone looking to transition from boxer briefs or trunks to briefs. The coverage and support approximates that of a brief. I also wore them one day to work and was delighted at the comfort of the garment and its all day wearability. The price point is a little high on these, but you can probably get them on sale.

Am I a Bjorn Again convert to full coverage briefs? Maybe. The fun stretch brief sure has made a strong argument for how much comfort and security a well-made full-coverage garment can provide.


Overall, I bequeath a score of 7.0 to the Bjorn Borg Fun Stretch Brief based on the following criteria:
COOL FACTOR -- 5 (out of 10) – The Euro-ness of the label is cool, for those in the know
WEARABILITY -- 8 (out of 10) – Nice, comfortable garment for all day wear, I wish these were cut briefer though
QUALITY -- 8 (out of 10) – Clean stitching, great fabric.
HOTNESS -- 8 (out of 10) – I still think full coverage = grandpa. So I have to knock them down a little for that. Tear.
VALUE -- 6 (out of 10) – Not super expensive, but they’re not Hanes either.

How Men's Underwear Blog got Started: Video

Here's a fun little video I made that shows how Men's Underwear Blog got started (visually.)  Basically here's how it progressed:  I first got into men's underwear, specifically boxer shorts.  Then my interests broadened to incorporated boxer briefs and briefs.  Then they expanded even further to other types of underwear.  This was five years ago.  At the same time,  I was going through a blog phase and I wanted to find a blog about all my interests.  I couldn't find one about men's underwear so I created one.  And here we are today! 

Last day to enter!

Today is the last day to enter the Wickedelic contest.  You can enter until tonight at midnight GMT.  Good luck!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Only a few days left to enter!

Hey guys!  Just a quick reminder that there are only four more days left (entry period ends at the end of the month) to enter to win our Wickedelic contest.  If you have not already entered, now is your last chance to do so.  Head on over to this page and fill out the form and you're all set!  Good luck. 

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Celebrate Earth Day in Style

Today is Earth Day.  Celebrate with 40% off your purchase at His Trunks with the coupon code "Earth".  Embrace nature and celebrate by getting some natural fibers. 

Monday, April 12, 2010

aussieBum Spunk Video

This is a leaked video for an upcoming collection from aussieBum that was to be titled "Spunk". The word on the street is that this collection is going to be retitled because of the obvious connotations of the word 'spunk' (if you don't know what I'm getting at check UrbanDictionary). The video does make the double entendre of the name pretty clear with the use of the white splatters across the screen. The text says "All I want is your spunk" in case you can't read it. What do you think? Should aussieBum just leave the collection titled Spunk or are they right to want to change it?

Sunday, April 11, 2010

James Tudor Offers Exclusive Discount

James Tudor, creator of the signature fall front underwear, is offering an exclusive discount for MUB readers.  As a special spring sale they are offering all customers a 20% discount (this is automatic at checkout).  But for MUB readers they are offering an additional 5% off your purchase for a total savings of 25% off.  All you have to do is head over to James Tudor, buy something, and enter promo code JT4MUB25 at checkout.  It's a simple as that.  James Tudor recently received an 8.5 rating from me on their fall front boxer, so their stuff is good quality and definitely worth the price, especially with 25% off!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Review: Under Performance

I was out at the Sports Authority a couple of days ago because some jerk stole my iPhone armband holder and my weightlifting gloves at the Y. Despite the general annoyance of having to drive to one of those big box stores and then clear cutting my way through those circular racks of Cubs and White Sox fan gear, I was in a pretty good mood. Spring has arrived in the CHI and after enduring months of freezing temps, the sun was shining and the skies were clear.

Having found replacement gloves (but no iPhone armband), I made my way to the register. En route, my eye caught the Under Armour display, and more importantly, the picked through boxes of the M series sports briefs.

I had heard through the underwear grapevine that these were coming down the pike a couple of months ago. Periodic checks at my local Dick’s Sporting Goods store yielded nada. It was only when I saw them at Sports Authority did I realize that Dick’s probably didn’t carry them, but luckily for me, I had checked elsewhere.

Brflines modeling Under Armour.
So I said a silent prayer to Saint Selena as I dove into the racks of boxed Undearmour garments. You guys probably know that finding a medium in briefs at places like Macy’s, Sports Authority, or TJ Maxx is like finding satisfaction from a Matthew McConnaughey movie. It’s so very elusive. Luckily, Selena answered my prayers and I found a couple boxes of the M series sports briefs. I casually opened a couple of boxes and found that they had only black, so black it was. I was so excited to finally get my hands on one of these I actually pulled them out while I was stopped at a red light and looked at them. The guy in the car on my left thought it was hilarious when I noticed that he was watching me right before the light turned green.

When I got home, I was able to fully inspect the garment. My first impression is that it is very close to the CK Pro Mesh line from a couple of years ago, right down to the blue waistband. The material is very similar. It’s got that thin, synthetic, mesh feel to it. The waistband of the Under Armour garment is a little wider, at 1 ¼ inches than the CK pro mesh garments and the blue of the waistband is richer and more saturated. They fit true to size for a North American medium (~34”) with higher cut sides than most standard briefs, but a surprisingly full back. I really wanted to see how they performed at the gym, because this is essentially a piece of high performance gear.

So, this morning was my scheduled day to do cardio at the gym. I thought that It would be a good opportunity to put the m series brief through a series of vigorous activities to see how they matched up to my usual workout gear, low rise cotton briefs or bikinis. I did forty five minutes of step mastering, fifty prisoner squats, fifty lunges, and some yoga poses to cool down with the m series sports brief. The Under Armour brief was up to the task. I had heard that they had a tendency to ride up, but I find that all underwear do that when you’re doing squats or lots of cardio. They stayed dry, which was nice and they stayed put for most of the time. What I didn’t get was any added benefit (other than the dryness) of wearing a $20 high performance brief. Maybe I’ll feel different when it’s warm enough to start running outside again.

Anyway, I’m hesitant to give all of you a strong recommendation to get these, just because I don’t think that the price/benefit ration favors the benefit side. For those of you who want to try out the Under Armour M series brief, they’re available at UnderArmour.com. Hisroom also has them.

BRFLINE’S RATING
Overall, I’ve given the Under Armour M Series Brief a 6.0 based on the following (special) criteria:
LOOK -- 5 (out of 10) – They look like a re-hash of the CK pro mesh line
FEEL -- 6 (out of 10) – They were comfortable enough for the gym, but I can’t imagine wearing them all day
PERFORMANCE -- 8 (out of 10) – Stayed put and stayed dry
VALUE -- 5 (out of 10) – Not enough benefit to justify the $20 price point

Sunday, April 04, 2010

Happy Easter from Cocksox

It's starting to cool down in Australia but at Cocksox it's heating up! For the first time ever they're offering the classic CX02 swim briefs in two new, ultra bright colors: Man Candy and Glowstick. But these hot new colors are strictly limited edition.

Also, as a celebration of this new launch and of Easter, Cocksox is offering 20% off everything from now until midnight April 13. Just enter coupon code 'eggs' at checkout.