MATTHEW GARDNER doesn’t mince words when voicing his dedication to good underwear. “I actually f-ing care about it because I wear them all day,” said the 32-year-old co-founder of Highfield, a New York marketing firm. Mr. Gardner didn’t always get so strident about underthings; he used to unthinkingly rely on packs of banal cotton boxer briefs (boxer briefs generally constitute 60% of men’s underwear sales). Then he realized that he was obsessing over the rest of his wardrobe only to take the most intimate garment of all for granted. After some googling, he decided to try briefs from CDLP, a budding Stockholm label that makes taut underwear from lyocell, a natural wood pulp. “They’ve got this Marvel superhero shape to them,” said Mr. Gardner. “It’s a nice thing to put on in the morning.”

Mr. Gardner’s swap reflects a broader change across the underwear industry, and in men’s dresser drawers. New cutting-edge labels like Mack Weldon, Tommy John and Hamilton & Hare are muscling into territory populated at the low end by Hanes, Fruit of the Loom and Jockey and at the higher end by luxury brands like Sunspel and Derek Rose. These upstart brands are the Ubers of underwear, out to disrupt the once complacent, ho-hum market. They offer subscription services so pairs arrive at your doorstep with optimal efficiency, and persuasively pack their websites full of techy terms like “antimicrobial XT2 silver” fabric, “anti-ride up leg bands” and “quick draw flys.” We’ve come a long way since a billboard of Marky Mark, snugly clad in simple Calvin Kleins, scandalized Time Square.

“We spent 9-10 months in the lab, really focusing on creating real innovation,” explained Brian Berger, the CEO and founder of Mack Weldon, who claimed that the label tested out fabrics used by Olympic athletes, NASA and the U.S. Special Forces while developing their underwear.

These scientifically sound skivvies tend to come, naturally, with high price tags. A pair of underwear from Mack Weldon can cost as much as a four-pack of Champion briefs on Amazon.com. But just how different can all these pairs be? I set out to answer this question by sampling over forty-five boxer briefs, from labels at every price point.

Bargain Briefs

The Winner: Hanes Comfort Flex Fit Boxer Briefs

$36 for four, macys.com