The item in this review was provided for review purposes by OLIVERS.

There’s fierce competition in the one short to rule them all arena. Many brands are claiming their shorts are as good in the gym, and in water, as they are out to dinner. OLIVERS adds the Capital Shorts to this growing list, and they are billed for just the type of person who doesn’t want, or need, tons of shorts. A solid pair or two is all you want.

Fabric

The fabric on these is OLIVERS “All Over Stretch Weave”, and at first blush they reminded me a lot of OUTLIER’s OG Cloth (though they are not the same material). They are very technical feeling with a smooth face like a soft shell fleece (less shiny though) and a lot of stretch. These are 88% Nylon and 12% spandex, and I believe they have some sort of DWR coating on them to make water bead right off. These are stretchy and yet durable shorts.

Fit and Sizing

Shorts are a particular thing for men, as each person has their own idea of how long a pair of shorts should be. The Capital Shorts are on the shorter end of my comfort with a 8.75” inseam. Additionally, I had to size down from what I normally wear as I found the 36s to be much too large and the 34s to be correct (for comparison I wear 35 in most brands), as the 36s wouldn’t even stay on me.

My tip is to size down one size. The fit is otherwise very solid and well done.

Performance and Comfort

This is where these shorts really excel. Combining the stretch of the fabric (and there is a lot of stretch) with a gusset in the crotch — there’s never any restriction on your leg motion when you wear these. They wear cool, as you want from shorts.

They look sharp, and not ‘for technical shorts’. OUTLIER’s New Way shorts look more like typical cotton shorts, than the Capital Shorts, as you can see it more readily in the sheen on the material and the way they drape. The tell tale sign that these are not your average shorts is when you get them wet as the water rolls right off. This bodes well for getting a lot of wears out of the shorts between washes as dirt will find itself hard pressed to find a spot to stay on these. Not only do I think they perform well, but even lounging in the evenings while wearing these is exceedingly comfortable.

Drying time on these shorts is moderately better than OUTLIER’s short offerings, but slower than dedicated swim trunks. Because they are shorts, and the pocket material is very thin, you could put them on damp and they would dry quick. Likewise it wouldn’t be a stretch to expect them to dry while you sleep. Lastly, the pockets are a tough one on these shorts. The material is great, and I still cannot figure out if it is a really hidden mesh, or just a very thin material. Either way they breathe well and I have little durability concerns. That said, the pocket angle is less than ideal, I found many times my iPhone sliding back out of the pocket.

Overall

I really am impressed with these shorts, and I would add them to your list of summer buys. The only thing I wish was better is the angle of the pocket opening, as your phone tends to slide right out when you are lounging on a couch.

The Capital Shorts aren’t likely to solve your swimming needs, but I can’t imagine any other scenario where I these shorts wouldn’t perform well. OLIVERS has hit the nail on the head.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

Note: The items in this review were provided to us by Y Athletics.

You may recognize the Y Athletics brand from our previous review of their SilverAir Crew Neck t-shirt which is still our favorite workout tee. Y Athletics prides themselves on developing custom fabrics for performance athletic clothing. We recently gave their Boxer Briefs and Socks (the 2.0 version) a try.

Boxer Brief

The SilverAir Merino Wool Boxer-Brief is made from a 200 gsm merino wool blend (90% 17.5 micron New Zealand Merino Wool, 5% metallic, and 5% spandex). The bottoms of the legs also contain Y Athletics’ SmartGrip. This is a soft silicone (like what you’d find in the legs of cycling shorts) that helps keep the boxers from riding up.

I found these boxers to be very soft and never had any issues with bunching, chafing, or riding up. They provide great support for athletic activities and do an excellent job wicking moisture (they never feel wet like synthetics). While advertised as having the best anti-odor technology in the market, I never felt like I could get a second wear. On a day when I did not work out or sweat a lot maybe I could get a second wear, but I did not want to push it. The odor resistance definitely was not at the level of the SilverAir shirt.

Overall, these are the best fitting and most comfortable boxer briefs I’ve worn.

Socks

The Sock 2.0 comes in both an ankle and a crew version. They are both made out of a midnight merino blend with slightly different compositions (ankle: 49% merino, 25% nylon, 13% acrylic, 11% metallic, 2% spandex; crew: 46% merino, 25% nylon, 13% acrylic, 13% metallic, 3% spandex). The ankle socks also have a soft silicone grip on the backs to keep them from sliding down. While wearing these socks I had my Darn Tough exercise and dress socks in mind for comparison.

As midweight socks, these were certainly thicker than my normal ankle and crew socks. However, thanks to the ventilation panels they did not feel that much warmer. The extra padding can also add a little comfort if you are going to be on your feet all day, but the thicker material makes these socks less appealing if you are going to be getting wet or wanting to hand wash the socks.

As far as odor-resistance, I found these socks to be equivalent to my Darn Tough merino socks. Letting them air out overnight lets me get a few wears out of a pair.

Overall

Both the boxer briefs and socks are very comfortable and deserve consideration. While remaining more odor-resistant than my synthetic underwear, I did not find the merino/silver to give me the ability to get extra wears. (I have not tried any other merino underwear, so I can’t compare to pure merino or another merino blend.) In the socks, I found the blend to be about equivalent in odor-resistance to the Darn Tough merino blend. While extremely comfortable, I still will keep some synthetic underwear and socks in rotation for times when I might get wet or want to hand wash while traveling.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

The item in this review was provided for review purposes by OLIVERS.

The short sleeve henley is a staple in many people’s wardrobes, and there is a shockingly small amount of them available in performance minded fabrics. OLIVERS recently released the Convoy Henley in both long and short sleeves, made out of 100% merino wool. I’ve been wearing and testing the short sleeve variant in black for a few weeks now and I quite like it. But it’s also a bit different from other merino shirts I have.

Fabric

OLIVERS doesn’t list the weight of the merino, but it’s a lighter weight that most of my other shirts, about the weight of an Icebreaker Anatomica shirt. Surprisingly, at least in black, it’s not see through even with the very thin fabric.

The merino also has a horizontal ribbed look to it. There’s no stretch, but rather the construction of the fabric lends to that look, and I think it adds a lot to the overall apperance of the shirt.

Fit

The cut and fit of this shirt, like most OLIVERS apparel, is athletic in nature. I chose a size large and found that the shirt is cut closer to my body than most other shirts, but is not at all skin tight. So size up if you want something a bit looser.

The sleeves are also narrow, this adds to the athletic cut of the shirt, and might be a downside for people who like more relaxed fits, as it gives a much different look than a standard t-shirt. That said, I found the fit to be comfortable and not at all too clingy on any part of my body.

Few Other Thoughts

• The buttons on the shirt are rugby inspired, so they are rubberized in feeling. Because of this, they stay buttoned really well, to the point where it can be a tad cumbersome to button or unbutton the shirt. That said, it also means that a button won’t come undone throughout the day.
• All the seams on the shirt are sewn flat, with a baseball cut sleeve style. This makes for a very comfortable shirt when you are being active wearing it.
• This is a cooler shirt than most other merino shirts I have, so it’s a great layer on warmer days and exceptional in hot weather on its own. But if you are used to your t-shirt adding some warmth, this likely won’t be warm enough for you. It’s not hot enough here yet to really test in warm weather, but I’ve been very comfortable in just this shirt around the house, as well as in direct sunlight in 70 °F weather.

Overall

I’m a very big fan of this shirt. I like the looks of it, and it’s very comfortable. Like any other 100% merino shirt, it resists odor well anddries fast. The added bonus to this shirt is that it is extremely light weight when you fold it up, and dare I say it adds almost no weight to your bag when you pack it.

Two thumbs up.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

The items in this review were provided for review purposes by Bluffworks.

A few months ago I needed to travel for work, and I needed to wear a suit. All the suits I had were too large, so buying something new was needed. I ended up with a house brand suit from Macy’s which worked well, and while it had travel features (stretch, wrinkle resistance) it wasn’t comfortable for a day of cross-country flying. Shortly thereafter Bluffworks reached out and offered to send me the matching pants for my Gramercy Blazer (review here), thus making it into the Bluffworks Travel Suit.

Steve and I had been debating whether or not this combination would look like a suit (Steve had the pants, I already had the jacket). My wife likes my Gramercy Blazer but felt that it wouldn’t look right as a suit. After getting the pants I have quite a few thoughts on this combination.

Looks

My Bluffworks suit is in the Blue Hour colorway, which is a dark navy like color, but has a stronger blue to it than a true navy. The pants and jacket match very well, so there’s little concern to be had with that. The biggest thing I noticed right off the bat is the unstructured nature of the blazer makes the entire suit look more casual.

This is very common in techwear oriented suits, so I was not surprised by this at all. What I was surprised by was how much I did like the look of it overall. It’s not the same look as a suit I would wear in court, or to a wedding, it’s a touch more casual looking than that. But to dress up business casual, it nails the look.

I asked my wife what her thoughts were, and she largely agreed that it doesn’t really look like a typical suit, but it looked far better than she would have guessed. I’ve since worn it a few times and she’s never thought twice about it.

This is where I think this suit excels, as a good way to dress up your look but stay comfortable. This will for sure be my new go to look when traveling for work or to Europe so I’m not a stereotypical American.

Comfort

This is easily the most comfortable suit I’ve worn. While much of that comfort comes from taking away some aspects of the suit which would make the suit look more like a suit, Bluffworks seems to have made the smart trade offs in comfort versus looks. On a recent business trip (one night, two days) I flew a total of 11 hours and only packed this suit (and a change of shirt) and was comfortable the entire time, whether moving through the airport or on the plane.

Another nicety is that the suit jacket can stay on as you move through TSA Pre-Check, thus reducing the amount of shuffling you have to do at security. Top marks for comfort.

Overall

I fell in love with my Gramercy Blazer shortly after getting it, and yet I was highly skeptical of this combination. I knew the pants were good, but the last thing I wanted was to look like I was wearing some sort of denim suit — that’s far from the case. I’m sure many are skeptical as I was about this travel suit combination, but after wearing it many times to various places, I’m sold.

It’s a great combination and I only wish I had grabbed it sooner.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

This is a look at Polartec’s Power Wool material and less a look at this particular garment from Beyond, however, I will touch a bit on both. I’ve been testing this fabric now for 4 months, using it as a base layer on dozens of cold weather workouts and during other outings.

Material

Polartec’s Power Wool is a merino wool and synthetic fiber blend — like all blends the goal is to gain the odor resistance and moisture wicking from the merino while adding durability and other attributes from the synthetic fibers it is woven with. (CODURA sells a similar variant called ‘Combat Wool’, both find their heritage with the military. This is an 80% nylon, 20% merino blend.) The Power Wool in this garment is 72% Polyester and 28% wool. I’ve had a hard time finding details on what the makeup of Power Wool is, but these LL Bean pants are: 45% nylon, 40% merino, 15% spandex. Stio has a similar base layer and notes it is 70% polyester, 30% merino.

Overall, this is a low merino percentage, as it doesn’t feel like most merino and instead feels quite durable. It seems there’s a lot of variability in the Power Wool line of fabrics.

Fit

The garment itself is made to be a base layer and fits close to the skin, so unless you are rather fit or confident, you’ll likely not want to wear it as your only layer out and about. Typically, I layered this under a windbreaker for workouts. There are a few nice design things about this shirt worth noting:

1. The seams are all flat, so even with my GORUCK on, I never felt the seams bothering me.
2. The collar comes up rather high and does an excellent job keeping your neck warm. The zipper also has a nice chin guard to keep you comfortable.
3. The shirt is cut longer in the back which was nice when wearing a backpack. It’s cut short in the front so it doesn’t come down much over your pants.

Overall a very comfortable fit, especially for something that is very fitted.

Warmth

The primary purpose of this garment is to keep you warm (it’s a thing Beyond is known for), and I bought this for specifically wearing during my workouts in the cold Pacific Northwest winters. I wore only this shirt under a windbreaker in 36° F and rainy weather many times and never felt cold. At the same time, the shirt and fabric do a fantastic job wicking away moisture to regulate my temperature.

When comparing it to something like Outdoor Research’s Sequence shirt that Steve and I like, it’s much warmer. Part of this is the weight of the fabric, which is heavier, and the other part is that it sits against your skin. Both lead to a garment that is very warm. The waffle pattern also helps to trap air and warm your body while pulling away moisture when you start to sweat.

It’s a perfect cold weather warm layer for me.

Odor Resistance

The big thing on this site, and with Power Wool, was to find out if adding merino really gives any benefit to the garment at all. Materials like polyester or nylon (which ever is used here) are like sponges for odor — and often they end up getting stinky much faster than cotton alone. The goal is that by adding merino, you add in enough odor resistance to make a big difference.

I’m not sure Polartec has succeeded with that here. Comparing this shirt to other merino blends I have, I can expect to get 2-3 wears out of those items before odor is an issue. Even when not wearing this shirt for workouts I can only get 1-2 wears on average before the smell is noticeable enough that I won’t wear it again.

The merino content is too low to do anything but help with temperature regulation. I often found that even after hanging the shirt for two days the odor was still too strong to wear again — which is disappointing. However, when wearing the shirt, it stinks up far slower than a normal all synthetic shirt.

Overall

I’m not an overall fan of Power Wool as something I would be looking for in a travel or daily wear garment. It’s a specialized blend that seems geared towards making synthetic garments less stinky and better at wicking. To that end, when compared directly to other synthetic base layers I have, this is far and away better. However, when compared with other merino base layers, it lags far behind.

As a durable base layer, for hiking or hunting, I’d choose this any time — it’s warm and performs well in scenarios where odor is less of a concern. For everyday wear, I would search for something with a higher merino content.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

Note: This backpack was provided to us for review by Standard Luggage Co.

Standard Luggage Co. is one of many new Luggage companies that have roots in Kickstarter. Standard is based in Canada and launched in 2015. The Daily Backpack is an 18L convertible bag that is advertised for work and travel. It can be used as a briefcase (side handle), backpack, or messenger bag (with the included strap).

Layout

The bag is divided into two compartments. The main compartment opens from a zipper on the back, and there is a much smaller compartment on the front. Additionally, there is a collapsible water bottle pocket, a small zippered slash pocket on the front, and a zippered RFID-blocking pocket on the top. The RFID-blocking pocket is neat, but my passport wallet wouldn’t fit. Keep that in mind if you typically carry more than a passport on its own or a small wallet. The bottom of the back also has a small zippered compartment.

The main compartment has two sleeves on the inside of the back lid (the outside contains a pocket for the backpack straps). These comfortably fit a 15” laptop and an iPad or Kindle. The inside of the main compartment has two pockets at the bottom, about 1/3 the height of the bag, and a mesh zipper pocket. The small pockets are padded and designed for camera lenses; I did not find them useful.

The front compartment has one full width pocket with two half width pockets and two pen loops on the front. The lid has two zippered mesh pockets. You will also find a USB cable in here to connect a battery to the external USB port on the side of the bag. While this is a neat idea and works, I wonder how practical and durable it is. I can see myself snapping a cable off in the external USB port.

Build

The fabric used on the outside of this bag looks nice and seems durable. However, the zippers could use some work. I found them to be stiff and they didn’t seem beefy enough for the bag (especially on the main compartment).

The backpack straps were comfortable enough for the amount you can load into this bag. I did find the combination of the padding on the straps and the padding on the back of the bag to make for a bit of a lumpy back.

Overall, the bag is very padded, giving the bag a rigid structure. Even if it’s not full, it will still have the same exterior dimensions. I imagine this helps with the transition from backpack to messenger bag to a briefcase, but it is not something I typically like in a bag. If you end up loading this with electronics, especially camera gear, this would be a positive feature.

Use Cases

I did not find this bag useful as a general purpose travel briefcase, but I could imagine a few scenarios where this might be an attractive bag.

For a photographer, this bag might do a nice job to carry gear for a small shoot. The overall padded nature of the bag would probably protect camera equipment reasonably well. You would need an insert for the main compartment to hold your camera body, but the two lens pockets and the other pockets of the bag would do a good job holding a large portion of your gear and accessories. The included rain fly is also a nice bonus if the weather is going to be poor.

This bag could also serve you well as a briefcase or work bag if you typically carry a full bag. The structure of the bag makes it more suited to carrying full. When packed only partially full, the bag can feel unbalanced. The structure keeps heavier items from compressing the bag which can throw off the balance.

Overall Impression

While this bag looks nice, it is not my favorite bag to carry. The structure makes it hold less than it appears, and I found the back access panel for the main compartment to be awkward to open and use. The backpack straps are nice enough, but I mainly carried it as a messenger bag/briefcase. Due to the shape and structure, I think it is best suited as a briefcase. For the price, I think it could make a pretty good camera/tech bag, but I think there are better options out there for a simple briefcase or everyday work backpack.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.