In 1987, a company set out to make travel clothing that solved real problems, and eventually landed on one product so good it became a punchline and a cult classic at once: quick-drying travel underwear so durable and packable that the company joked you could wear one pair around the world and wash the other in a sink. ExOfficio built a travel-apparel following on exactly that kind of practical obsession.
The short version: ExOfficio, founded 1987 and part of the Newell Brands portfolio (alongside Marmot), makes travel and adventure apparel, best known for quick-drying travel underwear, sun-protective shirts, and insect-shield clothing. Buy it for travel wear, especially quick-dry layers and bug-protective clothing for hot, buggy, or tropical trips. It is a travel-apparel specialist with a practical, problem-solving focus.
Where ExOfficio came from
The name means “by virtue of office,” and the brand built its reputation on genuinely useful travel apparel: quick-drying fabrics, sun protection, and Insect Shield permethrin-treated clothing for mosquito and tick country. Now under Newell Brands (parent of Marmot), it remains focused on the practical needs of travelers and warm-weather adventurers.
What they actually make well
Travel apparel: the famous quick-dry underwear, sun-protective and insect-repellent shirts, convertible pants, and packable travel layers. It complements the outdoor-technical brands in this series with a distinctly travel-and-warm-weather focus.
Built to last?
Durable travel fabrics with a reputation for longevity, the underwear’s whole legend rests on lasting through years of abuse. Warranty support runs through Newell. Sustainability tracks the mainstream rather than leading it.
The causes they actually fund
Under Newell ownership, distinctive cause work is limited, consistent with the honest read we gave Marmot, its sibling in the same portfolio. The brand’s contribution is more practical product than activism.
Where this gear comes from, and where it earns its place
Built for travel, at home on hot, buggy, humid trips where quick-dry and insect protection matter: the desert and warm-weather routes in our Sonoran Desert guide and travel days between adventures across the Trail Atlas.
The honest take
ExOfficio is a travel specialist, not a technical outdoor brand, and its parent-company situation mirrors Marmot‘s, so buy the proven classics rather than betting on bold new lines. But for quick-dry travel wear and genuine insect-protective clothing, it solves real problems few others address. Buy the travel underwear; understand the legend.
The travel underwear so good it became a cult classic. More makers in Brands We Love. Last verified July 2026.