EDZ Merino Boxers Review

I had good results with EDZ’s merino zip neck and a unseen constant the past few months have been their Merino Boxer Shorts that were sent in for test.
EDZ have a different feel about them, they’re not selling dreams of alpine adventure on their website, just listing practical kit for anything you want to use it for. I kinda like that, I’m immune to advertising and press releases now and just like to cut to the chase. Which we’ll now do.

The boxers have an interesting fit to them. They’re cut quite low-waisted which is fine by me and the waistband is wide elastic which stays put and is comfortable against the skin. The fit is slim too, always good in a baselayer, especially in merino where you’ll get a some stretch in use. The slim fit works well under trousers, no snagging at all so easy movement and of course the fabric being close to the skin means better moisture management.
Initially I thought I was in trouble when these came in as there’s no real 3D shaping in the construction at the front, but the fly allows you some room to relax and the overlap of fabric at the opening is enough that you won’t get exposed skin or fall out of the front. I’ve found the merino does take your shape through wear and wash cycles and the boxers are now supremely comfortable.

Shape stays good in general, the leg openings have hems that gently hug your legs and don’t loosen off even after a few days wear and the stitching is minimal and also flatlocked. The legs are a decent length too, and they stay down on me which is great. Boxers with legs that ride up do my head in.

The merino is 200 weight which is in the cool to do-it-all bracket and I’ve been wearing it under everything from jeans, work pants, softshell, trekking pants to bike shorts. Moisture management is fine, merino sucks the sweat away and the close fit lets your body dry it as quickly as it can. Smell control is the usual merino goodness just where you need it.

But, I made a judgement call on this next part, and I think I did the right thing. After the first wash around half an inch (in metric that’s le half an inch) of fabric pulled out of the stitching at the front. I went “Ach”, dried them and made a mental note to send them back next day, but I changed my mind that next day for various reasons.
Nothing is perfect, things are made by people aftre all, and what if this was just a little wobble by a machine operator? On the other hand they could just be shoddily made and sending them back meant I wasn’t going to learn anything about that.
So, I stitched them up, and stitched them well too, I’ve done this stuff before. The fabric took the stitches very well, the overlap on the seam matched what it should have been originally and I put the boxers on and went out.
That was months ago, the boxers have been worn and washed countless times since then and not only has the repair held, I was only reminded about it when I took a close up shot for the review. The fabric is reassuringly strong.

There are a great pair of boxers, the fit suits me fine, others will no doubt seek a high-waisted design, but the slim low profile cut of the EDZ’s are perfect for layering under techy trousers and great for free movement.
The fabric performs well, moisture management and drying time is fine and the stink repellancy is a joy as always. The repair? I took a chance and I’ve  just come away reassured by it, the fabric is strong, stronger I think that bigger brand merino that I’ve stuck thumbs through trying to wriggle out of my boxers at camp. I have to call it as I find it.

Recommended, its just a shame that there’s only grey on the website now, there used to be blue and olive. Still what does it matter, who sees your boxers in the snow?

Edit: The colours are indeed still available right here at Thermalshop.co.uk. Alright!