Gear Review | T8 Commandos | Anti-Chafe Running Underwear

by Nikki & Chase Parnell — December 7, 2019

Nikki here! So I went for a 20 mile run a couple weekends ago with some girlfriends. As we were out, running and winding our way along a beautiful river trail in Bend, OR, I started to notice some discomfort with my underwear. Rubbing in all the wrong places if you know what I mean! I always run in underwear because I feel insecure, exposed, and like things will chafe if I don’t. But this time my undies were betraying me and not providing the protection a runner requires. When I got home I found said undies to be literally almost completely shredded and almost torn in half along a seam that was supposed to keep the front of the underwear connected to the back. Shredded!! I know, don’t ask, I don’t know how I did it either. Needless to say, I relearned the importance of having your gear in harmony with your body – especially in sensitive regions!

Underwear Made for Ultra Runners

This story leads us in to our very first gear review! We were contacted by T8, a running company out of Hong Kong who designs ultra running gear. They asked if we’d review their flagship product, the T8 Commandos, which are anti-chafing running underwear.

Note: we are not getting paid to do this review but we did receive a couple pairs of Commandos to test for this review. Our goal here is to provide some unbiased and informative feedback to all of you who might need a solution in this department.

Specs:

Weight – under 35 grams (35 grams is 1.23 ounces).
Chafe-free guarantee! If you experience chafing and send T8 a picture of the chafing (yikes) you will get a 100% refund.
No inner thigh seam.
Stretchy.
Highly Breathable.
Bonded leg seams to prevent riding up.
Italian blend fabric (90% polyamide, 10% elastane) – tag says 78% nylon, 22% spandex.
All seams are reversed, so that the smooth side is against your skin.

In Testing:

Chase’s initial thoughts: “They feel good on my booty.” We spend way too much time with our four year old, therefore we use words like “bum” and “booty”. Sorry not sorry.

Chase’s thoughts during running: After my first run in them, I realized that I didn’t really notice them the whole time, which I think is exactly how it should be with underwear when you’re running! They’re designed in southern Asia, for hot and humid conditions where moisture and sweat become a real issue, but they’re also great for wearing under running tights in colder weather. I usually wear running shorts under my tights (for support), but always hated how they’d bunch up. With just the Commandos under my tights, I definitely felt sleeker and appreciated the added comfort. Also, by substituting in the Commandos, I can prolong the life of my shorts by not having to wear them on every single run throughout the winter.

Nikki’s initial thoughts: I was intrigued by the fabric feel – very light, sheer, silky and stretchy. I noticed that the women’s Commandos seem to be a little nicer than the men’s in my opinion – the waist band is a little wider and the “bonded leg seams” (the elastic bands at the bottom of the underwear to prevent ride ups) are smoother on the women’s underwear. I noticed these things, Chase didn’t seem to, so maybe that’s exactly why there’s a difference between gender styles. The next thing I noticed was that I was a little unsure as to how to wear them. Because they’re a longer “boy short” design to reduce inner thigh chafage, they are also longer than the shorts I typically run in (Oiselle Roga shorts). So to avoid looking like I was wearing shorts under my shorts, I wore longer tight style shorts (an old pair of Oiselle “Flyte” or “Long Flyte” shorts). This was a magical combo – so comfortable and no risk of others doing a double take at me because my underwear were sticking out. I also tried normal long running tights over them and these work too, though I must mention that the “bonded leg seams” do give my thighs a slight indent/bulge and you can kind of see that crease when wearing leggings… so I’m not sure if I would be comfortable wearing them that way often. I think the underwear fit me great, maybe my thighs are just too much to handle? I tested a size small, might be more of a medium?

Nikki’s thoughts during running: They really did feel smooth with no hint of chafing. I’ve only tested them on runs up to 10 miles but I didn’t sense any problem areas arising!

Pros:

Light, moisture wicking, not bothersome, does not become shredded while on a run (at least not yet!).
Great value. The Commandos are very reasonably priced. If you use the discount code at the bottom of this post, a pair of Commandos will only cost you $13. And there’s FREE Global Shipping. Don’t be thrown off in checkout though as the price can be displayed as Hong Kong Dollars.
1% of all sales goes to the Trail Running Association of Hong Kong that focuses on the promotion, education, and sustainability of ultra running in Hong Kong. Very cool!

Cons:

A little tricky knowing how to wear them. If you’re used to wearing shorts with built-in underwear (for men and women), then these underwear are slightly awkward. You’d have to change up the shorts you wear them with.
They can create a thigh bulge, though we were researching a bit more and found that T8 does use Asian sizing so they suggest rounding up a size if you have large quads or want a more comfortable fit. Still unsure if Nikki’s smalls are too small in the thighs or if that’s just how the Commandos are – everywhere else fits good!

Verdict:

We like!
We want to try their Sherpa Shorts – which are shorts with a built in run belt where you can carry water/nutrition/phone/keys with minimal bounce. They would also be a great thing to wear over the commandos for both men and women. And 1% of all Sherpa Short sales go to Himalayan Trust Nepal helping with healthcare, education, and earthquake rebuilding in the Solukhumbu district – we like that T8 seems to be involved and committed to doing good things in their region of the world!

There you have it! And again, we don’t earn any money if you purchase a pair, but if you’re in the market, you can head on over to T8 Running and shop around. Normally the underwear cost $19 but for Treeline Journal readers only, apply the following discount code for an extra $6 off!

Discount Code: 50-TREELINE#20

*Code valid for six months.

Let us know if this gear review was valuable. We’re sort of on the fence with how big a role gear reviews will play on Treeline Journal. We tend to lean more towards providing inspiration than technical knowledge but we want this site to be valuable to lots of different types of people. Let us know!