Most underwear is comfortable, but the recycled nylon with just the right amount of spandex in the Patagonia Sender is on another level of comfort. The fit is excellent, and the fabric stretches to fit your body shape without being too tight or loose. These are a joy to wear, and it’s easy to forget you’re wearing them at all.
When considering underwear materials, we found that recycled nylon with a spandex material was generally the most comfortable. This material is soft and smooth on your skin. It’s also more supportive for longer as it holds its shape longer than any bra we’ve tested. The waistband is very comfortable too. It has a soft woven exterior and a strong but not too strong elastic band underneath.
Compared to natural fibers like wool, cotton, or bamboo, the nylon/spandex blend in Senders doesn’t seem to stretch as quickly. After a long day of walking around, we found many underwear made from natural materials stretch and don’t return to their original size until we wash them again.
This was true of every pair of underwear we tested made from natural fibers, even our favorite merino wool underwear, Ridge Merino Performance Fit Boxer Briefs again Ibex Natural Boxer Briefly. A loose pair of underwear tends to ride up your legs and move around your track more, which is uncomfortable and annoying. Patagonia Senders, which are 11% spandex, return to their original shape better than other underwear, so they don’t twist or ride up too much on your leg.
We wore the Patagonia Senders while hiking all day under the hot Arizona sun. Compared to other underwear, these are very breathable. The mesh material allows for plenty of air flow and doesn’t feel sweat-soaked. They also dry very quickly, so if you submerge yourself or your underwear in water, they will dry quickly.
Like every other piece of Patagonia gear, Senders come with it Patagonia’s Ironclad Guarantee. This warranty is one of the best in the outdoor industry, and covers the gears for the life of the product and covers wear and tear. This means that if you do wear out these underwear, you can have them repaired or replaced at no charge.
Patagonia also has some of the best environmental practices of any company. They work with them bluesign technology identifying products in the supply chain that are safe for the environment, workers, and customers. They also use tons of recycled content in their fabrics, like the sweatshirt, which is made from 89% recycled nylon. And, with their Worn Wear program, they encourage us all to eat less by using what we already have for a long time (although they don’t seem to sell these underwear in the WornWear section).
While we love almost every feature of the Senders, they are made of nylon, which can smell bad. The HeiQ® Pure performance odor control treatment is very effective, but these underwear will smell more than the merino wool model. However, after wearing these for days while backpacking, we can confidently say that they don’t smell that bad. In a completely non-scientific odor test, we estimate that HeiQ® Pure odor control treatment is 10% more effective than Fruit of the Loom Micro Mesh odor control. Nothing is odor proof, but these don’t smell that’s bad. And since they are nylon, they wash and dry faster than wool.
Runners have many positive customer reviews online, and iRunFar also has good things to say about them. With all-around underwear you can wear while hiking, running, or traveling the world, we don’t think you can do any better than these.