Underwear and Chafing

Boxer-briefs: lessened although not eliminated. Senescence sucks.

Boxer briefs. A little on the tight side. And make sure you pull them up in the creases (think "frontal wedge-V").

My best luck so far has been with Starter Dri-Star poly boxer briefs from Walmart. They wick well, keep things dry, prevent the chaffing, last as well as any others I've had, and they're cheap (about $10). The down side is that they do hold the stink. I pack two pair (one on, one in the pack). I try to launder the pair I wore every night (in a zip-lock), but it's nice to have the second pair in case I can't get to the laundry. I go commando overnight (after washing up), so things can air out.

With this regimen, I've not needed any lubes, rubs, oils, pastes, or powders.

On my PCT thru hike i always got chafe after a zero day (no hiking or rest day).
Body glide was great for prevention but sometimes the salt from sweat and abrasion from long hours of walking combined to a major case of chafe between the jewells and the thighs.
At Mackenzie pass in Oregon i finally got a supremely painful enough case of chafe to try something creative.
I took my 1 ounce bottle of Purell hand sanitizer, which has isopropyl alcohol in it, and slapped the whole contents upon the angry red burning mass of skin between that area of my body..
Yes, i screamed like a wild thing for a few seconds but to my surprise the chafed skin was greatly toughened up by the next morning.
My second major experience with "chafe 'o' the balls" occured after hiking through three continuous days of rain in Glacier peak wilderness in Washington. The constant wet shorts made for soft skin and even the gossamer touch of superlight nylon set my thighs, and other parts.. on fire!
Upon reaching the resort of Stehekin, upon lake Chelan, I split a room at the lodge with two other PCT hikers.
A fellow hiker, upon leaving the shower, mentioned: "try the aloe vera body wash bro.. it really helps!"
It was comforting to know i was not the only one!
In fact that aloe vera gell was amazing relief.
After a few more miles on long distance trails it has become apparent to me that a simple wash of plain water on occasion, between those places that rub while walking, can dissolve and disperse the salts and grit that cause the chafe to begin with.
Body glide is also highly recommended for those same places. Put it on in the same spirit you would underarm deoderant and it will greatly help.
By the way, I have to add that every time you stop to reach down and apply body glide to those places.. someone will just happen to be coming up the trail.. it's really wierd but it always happens.
In that case do what Edward Abbey suggested: "Never apppologize.. never explain".
Just be sure to wash with water on occasion to get the salt crystals(sweat) and grit from trail dust out of those places cause body glide can act as an attractant as well.

For me, boxer briefs fixed it. The longer the better, some are to short to do anything. Then I lost weight, now I don't need boxer briefs but I still prefer them when hiking.

Hi Chase,

I recently used BCG compression shorts with either 8" or 10" inseams on a 100 mile 10 day hike on the AT. I had no chafing problems on the inner thigh area. They are cheap to buy. $9.99 / pr at Academy Sports.

Two small things to consider. Size up at least two times your normal size as being compression shorts they run smaller than normal boxers. They have no fly which makes rest stops a pain.

After returning home another visit to Academy turned up some 6" inseam BCG boxer briefs that also have a fly. The fly material is a mesh of sorts and the fly itself is naturally overlapping layers of this mesh. I have no high mileage experience with these boxer briefs but on some short training walks they seem like they will be just fine. I would like a longer inseam but it seems as if 6" is all that is offered. $9.99 / pr at Academy Sports also.

"Once inner thigh chafing has occurred, what are your steps to hike past the pain? (Duct tape worked last time, better suggestions?)"

OUCH! I've got tears in my eyes just thinking about removing that duct tape from the affected area. ;-?

Party On,

Newton

I used to have serious problems with chafing until I switched over to boxer briefs AND started using wipes and powder at the very sign of problems. This strategy worked well on my PCT hike until WA when I shredded my hiking pants and wanted to switch to lined shorts. You would have thought I was hit with a flame thrower. I didn't want to wearing my holy hiking pants so I galloped down the trail in my boxer briefs. Luckily there were no pictures as evidence. I ended up cutting the liner out of shorts and wearing them with boxer briefs. Now that was true heaven!

Boxer briefs. I picked up some Icebreaker boxer briefs on clearance and really like them for the trail. Comfy and keep down the stink. But for me, the decisive factor is how much I'm going to be sweating. I can hike without any problems fall-winter-spring, but in summer, with high temps and humidity, some sort of anti-chaffing lotion (or Body Glide) is needed… apply at the start of the day between thighs and your twig and berries, and it will keep you in good shape at the end of the day.

The tips for washing up often are also a great reminder. Sweat/salt/grime buildup exacerbate chaffing. Wash up at the end of a day, let everything air out overnight, and reapply some sort of anti-chaffing before hitting the trail again in the morning, and you should be okay.

Like the others said, close-fitting boxer briefs with enough "pouch" to form the "frontal wedge-V". This gets protective fabric up in the creases. Target sells the Champion brand of these for about $9. They're made of stretchy polyester and have mesh material in the "pouch" area. Even with boxer briefs, though, it's wise to perform a little washup when possible.

Prevention is worth 1.83884 pounds of cure on this one!

I wear underarmor boxer jocks for hiking and lycra compression shorts (as underwear or running shorts) when running/fastpacking. These have eliminated most chafing issues for me.

In contrast, I've had a really bad time with running shorts with built in liners (eg Brooks running shorts). These are guaranteed to rub my inner thighs raw on high mileage days right where the elastic leg opening sits. I now cut out the liners as soon as I get a new pair, as Greg had mentioned.

I don't carry anything specifically for chafing, but in my first aid kit I keep a tiny tube of multipurpose triple antibiotic eye ointment. This has a petroleum base. In addition to use for minor cuts, eye injuries, and such, it has doubled as a lubricant for reducing chafe, and even as a firestarter when combined with cotton balls.

edit- and personal hygiene is critical. In the words of Mike C!, my butt is never as clean as when I'm out backpacking.

Same problem brother.

I found running shorts WITH boxer briefs (briefs are always a problem) and that solved a lot of it. It was still kind of chafey at first (way less than with just briefs) but then it got way better.

The other thing I've used is hydropel. I guess the idea is that it stops your skin from absorbing moisture, so like it helps your feet not get blisters when in rainy wet conditions. It also helps me not chafe, which I think makes sense. I haven't used bodyglide, but as it's cheaper it's my next one to try.

The problem is reduced (not eliminated) for me if I wash the area at least once a day. I use the small moist towelettes called wetnaps.

Bodyglide and other topical treatments didn't help at all.

Choice of undergrments doesn't seem to be a factor.

All great suggestions! To sum up the majority of comments:

Prevention:

Boxer Briefs with V wedge
Wash as often as possible
Apply anti-chafing ointment at beginning of day

Cure:

Aloe
Hand Sanitizer

Thank you for the help and safe trails,

Chase

I never removed that duct tape. Took ~1 month to come off on its own and another month for the sticky glue to finally be gone. Not the smartest of moves, but it is a 100% cure and will last you a long distance into a thru hike.

http://krudmeister.blogspot.com/2010/10/chafe.html

Chase, you summed it up pretty well. Getting lean (and as Krudmeister says in the above link) toughening up the relevant areas are also helpful.

Another vote for boxer briefs (Under Armour Boxer Jock, in particular). Never had a chafing problem except for that one morning I accidentally put a pair on inside-out…

I just bought a pair to try out and so far I'm very impressed. My only issue is I'm in between a medium and a large, and since I'm currently losing weight I went with the mediums. Now, they fit really nice around my waist and behind, but are kinda tight around my thighs. I'm going to try out a large pair and see how they compare, but I dunno…

As for chafing and all day comfort- besides the aforementioned snugness around my thighs, they are fantastic.

BM

Especially those with a "pouch." See

http://www.internationaljock.com/john-sievers-natural-pouch-boxer-briefs-steel-grey,9627.html

I know these look a bit strange, but they are now my underwear of choice.

Stargazer

wow. Maybe should have had a nsfw warning!! But seriously, I had an idea for something like that a while back, and the name I came up with for it was the "Junk Drawer"…

BM

a box works pretty well and they are cheap and you can find them pretty light too

I know, I know. It's weird, but it works. Another alternative: Woodiees (too lazy to look up the URL).

Stargazer

Hydropel works well for me. I am prone to heat rashes, and just a little bit goes a long way for me.

Inner thigh chaffing used to be a constant concern of mine whenever I went running or hiking. Under Armour boxer jocks have all but eleminated it from being possible. They come with 3, 6, and 9-inch inseams. Even the 6 inch inseams will ride up and not provide adequate coverage–I have to use the 9s. If chaffing does develop, the diaper rash cream Desitin stops it in it's tracks.

Inner thigh chafing for heavy hikers isn't something a little bit of soap or powder is going to cure. The people that recommend that need to gain 60 pounds and see if they still give the same recommendation. The best cure for chafing is losing weight, but long (>6") boxer briefs is a close second. At a certain level, those briefs won't cure all chafing and it helps to combine it with a healthy dab of lubricant like Bag Balm.

*Actually, 6" inseam works, but rides up so quickly that they must be pulled down every 20 steps or so.