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.
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| 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:
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
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