Friday 23 September 2016

Knickers!


Runderwear Review

In my role as PT and also 'the voice' of the brand on social media I have the (sometimes dubious) honour of testing sport, weight loss and fitness products now and then. This review has an added extra – my hubby also got some of this product to try so that we could do a his and hers analysis.

The product?
Runderwear – sport, or should I be more specific – running, underwear. Here you go:

His
My first impressions when I opened the packaging were: “what a dreadful colour”, “oh, they’re briefs” and “hey, they feel soft”.

I’d like to ignore the colour (cyan blue) but I can’t, it really is awful, it’s a bit feminine and it reminds me of the Y-fronts I used to wear during my childhood in the 1970s and 80s. There’s no way I’d buy undershorts in this colour, black: yes, black with cyan accents: yes, but cyan: definitely not.

So glossing over the colour, how do they feel when worn?, well, very comfortable actually. They didn’t feel like they were compressing anything, neither did they feel loose and the fabric felt very soft.

I wore them under loose-fitting shorts without a liner and went for 1 hour run in 20°C heat with a slight breeze, so warm enough to build up a bit of a sweat.

I barely noticed I was wearing them; if it hadn’t been for the fact that my (ahem) genitals weren’t swaying from the momentum of running, I’d swear I wasn’t wearing anything underneath my shorts at all.

With hindsight, I wish I’d been wearing Runderwer rather than my usual mesh-lined shorts, when I suffered some unpleasant 'male area' chafing during a very rainy Warwick half marathon.

In summary: they do the job admirably, the pricing is very good (£16 a pair), they feel well made and they’re also available in black.

So would I buy a pair? - yes, I would.

Hers
I have specialist clothing for running and cycling and skiing. From tops and trousers to jackets, socks, gloves and hats. As a woman I also need to have sports bras. I didn't ('til now) have pants just for sport (apart from padded shorts for cycling – they are a necessity!). I wasn't sure that special pants were necessary except for superheroes, and I don't run commando.

Having tried Runderwear I won't go back to running in my M&S undies ever again. No chance of chafing from these beauties. However, lets start at the beginning.

I love receiving parcels and packages – even though we get lots of items delivered, each one is a joy. I can't wait to open every one and see what it contains – my Runderwear package contained a lovely soft, seamless pair of pants and a bra top in black with cyan writing.

'Don't Run Commando' they read on the pants waistband, and Runderwear is emblazoned on the centre of the bra top. The fabric feels a little thick and at first I was wondering if they would be a little too warm when worn. The bra top compresses slightly but is no good as your only underwear and indeed I don't think it is designed as such. The pants style I would label 'Harvest Festivals' as 'all is safely gathered in' or if you prefer – granny or big girl pants. This does ensure that they don't slip down or ride up.

On my first run out I decided not to risk any issues with chafing, just in case, so I only completed a few miles. As I didn't find any issues on my short run I stepped them up to my long run next.

I have now run many hot sunny and sweaty, or drizzly or windy km's in my Runderwear and I love them. No slipping, no soggy wet (sorry if you're sensitive) bum-crack moments that you get with cotton pants, no chaffing, no overheating. I love the bra top too – wearing it for shorter runs when it's hot and where I don't need a backpack or in the gym.

I'm totally sold on the idea of running specific underwear now – I even wear them to the gym for particularly intensive sweaty sessions and will be buying further pairs soon to ensure that they're never in the wash when I need them! They do dry relatively quickly when washed– much more than cotton but being quite thick still not as fast as my much thinner running tights.

Having recently spoken to running friends about them, I had found a number of converts in my network too. Next time you're dressing for a run or workout make sure you have the right gear from the underwear outwards even these little things can make the difference between a good and a great run.

Now, where's my credit card and lets get to the website...https://www.runderwear.co.uk/

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