Best Underwear for Men Who Hate Wearing Underwear

Some guys love shopping for underwear.

Other guys would rather not wear any at all.

If you're in the second group, there's probably a reason.

Maybe your underwear constantly rides up. Maybe the waistband digs into your stomach. Maybe boxer briefs make you feel hot. Maybe you hate fabric bunching underneath your pants. Or maybe you simply don't like feeling restricted.

If that sounds familiar, the solution might not be giving up on underwear completely.

You might just be wearing the wrong kind.

Modern men's underwear comes in everything from ultra-soft boxer briefs to minimal thongs and jockstraps that use surprisingly little fabric. Finding the right combination of fit, fabric, support, and coverage can completely change how underwear feels.

So if you're a guy who hates wearing underwear, here's what you should actually look for.

Why Do Some Men Hate Wearing Underwear?

Before finding a better pair, it helps to figure out what you actually dislike about the underwear you're wearing now.

For most guys, it comes down to one or more of these problems:

Too much fabric

Underwear riding up

Tight waistbands

Not enough room in the pouch

Feeling hot or sweaty

Fabric bunching underneath pants

Leg openings digging into the thighs

Constantly having to adjust everything

None of those things should simply be accepted as part of wearing underwear.

Good underwear should be something you mostly forget about once you're dressed.

If you're thinking about it all day, something isn't working.

If You Hate Too Much Fabric, Try Less of It

This sounds obvious, but it's one of the easiest underwear problems to solve.

Traditional boxer briefs cover your waist, hips, butt, and part of your thighs.

That's a lot of fabric.

Some guys love that secure, covered feeling.

Others absolutely hate it.

If you're constantly aware of fabric underneath your pants, try moving toward underwear with less coverage.

Briefs eliminate the fabric extending down your thighs.

Jockstraps remove the thigh fabric and almost the entire back.

Thongs remove the thigh fabric and most of the back while maintaining a supportive pouch in the front.

You don't have to go directly from boxer briefs to the most minimal underwear you can find, either.

Experiment with different levels of coverage until you find your sweet spot.

Our guide to men's underwear styles can help you compare the different cuts if you're not sure where to start.

If You Hate Underwear Riding Up, Lose the Legs

Few things make you more aware of your underwear than constantly pulling it back into place.

Boxer briefs and trunks have fabric around the thighs, which means that fabric has the potential to shift as you walk, sit, bend, and move.

A properly fitting pair shouldn't constantly ride up, but some guys simply have more trouble with this style than others.

One solution is switching to underwear without legs.

Briefs are the most traditional option.

If you want even less material, thongs and jockstraps eliminate the leg fabric completely.

There's nothing around your thighs available to creep upward.

If riding up is your main frustration, read our guide to why men's underwear rides up and how to stop it. We cover sizing, fabric, leg openings, body shape, pants, and underwear styles in much more detail.

If You Hate Feeling Restricted, Check the Size First

Before blaming your underwear style, make sure you aren't simply wearing the wrong size.

Underwear that's too small can create problems everywhere.

The waistband digs in.

The pouch feels compressed.

The leg openings squeeze your thighs.

And suddenly you're counting down the hours until you can take everything off.

Underwear should fit close to your body without feeling like it's fighting against it.

Pay attention to the brand's size chart rather than automatically buying the same size you've worn for years.

Your body can change, and sizing isn't identical across every underwear brand.

Sometimes going up one size completely changes how a pair feels.

The Pouch Might Be the Real Problem

If your biggest complaint is constantly needing to adjust yourself, look at the pouch.

Men's underwear needs to provide enough room in the front while still offering support.

Too much compression can make even soft underwear uncomfortable.

Too little support can leave everything moving around more than you'd like.

A well-designed pouch should sit naturally against your body and provide enough stretch to accommodate movement.

This matters regardless of whether you're wearing boxer briefs, briefs, thongs, or jockstraps.

Minimal underwear doesn't mean minimal room where it actually matters.

If You Hate Feeling Hot, Look at Your Fabric

Not all underwear fabrics feel the same.

Some materials are heavier.

Some hold more moisture.

Others are lightweight, smooth, and stretchy.

If you regularly feel hot underneath your clothing, consider underwear made from lighter fabrics with less overall material.

Nylon and polyamide blends can create a smooth, lightweight feel, especially when combined with elastane or spandex for stretch.

Cotton is familiar and comfortable for many guys, but different cotton fabrics and blends can vary considerably in weight and stretch.

There isn't one perfect material for everyone.

The goal is to find something that feels good against your skin and doesn't make you feel like you're wearing another layer of clothing.

Softness Matters More Than You Think

When underwear is touching your body all day, texture matters.

A rough seam that seems insignificant when you first put something on can become incredibly annoying several hours later.

The same applies to scratchy fabrics, stiff waistbands, or poorly finished edges.

If you're particularly sensitive to the feeling of underwear, prioritize soft fabrics and smooth construction.

The less your underwear irritates your skin, the easier it becomes to forget you're wearing it.

Try a Men's Thong

We know this might not be the first suggestion you expected.

But if your biggest underwear complaints are too much fabric, bunching, riding up, or visible lines, a thong solves several of those problems simply by removing the material.

There's no fabric extending down your thighs.

There's almost no fabric covering your butt.

And there's very little material available to bunch underneath your pants.

You still get a supportive pouch in the front.

The back will feel different at first if you've never worn one before, but many guys become accustomed to it surprisingly quickly.

Our first-time guide to comfortable men's thongs explains what they actually feel like and how to choose your first pair.

You can also explore our men's thongs if less fabric sounds like exactly what you've been looking for.

Try a Jockstrap

If the idea of a thong isn't for you, a jockstrap takes a different approach to minimal underwear.

You still get a supportive pouch and waistband.

But instead of a strip of fabric running through the center of the back, a jockstrap uses two straps that sit underneath the buttocks.

The rest of the back is open.

That means no fabric around your thighs and almost nothing covering your butt.

For guys who hate the feeling of being wrapped in underwear, that can be a major difference.

And modern jockstraps aren't limited to thick athletic materials.

Soft everyday jockstraps can feel completely different from the old-school sports versions you might be imagining.

Read our complete guide to men's jockstraps if you're curious about how they work and how they're supposed to fit.

Or browse our men's jockstraps to see different options.

What About Briefs?

Don't overlook them.

If you're currently wearing boxer briefs and hate the fabric around your thighs but aren't interested in a thong or jockstrap, briefs are the obvious middle ground.

You still get full coverage in the front and back.

You simply lose the legs.

That can reduce bunching while giving you the familiar feeling of traditional underwear.

Low-rise and bikini-style briefs can reduce coverage even further without going completely minimal.

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one.

Browse men's briefs if you want less fabric without giving up full back coverage.

What About Going Commando?

Some guys simply prefer not wearing underwear.

And depending on what you're wearing and what you're doing, that may feel comfortable.

But underwear does serve some practical purposes.

It creates a layer between your body and your outer clothing, provides support, and can help keep sweat and body oils away from your pants.

Going without underwear also means your pants are directly against areas that would normally be protected by another layer of fabric.

For some guys, that's perfectly comfortable.

For others, finding extremely lightweight or minimal underwear gives them the freedom they're looking for while still providing support and a barrier underneath their clothing.

Choose Underwear Based on Your Pants

Sometimes you don't actually hate your underwear.

You hate your underwear under those particular pants.

A long boxer brief might feel completely comfortable underneath loose sweatpants and terrible underneath skinny jeans.

A thong might feel great underneath tailored pants because there's almost nothing to bunch.

A jockstrap can work particularly well underneath gym shorts because it provides support without adding fabric around the thighs.

Your underwear and outer clothing work together.

Guide to choosing underwear for different types of pants explains which styles work well underneath jeans, dress pants, suits, chinos, gym clothes, sweatpants, and shorts.

Look for Stretch

Whatever style you choose, stretch can make a major difference.

Your body isn't stationary throughout the day.

You're sitting.

Walking.

Bending.

Climbing stairs.

Getting in and out of cars.

Your underwear needs to accommodate all of that movement.

Materials blended with elastane or spandex can allow the fabric to stretch with your body and then recover its shape.

Underwear that moves with you generally feels much less noticeable than underwear you're constantly fighting against.

Stop Buying Underwear Based Only on Habit

A lot of guys wear boxer briefs because they've always worn boxer briefs.

That's it.

There wasn't a detailed evaluation process.

At some point they stopped wearing whatever underwear they wore as kids, bought boxer briefs, and continued buying them for the next fifteen years.

If you genuinely love them, great.

But if you complain about your underwear every day and then keep buying the exact same style, it might be time to experiment.

Try briefs.

Try a softer fabric.

Try a jockstrap.

Try a thong.

Try something with a different pouch.

You might discover that you never hated underwear.

You just hated your underwear.

What Is the Best Underwear for Men Who Hate Underwear?

There's no single answer because it depends on what you hate about it.

If you hate fabric around your thighs, try briefs, thongs, or jockstraps.

If you hate underwear riding up, try a style without legs or reassess your size.

If you hate feeling restricted, look for more stretch, a roomier pouch, and the correct size.

If you hate feeling hot, try lightweight fabrics and less coverage.

If you hate bunching underneath pants, consider a more minimal cut.

And if you hate boring underwear, that's an entirely different problem we can definitely help with.

Comfortable Doesn't Have to Mean Boring

There's one last thing worth mentioning.

You don't have to choose between underwear that feels good and underwear that looks good.

A soft thong can still be sexy.

A supportive jockstrap can still make you feel confident.

A comfortable brief doesn't have to look like something you bought in a six-pack at the grocery store.

We've written an entire guide about whether men's underwear can be sexy and comfortable at the same time, and the answer is absolutely yes.

Comfort should be the starting point, not the limitation.

Give Underwear Another Chance

If you've spent years saying you hate wearing underwear, we're not going to tell you that you secretly love it.

Maybe you really don't.

But before giving up on it entirely, try something completely different from what you've been wearing.

Less fabric.

More stretch.

A softer material.

A better pouch.

A different size.

Sometimes one small change fixes the exact thing that's been annoying you for years.

At Oh Bobby Behave, we believe the best underwear is the pair you actually want to put on.

And ideally, once it's on, you barely have to think about it.

Explore our men's underwear and find a pair that might finally change your mind.