Shock Doctor 221 Compression Short with BioFlex Cup Shock Doctor

★★☆☆☆ The compression shorts are comfortable, fit well, and keep everything together nicely. You know, where it all should be. The cup is solid, but flexible, and breathable. But when you actually put the cup inside the pocket on the compression shorts... you have to wonder what the people at Shock Doctor were thinking.First of all, the pocket for the cup is OUTSIDE of the compression shorts. So when the cup is inserted, it just kind of floats there above your junk. It's not very snug, not very tight. Lo and behold, the first time I was kicked while wearing the cup/shorts combo, it pinched something fierce and scared me for my future progeny.There is a quick fix: if you wear the cup in a jock underneath the shorts then all is well. It works quite nicely this way. But that entails buying a jock. Which was not my intention in buying this combo in the first place.

★★★★★ I have two sons 8 and 10, one taller and leaner, one shorter and more muscularwe tried these, Franklin sliding shorts, Easton youth sliding shorts and Louisville Slugger shorts (all from Amazon)both my boys have a 25" waist and we tried the XL of these and they fit both boys.The waist is a good fit on them both, and the legs are looser.I am hoping the elastic will stretch a little this season so they can wear them again for baseball next year too.The packet says this fits a 28-30" waist but I think that would be a very uncomfortable fit. I measured the elastic waist band lying flat on the floor and it is 24-25" and doesn't seem to have much stretch.The best selling point for these over the other brands is the cup pocket. It is wider and easier to get the cup into, and it is sewn to curve inside the shorts and follow the shape of the cup up and around. Both my boys preferred how their cups fit and how snug they felt against them as opposed to the other shorts where the cup kind of hung down the front of the shorts.XL size came with a teen size cup which looks BIG on my 8 year old, but he can fit a wider cup there. My 10 year old who is thinner thought the teen cup was too big and is wearing a smaller cup which fit great in the pocket too.

★★☆☆☆ The Shock Dr. compression shorts could indeed shock due to the built-in design of the cup pocket. It doesn't allow the cup to float deep enough. If the wearer bends over, the fabric doesn't allow movement of the cup; the position of the cup changes to a very uncomfortable one that would cause great pain should it be "forced" to protect the protectables. As an umpire, bending over is part of the job; around 250+ times a game. I would like to think comfort and protection were with me during the whole game.

★★☆☆☆ doesn't offer much protection, wouldn't recommend for an adult league. But for shooting around with friends or using a tennis ball, this should be fine. It's not bulky and allows for movement, I just needed more padding as we use a hard ball.

★★☆☆☆ The chest and stomach area protection are passable, but the arm protection is pretty much nonexistent. There is practically zero protection. I sent mine back.For anyone who doesn't mind arm bruises and wants to get it anyway, also note that it runs small. If you are taller than 5' 9" or have a big gut, it won't fit right.