Enhancer Jock Showdown
6 Profile-Enhancing Jocks Go Head To Head

One of the major current trends in men’s underwear is the concept of “enhancing” the male profile with a variety of means including slings, straps, pockets and even padding. In the interests of keeping this blog’s information useful and different I decided to go to the trouble of  buying 6 different jocks labeled as “enhancing” by their manufacturers to see if there was a clear winner in this category. You may note that since I focused on jocks I am omitting 2 of the probably most well-known enhancing lines: AussieBum Wonderjock and Cin2 Sling. I’ll see about adding a specific review for those lines at some future date. Because it will take a while to write out the extended full-length text  for each jock I thought I would post a shorter “round-up” review with all the jocks together which would allow me to post something in the short-term and also give you a better idea how they all compare as a group.

As a “control” jock I used the Calvin Klein Pro Stretch Jock which does not lay claim to any profile enhancing qualities but is considered a fashion jock which fits better in terms of design purpose with the other jocks in the group. Keep in mind that although I tried to keep all the photos as closely angled and cropped as possible there can be major variances in the look so it’s best to go by my “Enhancing Verdict” as the final word rather than just the photos by themselves. All the jocks tested here have been put through a typical wash/dry cycle at least once. Not all the jocks were true-to-size with the Andrew Christian requiring a large. The Gregg Homme jock works in a medium but the waist and straps are so loose and stretchable, I wouldn't be surprised if a small would have fit all right as well. I found price varies widely but overall it's surprising to realize how an enhancer Jock can cost more than a full brief or trunk with the average price point around $22.00. There is almost the same amount of labor involved in manufacturing a jock versus a full brief so it's not surprising that you would not necessarily pay less for the jock and there is a premium being applied for specialty fabrics like bamboo.

Jock	Description	Enhancing Technology	Enhancing Verdict
Calvin Klein Pro Stretch Jock	Price: $19.00 Part of the Pro Stretch line of underwear by Calvin Klein, this is a very comfortable jock made from a nice cotton and spandex blend. The thin waistband makes this more of a fashion jock rather than a heavy-duty sports jock but the supportive pouch is very well made and designed and actually does a pretty good job of creating a nice profile regardless of any "mechanics".	Since this is the "control" jock in this experiment  there are logically no specific technologies beyond the basic pouch design.	Despite the lack of any rings, pockets or internal straps this jock did a better than average job of making for a good profile from both the front and the side. The advantage of wearing a regular jock of course is that you can't be accused of false advertising.
Gregg Homme Basixx Push Up Jock	Price: $32.00 Gregg Homme is a Canadian designer and manufacturer of high-fashion underwear. The "push-up" line of underwear was introduced a couple years back in a trunk cut and has now extended into a full lineup including a brief, thong and jock. This jock is a blend of bamboo, cotton and spandex which is extremely soft and very comfortable. The waistband on this jock employs probably the thinnest materials of all of the jocks reviewed here and is also the most stretchable with a lot of give to the fabric. The push-up jock and brief are only available in black or white but the trunk and thong come in a variety of colors including blue, olive, tan and red. At $32 this is definetely one of the most expensive Jocks that you can buy.  As much as I like the exotic fabric blend and the uniqueness of the technology $32 is my break point for price and I wouldn't recommend paying so much for this kind of undergarment.	The Push-Up technology of the Gregg Homme line is achieved through a special pocket on the interior of the pouch that allows for a thin padded polyurethane cup to be inserted. This cup is extremely thin so the enhancement is achieved mostly through the overall shaping of the pouch which creates a fuller and rounder profile than one would normally have.	The look is very nice and the enhancement is noticeable. My concern though is that the padding does make for a strong case of "false advertising". I also feel that with the insert,  the smoothness of your outline will be somewhat noticeable thus giving away the technology a little too obviously at medium to close range. Overall I'd say these are great if you intend to keep them under clothes the whole time but you might feel a little "on-guard" to not be found out should you disrobe at some point.
Go Softwear C-ring Snap Jock	Price: $17.95 The Go Softwear Snap jock has been around for quite a while and was one of the first mainstream underwear designs to include a built-in enhancing technology. The snaps for the front covering flap are durable and fashionable at the same time. This is a more traditionally cut jock with a wide waistband and thick leg straps. These are available in black or white colors.	This is probably one of the most complicated jocks in this category with an interior single-layer cotton panel with a strategically placed hole that your package is pulled through to create a similar affect to a c-ring. The front panel is then snapped around the edges to create the final pouch.The placement and size of the interior ring is not adjustable.	After all the pulling and adjusting and "packaging" of yourself to get into this jock you'd assume the enhancement affect would be substantial. Overall I wasn't  impressed with the final result. There is indeed some added lift created by the inner ring but the looseness of the pouch itself tends to negate some of the effect. I'd say this is a competitive enhancer jock but don't expect too much to come from all the technology in play here.
Andrew Christian Brazil Jock	Price: $18.00 This is Andrew Christian's Jock version of their country-theme briefs. This is a high-fashion jock with contrast-color piping, a debossed woven logo waistband and sewn-on embroidery patch on the pouch. The pouch size on this jock is enormous with a very full front extending almost to the hips and a deep pouch.	As with almost all Andrew Christian underwear this jock employs the "Show-It" strap which is a thin white stretch synthetic strap with a series of snaps to allow for an adjustable inner sling/c-ring.	The overall enhancing look of this brief is noticeable. The large size of the pouch tends to help create an illusion that things are larger than they might be and the "Show-It" technology definitely pushes everything up front. The front profile of the pouch isn't as good as the side mostly due to its vertical dimensions which creates a slightly narrower pouch outline in favor of better depth from the side view.
USA Jockwear	Price: $24.95 USA Jockwear is a recent entrant in the underwear world. Their first product to market is this special adjustable strap jockstrap.The cotton is a very thin spandex blend which creates some real modesty issues since the single-layer front doesn't leave much to the imagination. An innovative touch are the leg straps that can be adjusted for length. I'm not sure how well the leg straps would stay in place over time in rigorous activities but it's a great idea that deserves credit for bringing something new to the jock concept. Considering this is the second-most expensive jock in this sample I'd say the fabric quality doesn't match the price. I'd expect a more exotic blend or a slightly higher-end feel to the materials to justify this price-point.	This jock operates very similarly to the AussieBum Wonderjock with an interior pocket where your package resides in which helps to push things forward and out. The soft material makes the pocket very comfortable and wearable for all-day activities.	The pocket is not as effective as the AussieBum version in creating an overall well-rounded look. Interestingly this jock enhances more from the font view than the side unlike the Andrew Christian Jock. The way the pocket and front pouch ends up fitting, you'll notice a better overall volume from the front but from the side the outline isn't really too much better than a regular jock without any enhancement  technology employed.
Cin2 Bamboo Trophy Shelf Jock	Price: $19.50 The Bamboo line from Cin2 Underwear was one of the first to include the new alternative fiber fabrics that have become popular in modern high-end underwear. The bamboo fabric is extremely stretchable and very thin, woven into a near-mesh-like texture. Modesty could be considered a bit of an issue with the thinness of the fabric not leaving much to the viewer's imagination. The colors available include "vanilla" (off-white), black and rumba (orange-red). The waistband is a very comfortable "fleeced" microfiber with metallic thread logo repeated around the entire waist.	Cin2 introduced the original sling design with their first line and have continued to innovate with this new Bamboo line and their "Trophy Shelf" concept. The pouch is sewn with some clever seams that create a type of interior shape that helps to push your package out to the front.	I was a bit skeptical about the "Trophy Shelf" concept but I'm a convert after having tried out this jock. The overall enhancement is noticeable without being artificial. Both front and side views are improved over regular jocks with a good balance between pouch depth and width.
Priape C-Ring Jock	Price: $19.95 Priape is a Canadian brand that has recently made more extensive in-roads in the US market with their products available in many online stores like Undergear and International Jock. This is probably the most traditionally designed jock in this group with a very wide waistband sporting a contrasting Priape Logo in the front and a sports mesh pouch. The leg straps on this jock are probably the widest of all the jocks profiled here. The overall fit on this jock is  tight with little room in the pouch provided for shifting or movement which would be the traditional purpose of a sports jock.	The enhancement technology in play here is similar to the Cin2 Sling and the Andrew Christian "Show-It" strap with an internal set of straps that can be adjusted with snaps to help push things up front. The internal straps are different in one way in that they are attached at the base of the pouch rather than the top of the waistband. Having the straps anchored to the base of the pouch is an interesting twist although it seemed to make putting the jock on or off a bit trickier than the Andrew Christian version.	Although the side view doesn't show as much enhancement as some of the other jocks this was actually a fairly effective shaping jock. The internal adjustable c-ring does a good job of bringing things out from your body although the pouch is cut relatively tight which tends to negate some of the enhancement effect. The super-wide waistband creates a flattened area at the top of your package which tends to help make the pouch appear more prominent.

What’s the final verdict?

Overall I was pleasantly surprised with these jocks in that fit and quality were high across the board. So you wouldn’t go wrong with any of these in the sense that you’d end up with wearable underwear/gear with each purchase. When it comes down to best overall comfort, fit, design and enhancement I’d have to go with the Cin2 Bamboo jock. The Trophy Shelf design really does work and the material is very soft and comfortable. Second place is a tough call but I think I would go with the Andrew Christian Jock since it does do a good job of creating the look of a larger package and the bright colors and design touches are nice additions. For third place I’d probably go with the Priape Jock. I like the very traditional jock look with the super-wide waistband and mesh weave pouch and the enhancement is pretty good overall. I think the Go Softwear Jock is a neat idea and should get credit for the design but I just wasn’t impressed with the end result after the fairly complex amount of work it takes to get into them. The Gregg Homme Basixx Push Up jock is kind of fun in its own way and I actually like it a lot but I think this crosses the line where you can no longer say it’s a “natural” look. With the padding and the insert shaping you get a nice pouch but you can’t make the argument that you’re only working with what you have naturally, instead you are truly “padding”. Plus, that crazy price-point…$32? Ouch! That’s a real hit to the pocket book for a jock. The USA Jockwear jock is certainly worthy of accolades for it’s design innovations and ideas with the pocket and adjustable leg straps but the enhancement effect is quite underwhelming. I think they need to rethink the cut of the pouch so that it doesn’t flatten out as much as it does and also maybe a thicker stretch cotton with a better ability to hold a shape.