SAXX: performance underwear from Vancouver

SAXX is now available at SportFits. The Vancouver-based Canadian brand has been working since 2006 on a question that was solved long ago in footwear but ignored for decades in the underwear drawer: why put up with friction, sweat and constant readjusting when you can solve the problem through design?

SAXX calls its answer the BallPark Pouch: a patented hammock construction that earned the brand the nickname "life-changing underwear". You can now find it at SportFits.

SAXX began on the cold waters off Alaska. Trent Kitsch spent hours in a damp drysuit, dealing with the problem men rarely discuss: chafing around the groin.

Back on land, he could not let the idea go. As a former baseball catcher, he knew the shape of a catcher's mitt and turned it around in his mind: a soft hammock built into underwear to hold everything in place and separate it from the thighs. With a seamstress and a designer, he made prototype after prototype, using himself as the fit model. Only the fourteenth attempt worked as intended. The BallPark Pouch and SAXX were born.

The breakthrough came in the US in 2012. The brand then expanded into Europe step by step. Its headquarters are still in Vancouver, with a team of around 200 people focused on design and function.

Here is the heart of it, quite literally. The BallPark Pouch is a small, three-dimensional hammock made from two mesh wings. It gently positions everything in the centre, with ventilation and a little space from the thighs.

The principle is simple. Where skin would otherwise stick to skin, a soft fabric sling sits in between. That means less sticking on hot days, much less chafing over long distances and no more discreet hand in the trouser pocket to restore order.

The pouch is built into every SAXX cut. For intense activity, there is also the reinforced BallPark Pouch PRO, a hammock with a firmer support band.

The pouch is the star, but it does not work alone. SAXX combines it with several construction details, all serving the same purpose: preventing friction and pressure points before they start.

The sports and travel models add more technology: DropTemp Cooling actively cools through the material mix and construction, while strategically placed mesh zones improve ventilation where sweat builds up most. These details take SAXX beyond simple comfort and into genuine performance underwear.

The difference is in the detail: each of the three models is designed for a different use.

• DropTemp Cooling Cotton: a soft cotton blend with active cooling technology. The all-rounder for hot days, long car journeys and any situation that quickly gets warm.
• Quest Quick-Dry Mesh: ultralight and quick-drying. The travel model: rinse it in the evening, let it dry overnight and wear it again in the morning. Ideal for bikepacking and multi-day trips with little luggage.
• Multi-Sport Mesh: plenty of mesh for maximum ventilation. The choice for sweaty training and intense multisport.

Quest and Multi-Sport are also available as convenient two-packs.