Hey all, I was reading something somewhere that Shakari had written and it said for clients to wear tidy whities or other tighter fitting underwear in Africa.

brief story: when I was 18 I went to the Philippines for 4.5 months (treasure hunting, long story) within the first week of getting there, wearing tighty whities, I had crotch rot. God awful too, nothing like tropical skin conditions for nastiness. Anyways, I switched to boxers, or went commando, on recommendation of our engineer who'd lived there for years. I never had another problem (powder too, great for keeping dry).

And I've worn boxers ever since. sure, I own 2 or 3 pairs of those briefs that are like tight shorts. But overall I wear the boxers for everything. So I'm curious, what makes them bad for Africa? I think Shakari had something about chafing, but I find it is the seem in the crotch of my pants that causes irritation, not the boxers.

I'm not saying wearing briefs is an Africa hunt killer, I'd just prefer to wear boxers.

Red

Man just a subject I don't care to share thoughts with others or care to hear their thoughts.

That's because Shakari is "OLD"!! Try Under Armour, better than boxers, titty whities, or anything else you might find. Wicks moisture, and you will not have chaffing, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:
That's because Shakari is "OLD"!! Try Under Armour, better than boxers, titty whities, or anything else you might find. Wicks moisture, and you will not have chaffing, etc.

OK, I admit to being an old bastard and also to not having any idea what Under Armour are..... but the reason I suggest avoiding boxers are those looooooooong walks after buffalo and elephant etc because of the chafing.

As an example, a few years ago, I had a client from New York on a buff hunt. I tried to go easy on him because he wasn't more than middlin' fit and obviously not used to long tabs.... the first day we walked about 4 hours, the second about 5, the third about 6 and on the morning of the forth day, he came out of his tent with he feet so far apart, he could hardly stand up..... and told me his old chap and surrounding areas were red raw. Turned out he'd been wearing boxers which is what caused the problem. Admittedly, this had it's funny side but I can tell you the poor guy was in agony and it ruined the rest of his hunt.

Now can someone please tell me what the hell 'Under Armour' are???

I think the tighter fit around the legs would also help prevent a tick from getting up and biting your junk.

quote:

Originally posted by DCS Member:
I think the tighter fit around the legs would also help prevent a tick from getting up and biting your junk.

Steve - You're right! Boxers bad, Under Armour, the best. I'll keep ya guessing for awhile.

Ah, you can't fool this old fox..... I asked that nice Mr Google and he showed me these: http://www.underarmour.com/sho...xerjock-/1000666-001

You blokes some good gear over there and I have to say, they look like a very good alternative but in my defence, we do recommend that type of thing as a good alternative to tighty whities etc.

What I want to know is who they used as my body double to model them?

DCS,

A good tip on ticks is to swap your shower gel for dog tick and flea shampoo for the duration of the hunt and a week or two afterwards.

quote:

I think the tighter fit around the legs would also help prevent a tick from getting up and biting your junk.

quote:

brief story: when I was 18 I went to the Philippines for 4.5 months (treasure hunting, long story) within the first week of getting there, wearing tighty whities, I had crotch rot. God awful too, nothing like tropical skin conditions for nastiness. Anyways, I switched to boxers, or went commando, on recommendation of our engineer who'd lived there for years. I never had another problem (powder too, great for keeping dry).

Had a similar experience one time in Vegas walking up and down the strip a few times. Switched to boxers and have been fine ever since, although, having read Shakari's web page as well, I have considered briefs (and now under armour) for my first safari (whenever that day may be). Would certainly hate to ruin a hunting trip due to an issue in that area.

For those of you unfamiliar with under armour. Here's their website: Under Armour

To expand on what Aaron said about Under Armour, they have several different kinds, and one is better than any other. The model you want is the 'boxer brief' model. They're compression shorts, and go about 1/2 way down your thigh. Like Aaron said, they wick moisture very well, but the advatage of the boxer briefs over regular briefs is that extended leg. They are superior for lots of walking. The regular briefs are like 'tighty whities', but made from Under Armours fabric.

Whether some guys want to talk about it or not, this is one product that can have a significant impact upon your ability to hunt hard and hunt long.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
Whether some guys want to talk about it or not, this is one product that can have a significant impact upon your ability to hunt hard and hunt long.

Ain't that the truth!

The only thing worse than chafing 'down there' is getting thrush on your old chap from taking doxy for too long.

Hooker will no doubt now start hammering me with yoghurt jokes just now!

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
To expand on what Aaron said about Under Armour, they have several different kinds, and one is better than any other. The model you want is the 'boxer brief' model. They're compression shorts, and go about 1/2 way down your thigh. Like Aaron said, they wick moisture very well, but the advatage of the boxer briefs over regular briefs is that extended leg. They are superior for lots of walking. The regular briefs are like 'tighty whities', but made from Under Armours fabric.

Whether some guys want to talk about it or not, this is one product that can have a significant impact upon your ability to hunt hard and hunt long.

100% my friend!! Under Armour shirts are great too!! Wick moisture, light weight, etc. Much better than the typical safari shirts.

Fact is, whether its the best apparel for hunting in Africa, or here in the U.S., rarely is the BEST gear you can find for hunting, actually made by HUNTING COMPANIES. Here in the U.S. for example, by far the best apparel and gear I have found is made my mountaineering companies, not hunting companies. (Except boots)

I have underarmour compression shorts (I lost one pair actually, no idea where they are, 20 bucks I think, damnit) for when I was playing softball.

all you had to say was ticks on the stick, that enough reason for me right there.

I have another recommendation for something but not sure where to put it, so will add it here and maybe somebody will think of where I might put it later.

Liquid Bandaid. It's priceless. It comes in a little bottle, goes on like nail polish, basically it's super glue with an antiseptic in it. burns going on, but seals the scratch, cut etc. and is way better than a bandaid. I find things heal much faster, I don't have to put more bandaids on every time there's moisture etc, and it keeps dirt and grime out much better than a regular bandage could. I get cuts on my hands a lot, and sometimes on my face (straight razor) and keep a bottle with me whenever I travel. I'd think in the bush with all the little cuts and scratches you can get just walking around it would be indispensable.

thanks for the answers guys, was a small curiosity and I have my answer "keep your junk held tight or you'll be plucking ticks all night"

Red

Reminds me of an old joke.

Kid asks his grandpa: "Gramps, do you wear boxers or briefs?"

Grandpa replies: "Depends."

Boxers and regular briefs chafe. I prefer boxer briefs. I have not tried the Under Armour. I prefer the Hanes ones. The UA's may be better, but Hanes works fine and are less expensive.

My wife discovered Under Armour for me about 5 or 6 years back. With her I never have to buy clothes for myself. I've got drawers and a closet full of their stuff now. I'm a walking display of they're products from head to toe.
About 5 years ago I tried their product sheep hunting and I've never looked back. The underwear are as everyone says, "GREAT" for keeping "the Boys" secure and fully protected, keeps them dry, and they don't rub or dangle. I've used them in Africa a few times and as expected worked great.

Can they be ironed?

The reason everything (under ideal conditions) everything gets ironed on safari isn't to impress the clients, it's to kill the eggs of the bot flies etc.

Don't want to iron UnderArmor unless you want to buy new irons.
UnderArmor is basically pantyhose material
It was a 90's thing when we men have become more feminine! LOL
Actually very good stuff and like others my preference are the boxer briefs as they hug your thighs so no ticks on the stick.

Old yogert face I would not tease you!!!!!!!! the hell I wont ask Sakari about the realy cute blonde Italian lady who served him a nice cold glass of yogert and HOW dam red his face turned and Philip A is my witness dam you could have lite at cigar on his face he was so red Thats OK buddy Susan says you haven't been able to see the little fella for yrs. OH by the way as then president of the new chapter of our club in Uganda are we going to have a secret hand shake?????????

Eishhhhh but I'm beginning to regret telling you that story!!!

As for the Italian lady, I'll never forget that one and will have to add it to the story!

Yup, special handshake sounds good..... just as long as it doesn't involve yoghurt!

I bike year round, indoors and out. For those of you who don't, the reason we wear those ridiculous shorts is not to show off that portion of our anatomy (tight, black and shiny does not look good on any fifty-year-old ass, I guarantee!) It's to keep the most tender portions of one's body from developing really uncomfortable sores. I can't imagine doing a thirty mile ride in July wearing boxers or briefs.
When I'm hunting in a warm climate I like baggy pants for the coolness. But with my skinny legs inside them, if I didn't wear compression shorts made of some synthetic, I probably could hunt one day only.

Depends would ahve been a good Idea for Steve when he had Malaria toooooooo. the blow by could have killed someone

XGO makes excellent synthetics as well. For those hunting colder climates and like wool -33 makes some top notch marino wool base layers. They don't itch at all (unless you have a wool sensitivity) and are much more anti microbial than synthetics. The stink factor is kept down considerably compared to synthetics on a long hunt. For an African hunt my choice is XGO. I use XGO up here in Alaska for shorter duration (weekend) hunts. Wool comes out for the longer hunts though.

XGO:

http://www.xgotech.com/

-33:

http://www.minus33.com/merino-...baselayer-index.html

FYI: Wool is also flame retardent. So if you are flying in and you crash, you may survive the crash, but not a fire belting your synthetic base layer to your skin.

Brett

I am a big fan of staying with what your body is used too. Africa ain't no different than working outside all day in Texas summer when it is 105 F outside.

A hunt in Africa...where you can't change back...ain't the best place to wear something for the first time.

Also...make sure your flea shampoo is a pyrethrin based product and not an organophosphate product as repetative doses of organophospates can be toxic.

The RID shampoo for lice on kids sold OTC is a good anti-tick wash.

Fact is, whether its the best apparel for hunting in Africa, or here in the U.S., rarely is the BEST gear you can find for hunting, actually made by HUNTING COMPANIES. Here in the U.S. for example, by far the best apparel and gear I have found is made my mountaineering companies, not hunting companies. (Except boots)[/QUOTE]

ain't that the truth

Some of the higher end hiking pants are the cats meow for hunting

I've used these or an older version of these for years and like them.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas...asJS=true&hasJS=true

I may try Under Armour when I need replacements though.

I shall refrain from commenting on the choice of other mens underware, but will add this one tip.

Get hold of some DiproSalic Ointment. In the UK you need a perscription, but I'm not sure about else where.

For anything involving broken skin, this suff is brilliant. It is without doubt *the* best cure for sweat induced crotch rot or similar maladies I have evercome across.

Its persrcibed to promote skin healing for people with difficult skin conditions such as ulcers ect and it works really, really well...

Essentially it is a medicated paraffin product and it soothes as well as heals...

Die ou jagter:

- I'm with you about this thread. (Somehow, I never thought to ask my outfitter nor PH what underwear I should be wearing. I think maybe I endangered myself with nyati. Damn! Well, you just can't think of everything!)

Look. I'm over 60 years old and 30 pounds overweight. No! I'm not bragging. I find that underwear of any type is just not good for me. I was in Zim and Mozambique in Sept/Oct '07 when temps were over a 100 F. In '09 I was in both Mozambique and Botswana during the same basic time frame. I didn't miss my underwear. A litte Gold Bond Powder once in awhile seemed to be all that was required.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Look. I'm over 60 years old and 30 pounds overweight. No! I'm not bragging. I find that underwear of any type is just not good for me. I was in Zim and Mozambique in Sept/Oct '07 when temps were over a 100 F. In '09 I was in both Mozambique and Botswana in '09 during the same basic time frame. I didn't miss my underwear. A litte Gold Bond Powder once in awhile seemed to be all that was required.

Mark

And the old guys STRIKE AGAIN!! Free ballin it, gotta love it Mark.

Shakari - I am aware of the reason for ironing in Africa. I have never had a problem with them ironing my Under Armour, and they have never said anything to me about it either.

Brett - Look at beyondclothing.com as well. Referred to me several years ago by Bryan Martin, owner of Canadian Mtn Outfitters in BC, the KING of gear guru's. All the clothing is tailored to your measurements, and totally awesome for Alaska, Canada, etc. Not cheap, but very good. Have you looked at OTT Gear for rain gear??

quote:

Look. I'm over 60 years old and 30 pounds overweight. No! I'm not bragging. I find that underwear of any type is just not good for me.

DUDE! I am scarred for life...

If you wear boxers and shorts, don't climb a tree with the clients wife close by! and be careful how you kneel for the trophy photos!

bwanamrm: Me too!

+1 - UA boxer briefs
Not just Africa- everyday- everywhere...

Guys,

Sorry if I bruised anyone's tender sensibilities. I spent some time in some very hot and sweaty places in the 60's and 70's and found as Dago Red related that underwear was not necessary and in fact was bad for my health.

Mark

how about depends??

quote:

Originally posted by Pete E:
I shall refrain from commenting on the choice of other mens underware, but will add this one tip.

Get hold of some DiproSalic Ointment. In the UK you need a perscription, but I'm not sure about else where.

For anything involving broken skin, this suff is brilliant. It is without doubt *the* best cure for sweat induced crotch rot or similar maladies I have evercome across.

Its persrcibed to promote skin healing for people with difficult skin conditions such as ulcers ect and it works really, really well...

Essentially it is a medicated paraffin product and it soothes as well as heals...

This product contains a corticosteriod (betamethasone) and salicylic acid. Without a search I am not aware of a comparable US product.

For prevention, a product in the US called Body Glide helps a lot to avoid chafing. Long distance (and overweight) runners use it to prevent the problem.

Don't forget tp take Vaseline with on safari Grease up your chafe areas good and proper before you embark from camp each day. Not fool-proof, but it does help a lot.

I can see it now, at the AR gathering in Dallas and the Giraffe Bar in Reno, everyone (not me)will be modeling their 2011 safari underwear collection. I just hope there are enough SHE Safari girls there in their skivvies so that "Go Commando Mark" and "Under Armour Aaron" don't burn out my retinas.

Guys, when the temps get 80 degrees or above it's commando time. No fungi issues, quick tick check when draining the lizard.