Men’s Tanga Briefs: Are they right for you?

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Author’s Note: I purchased these Jockey bikini/tanga briefs with my own money and didn’t receive any other compensation, except for affiliate marketing if you purchase through my links.

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Never would I have thought ten years ago – no, wait, even three years ago – that I would be wearing men’s tanga briefs.  Since I had stopped wearing boxer shorts during university, I had been all-in on boxer briefs. Boxer briefs are comfortable, stylish, and what I thought were the epitome of men’s underwear. I didn’t even think of wearing briefs.

Fast forward three years, and since then, I have experimented with many different men’s underwear styles for this blog. And with that, I have grown my underwear collection to various styles, including briefs, trunks, and jockstraps. Now it is time to explore men’s tanga briefs!

I purchased these Jockey Sport Mesh men’s string bikini briefs as part of a larger Jockey order I made when Jockey was having a blowout sale back in November. Although Jockey calls them “string bikini briefs,” they are really tanga briefs. Therefore, I’ll be referring to these Jockeys as tanga briefs.

Although I didn’t intend to purchase a pair of tangas, Jockey’s website recommended them to me, and I just couldn’t resist the pattern. After I received my Jockey order, I didn’t try on these tanga briefs for a while. It was cold in Texas, so I preferred wearing boxer briefs and long-leg boxer briefs to keep warm. But, coming to Ecuador, I broke them out for our stay in one of Ecuador’s beach cities. And I am so glad I did!

Trying on Men’s Tanga Briefs

When I first put them on, I had the same reaction as with every shorter underwear style I try on: wow, these are short. However, since I have been wearing hip briefs more often, I quickly got over having even less fabric on the sides to cover my hips.

Yet, one of the benefits of these tanga briefs is that there isn’t any fabric on the sides. In hot weather, bikini and tanga briefs allow for more skin cooling as more of your skin is exposed. I felt great when I wore them under my shorts in hot, humid weather. I’d wear a jockstrap more in hot weather, except I don’t like the butt straps that jockstraps have (read my Jockstrap guide here). Hence, I love these men’s tanga briefs – I don’t have to worry about butt straps or coverage.

What is the difference between jockstraps and briefs?

I felt comfortable walking around our apartment in tanga briefs because these briefs covered my butt, unlike a jockstrap. Honestly, tangas are a cooler (temperature-wise!) form of hip briefs. That’s where the magic comes in for guys who either don’t like wearing jockstraps or aren’t ready to have their butt exposed: tanga briefs provide butt coverage.

One issue I have with both jockstraps and tanga briefs is that if my pants or shorts hang a bit below my waist, the waistband of my pants can irritate the skin on my hips. With “normal” underwear, it doesn’t matter where the waistband of your pants or shorts lies because your underwear covers your hips. But with jockstraps and tanga briefs, there is only the waistband on your hips, so if your pants lie below that, they will be in direct contact with the skin on your hips. Keep this in mind if you wear pants or shorts that naturally lie below your underwear waistband.

Are these Men’s Bikini Briefs or Tanga Briefs?

Finally, I want to note something about these Jockey briefs. Jockey labels them “string bikini” briefs, but they are tanga briefs. The reason is that these briefs have a full-width waistband, not a thin or string bikini like on other bikini briefs. Other bikini briefs look similar, but the fabric covers the waistband, so the bikinis look like low-rise, thinner hip briefs. These Jockeys are mid-rise, and the waistband looks like an ordinary men’s underwear waistband.

I want to highlight the terminology here because brands often use the terms bikini, string bikini, and tanga briefs interchangeably. What all three styles have in common – regardless of their name – is little to no fabric on the hips but good butt coverage. In other words, these Jockey bikini briefs are jockstraps with butt coverage. 🙂

Jockey makes other bikini briefs for men, including the Elance Bikini Brief (100% cotton), Elance Microfiber Bikinis, and Elance “String” Bikini Briefs (also 100% cotton). Note that the Elance “Bikini Briefs” look like men’s hip briefs, while the Elance String Bikini Briefs look like real bikini/tanga briefs. So when buying “bikini” briefs, ensure you pay attention to how much fabric is on the hip. Brands generally do a much better job of ensuring “tanga” briefs do not have any fabric on the hip.

Details of Men’s Bikini and Tanga Briefs

I want to break down all of the specifics of these men’s bikini and tanga briefs for you:

• Length: Tanga and bikini briefs show more skin than hip briefs and much more skin than full-cut briefs. Tanga briefs and *string* bikinis generally have no fabric on the hip with only a waistband connecting the front and back of the underwear. Bikini briefs have some fabric covering the hips, but it can be vary how much. In all of these cases, however, you have front and back coverage, unlike jockstraps.
• Price: Good-quality bikini briefs should cost no more than $5-10 per pair. If you pay more than this, you are either paying for the brand name and quality, or you are just overpaying.
• Colors and Patterns: When I first bought my Jockey tangas, the patterns caught my eye. They are my favorite part of this underwear; the geometric shapes and the vivid colors make them fun to wear. Other brands, such as IKINGSKY, have amazing colors, too.

Last update on 2025-06-21 at 08:50 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

• Material and Fabric: These Jockey men’s tanga briefs are 92% nylon and 8% elastane/Spandex, so Jockey calls them Sport Mesh. I usually recommend at least 10% elastane/Spandex content for synthetic underwear (polyester or nylon), but these briefs are comfortable. What helps is that with a tanga brief, there is so much less fabric than boxer briefs that the minor difference in elastane content isn’t a big deal. If you are looking at bamboo, modal, or cotton bikinis, get at least 5% Spandex/elastane content.
• Ball Pouches: Most bikini briefs don’t have any special ball pouches, but some do. For example, Separatec offers its unique Dual Pouch with its Tanga/Bikini Briefs. Or, if you have a large penis, you can also check out these Real Men tanga/bikini briefs I received with quite a large pouch.

Last update on 2025-06-21 at 08:14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

• Branded waistbands: Tanga briefs generally have a full-size waistband compared to other men’s underwear, so they are more likely to have branding on them. String and regular bikini briefs have a much thinner waistband so branding is less likely.
• Multipacks: Most tanga and bikini briefs are sold in multipacks.

Tanga and bikini briefs are perfect for guys who want minimal underwear yet don’t want their butt exposed as with jockstraps. They are ideal for hot weather to allow your skin to cool naturally by sweating. And also amazing for a sexy date night!

Frequently Asked Questions about Men’s Bikini/Tanga Briefs

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