Tommy John makes the best undershirts, our favorite no-show socks, and our beloved Moroccan shirts, but how do their underwear stack up in an incredibly and increasingly competitive space?
Tommy John’s underwear, specifically their Second Skin Trunks, finished in the top three in your premium underwear vote. TJ’s five underwear offerings are very different, and each available in as many as five lengths, so let’s start with the Second Skins.
Tommy John’s Second Skin underwear are 90% modal. They feel more technical than MeUndies or Mack Weldon and sit about halfway between them, with the most structure of any pair of mostly modal underwear we’ve worn, while still boasting thinness on par with MeUndies. If we had to wear the same underwear line forever, we’d go with the Second Skin in a trunk length.
Tommy John knows how to work some dark magic with fabric, and their Cool Cotton line certainly doesn’t feel like just cotton and spandex when you’re wearing it.
Tommy John’s Air line is the coolest (as in temperature) pair of underwear we’ve ever worn, and also their most expensive offering. The nylon mesh used here is anti-microbial and anti-odor, borrowing some merino properties while remaining ultralight.
Tommy John’s polyester Go Anywhere line is their most recent and most affordable underwear foray. Polyester or not, they’re ridiculously comfortable, anti-microbial, anti-odor, and moisture wicking.
TJ’s sport line is ultra-structured and supportive, and even has a cellphone pocket for good measure. We still think shorts with built-in liners are the way to go when working out (roundup on that soon), but if we have to wear dedicated underwear for our run, these are it.
Tommy John doubly impresses by excelling beyond the competitive set when working with premium fabrics, and confounding our expectations when it comes to cheaper ones. We’d love to see them take on merino and lose the waistband branding, but at the end of the day, they still lead the basics industry.