All guys do it. We wear our underwear, socks, and T-shirts way past their prime. Think about that T-shirt you have that’s frayed around the collar, those socks that only cover a few of your toes, or that pair of underwear that hangs in tatters from the elastic waistband.Just ask Kathryn Haslam how her husband, Rob, can’t seem to change out his old socks and underwear for new ones.
“He never buys them new himself and I am always having to buy him new underwear,” she said. “He is somewhat emotional about hanging onto the old ones with holes in them!”
Enter Manpacks, a Web subscription service that automatically ships you a fresh delivery of your choice of T-shirt, underwear, and/or socks every three months. Haslam signed her husband up for the two pairs of underwear and socks package.
“He thought it was a great idea,” she said. “He moans about losing socks all the time; they mysteriously vanish in the wash.”
They say that there’s a fine line between insanity and genius, and an idea like Manpacks straddles both sides. Like most insane/brilliant ventures, it all started with two guys hanging out. According to Ken Johnson, Manpacks’ crazy-like-a-fox co-founder, he was with a former band mate, Manpacks' other co-founder Andrew Draper, when lightning struck.
“We were just talking and he brought up these sock subscription services in the U.K.,” Johnson said. “We’re big fans of automation and simplicity. We’re both obviously men and we both know the pain of putting on a pair of socks with holes in them.”
And thus, Manpacks was born.
Customers can signup online at Manpacks.com. Packages range in price from $7 for three pairs of socks to $35 for three pairs of T-shirts, underwear, and socks and are currently only available in the Hanes brand, though Johnson says others will be added soon.
While critics point out that one can sidestep Manpacks and save a little money by ordering from an online retailer or swinging by a K-Mart every few months, Johnson isn’t fazed, explaining that if someone can remember to buy socks and underwear, then they aren’t the Manpacks target customer anyway. And, apparently there are a lot of them. In the two months since the site launched, they’ve seen a groundswell of interest, particularly in recent days.
“Up until a couple weeks ago it was part-time for both of us,” Johnson said. “In the last three to four days we’ve had so much new business coming in, we’re going to have to expand.”
We suggest elastic waistbands.