I love outdoor adventures. I love making lists of the gear and the food we need to pack, and checking off those lists. But it is a LOT to think about, especially if you are taking a family!
I’m also a fan of using what you have before going out to buy new, if what you already have works just as well. This is why hiking underwear didn’t make my list for a long time–surely what I already had was good enough, especially in light of everything else I needed to manage!
Until it wasn’t. Oh sure, a quick day hike with minimal elevation and no harsh conditions doesn’t really need specialized anything. I can do that in jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers, and certainly regular cotton underwear.
But uncomfortable underwear on a long day hike, an overnight trip, or with unusual weather conditions or challenges is not pleasant, and something that is worth thinking about in advance, rather than thinking about in misery during your outdoor adventure.
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Yonderwear Underwear
I’m really excited to help you improve that very situation, with this new product by Yonderwear! I have tested it under some tough conditions, and am happy to give it a firm thumbs up. It’s definitely worth considering adding to your camping checklist.
When I set out to test Yonderwear, I planned to think through the pros and cons during a couple of days backpacking through some humid conditions and steep elevation changes. What I found was that I forgot I was testing anything, because the Yonderwear were so comfortable and moved so well with me. Unfortunately, the heavy humidity and steep elevation stayed true to form. 😉
The Specifics
Yonderwear currently offers two underwear styles, a mid-rise and a high-rise. I’ve tested the mid-rise, and it rose to where I expected. The Yonderwear fit guide recommends the mid-rise for less curvy builds, and suggests the high-rise for more curvy body types, but if you have a personal preference, go with it!
There is a great range of sizes, XS all the way to 3XL, to assist so many adventurous women in being more comfortable relishing the outdoors. Each style comes in 3 color options, all with a fun waistband covered in mini embellishments of sunshine and rainbows.
The Material
Yonderwear is made from a synthetic blend, about three-fourths of which is recycled polyester. It’s quick dry, and washes in cold water in a machine or by hand, so you can even wash on the go in a trailside creek. They are dryer-friendly, but don’t need a long time or much heat, and can hang dry.
20% of the material is Tencel, a plant-based material which is known for being especially soft and pleasant to the skin, especially for those who normally are sensitive to materials or allergens. It also resists pilling, so your underwear can stay in good comfortable condition for longer.
The Tencel aspect makes Yonderwear so soft! It’s definitely distinct in a good way from other materials I have worn in the past, and doesn’t have that sort of stretchy slipperiness like typical moisture-wicking synthetics.
The Fun Details
The creators of Yonderwear added some unique details to the underwear to make them even more ideal for outdoor adventures and active women. Each pair comes with a little hanging loop so that you can dry easily wherever you might be. They could easily be hung on a carabiner, or Yonderwear also produces their own dry lines with hooks, sold on their website.
Additionally, each pair of underwear features what they call “an anti-wedgie design.” I feel a little silly as a 40 year old respectable wife and mother typing the word wedgie in a sentence, but I also know I don’t want one on a hike.
The cut is different than typical underwear cuts, with the leg openings a little more skewed toward the front. If you read about the controversial Nike Olympic track and field uniforms, the leg shape actually looks similar to that, and I love how easily it moves with my movement. If you wear them, you might as well be an Olympian.
What Are They Ideal For?
What kind of adventures are Yonderwear perfect for? Well, to start, any type of adventure when you have ever thought, “these underwear are bugging me.” Honestly, for me as a mom of seven active kids, that is a lot!
Hiking, biking, climbing playground equipment behind my kids, jumping on a trampoline…even active indoor adventures like bowling are more enjoyable with them on.
Multi-Day Backpacking Trips
In particular, I hoped they would work well for long hikes as part of multi-day backpacking trips. This could be TMI, but when I am backpacking, I am really looking for undergarments that can be worn for more than one day, to reduce the weight I’m carrying on my back.
Wool has usually been my friend for when it comes to that type of need, and I was skeptical that a synthetic blend could hold up when it came to moisture-wicking and odor reduction. But the Yonderwear passed with flying colors–I was truly surprised! And the Tencel aspect of the material means that it is SUPER soft and even more comfortable than the wool that I have and love.
The hand wash + hang dry loop feature also is appealing to me for longer adventures. That way, you can pack Yonderwear on a hiking trip or a vacation and have an easy way to keep them ready to wear regularly without a laundomat visit.
Adventures When Damp
Yonderwear are also really well-designed for anything where you would regularly be sweaty or damp, like adventures in humid or damp conditions, or ones where you would be wet for a while but then like to be dry. The quick-dry aspect was a major perk, and they also just didn’t feel very wet even when I knew they were.
Kayaking, hiking through waterfalls or rain, or hitting up a splash park before a zoo trip are all examples of adventures that would be ideal outings for Yonderwear to discreetly shine. So many outdoor adventures, especially in the summer, involve water, and these are ideal in pretty much all of them!
What I Loved
There is so much to love about Yonderwear, but the biggest and best benefit is how little I thought about them when they were on. On a backpacking trip, there is a lot of time with not a lot to think about except trees and potential discomforts, and Yonderwear provided me no complaints to pass the miles with! I could not have been happier with that.
I never had to think about leg restriction, feeling damp with rain or sweat, wedgies, or any kind of rubbing or chafing from material. When those issues did cross my mind, it was only to note how I wasn’t having to deal with them at all with regard to my underwear.
Great Under Tough Conditions
Our backpacking trip was basically defined by moisture in many forms. It rained every day and every night, and when it wasn’t raining, sweat was raining down our bodies from the extreme humidity. It was a tough test for sure, both for our family and for what we were wearing.
I was so happy with how the Yonderwear held up on that trip that they immediately got bumped to the top of my “must wear” apparel list for my next backpacking trip, which is also now complete, again with top marks to Yonderwear.
Sustainable and Ethical Production
Yonderwear also takes the environment seriously, which we value highly here at TMM. The polyester blend that serves as the base material is recycled, as part of their pursuit of good use of resources.
Tencel is a plant-based fiber, but it is heavily processed so it’s not really considered to be a natural nor a fully synthetic fiber. Yonderwear sources their Tencel from companies who have been certified as ethical, humane, and safe from the chemical processes to the treatment of employees to the limits on harmful substances.
You can read more about Yonderwear’s sustainability and ethics values on their website. I also personally appreciate when an item is something that seems like it will last for a long time or be versatile in use, like these are.
Women-Owned and Operated
Yonderwear is also a women-owned and operated company, which is really comforting when you are purchasing items that you will be wearing, potentially in physically challenging conditions or situations.. They know the actual ins and outs of how apparel truly feels for a woman on adventures! They wanted to design a product that would enhance and not limit those adventures.
What Wasn’t My Favorite
This is a little tricky because I think these are actually now my favorite! But they aren’t perfect. Below is what I found to fall just a little short, so you can weigh those against the pros I already shared above.
More Options
I would love to see more colors or style options. There are three colors available, and they are either bold and splashy, or black. My personal taste is for more neutral or gentler colors, and I would have loved to see one or two more options on that front.
They offer two styles currently, but a shorts design would also be great for even more adventure versatility!
Not Natural Materials
I wear a lot of synthetic blends and feel generally comfortable with them, but I have friends who really prefer natural materials, both for ethical and sustainability reasons, and because of concerns about the affects of chemicals in man-made products.
Yonderwear has certainly made an effort to ensure that their underwear meet a high standard on all those fronts, but there’s no way to completely eliminate processing chemicals. Therefore, those efforts may not be satisfactory to someone with their heart set on natural fibers and production.
Price Point
Like many good quality items, Yonderwear are not cheap. They run $34 a pair, certainly higher than typical department store underwear.
We all have to decide where to prioritize our dollars, and that price is one that could leave some of us deciding to wait and use what we have as long as we can. They can improve your comfort on adventures, but comfort only means as much as we can afford!
Definitely Worth a Look!
Overall, there is so much to be excited about with Yonderwear. I would happily recommend them to anyone I would feel comfortable talking underwear with–which includes all of you, it seems. 🙂
They feel great, with respect to both materials and ability to move well. They are ideal in all sorts of weather conditions, from hot to humid to rainy. They are versatile enough to go to the backcountry for a few days as well as to the neighborhood park.
With a pair of Yonderwear along for the ride, you can think almost zero about your underwear on an outdoor adventure. Just focus on those views!
Where To Buy
If you’re in the market for a pair of these awesome underwear, you can order them on the Yonderwear website. Be sure to check out their Kula Cloth collaboration as well!
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