Men’s Medium. Expertly modeled by Nancy.
I’m not usually in the habit of buying $50 boxer shorts (plus tax and shipping). Actually, I didn’t even buy these ones. They were a very generous Christmas gift.
But… if you do feel like treating yourself to a rather lovely pair of (94%) merino underwear… then I can wholeheartedly recommend them.
Being Rapha, they come in a limited choice of trademark colours – black, pink and grey. I prefer the black, with it’s Liquorice Allsorts trim around the elasticated waistband.
The united colours of Rapha.
As a general rule, I only carry two pairs of underwear on a bike tour. And as I don’t wear cycling-specific shorts during the day (although these ones are available with a pad for $65), mine have been getting a lot of use.
There’s not much more to say about them really, except that the fit is great, the flatlock stitching doesn’t chaff, and they feel oh-so-luxy and soft. Being a merino blend, they shouldn’t get too stinky so quickly, if you neglect to wash them. Not that I’ve tried. Yet.
I’ve had a couple of Rapha products over the years, and despite the undeniably hefty price tag and associated image, I have nothing but positive feedback to report. Hopefully these shorts will hold up just as well. More when I’ve seen how they fare after a couple of thousands miles of saddle time…
Disclosure: A Christmas gift, purchased at full retail price.
I just recently bought some Patagonia undies, the stretchy ones, due to you liking yours. I really do like them. It’s the first time I’ve ever paid 30.00 for undershorts! Are the Raphas 20.00 better? I’m not sure I can go there. On the other hand, 50.00 for a pair of riding shorts isn’t out of line at all.
Love the new site!!!
Hey Gary, yes, I agree that $50 is a chunk of cash for undies. Rapha were doing 3 for $100 before, which is a really good deal for merino – and would have kept me going for a while! I’m really happy with mine, despite the splurge. Jeremy has some too – actually, he was the one who recommended them to me.
I’ve bought loads of pairs of Finisterre merino boxers, and they’re the only pants I wear nowadays, touring or not. They fit really nicely, full of merino goodness and have all lasted great. 50 quid for two pairs seems fine to me for the quality.
Thanks for the heads up. The Finisterre stuff does look really good. Hendrik did a review here:
http://hikinginfinland.com/2012/03/finisterre-zephyr-boxer-shorts.html
The £50 bundle for two pairs seems pretty good. Nice colours too. In the UK, the Rapha’s would be £70 – maybe they’ll bring back their bundled price again, as so far, I’m very happy with them.
I bought the three pack of rapha’s boxers recently for $100.
the reason I went rapha over other merino undies is the longer leg length than most others. in my experience this stop the legs rolling up as you pedal. I have nothing but praise for these boxers. Well worth the money, I will be buying another three pack and ditching all my other undies soon. $50 is alot for boxers, but not super boxers like these.
Very comfortable, dry quickly, wick sweat well and resist odor for multiple days (yes, I tried it out just to see – still good after four days in one pair, day and night).
Thanks for that Harry. Quantifying the value of products is a tough one. But at the end of the day, if it does the job and really lasts the distance, I think it’s always money well spent.