More and more people are starting to exercise, and having a good physique has become incredibly important. However, for any sports enthusiast, wearing safe and comfortable sportswear is crucial. Therefore, professional outdoor and sportswear have become key to providing sports protection and enhancing sports performance.
There are various brands on the market, and the explosion of outdoor and sports activities has brought about a plethora of sports brands like spring bamboo shoots after a rain. Many people are no longer limited to top-tier brands, as some emerging brands like Aprilluck may offer more attractive designs and aesthetics. However, the multitude of sports brands has posed another problem: how to choose?
After all, if you choose the wrong clothes, the cold or other health problems caused by sweating after exercise can affect your health and your continued love for sports. If you’re in an outdoor environment, it could even pose greater potential risks.
So, today let’s talk about some technical points in choosing sportswear. We’ll provide some professional perspectives on fabric and product design to help you make better choices.
When it comes to the key factors of sportswear, you’ll find that many sports brands often have various cool “black technologies”, most of which fall on the fabrics used. Let’s take a look at what these “black technologies” are and what functions they provide.
1. Choice of Moisture-Wicking Quick-Drying Fabric
Moisture-wicking and quick-drying breathable functions: This is especially important for sports like running and playing ball, which cause a lot of sweating in a short time. Good quick-drying effects can ensure that your clothes don’t stick to your body during exercise, improving your performance. After exercise, the absence of sweat on your body prevents rapid cooling and catching a cold.
Moisture-wicking quick-drying fabrics generally use quick-drying fibers such as Cool Max fiber from the American Invista company, WELLKEY yarn from Teijin company, and polypropylene fiber favored by trail runners, as well as some conventional polyester quick-drying fibers. The characteristic of these fabrics is that the cross-section of the fiber is different, and the weaving uses the “capillary effect”. The skin-facing surface quickly absorbs sweat, and the quick-drying fiber brings the sweat quickly to the surface of the clothes. When the clothes encounter wind, they quickly dry, maintaining a balanced micro-environment temperature.
Running and T-shirts need to be quick-drying and moisture-wicking. Look for the “Cool Max” logo, which looks like a blue thermometer: Coolmax® Everyday (containing about 30% Coolmax®) is not only lightweight, soft, easy to wash, and quick-drying, but also has a magical breathable function. It can maintain an appropriate body temperature, warm in winter and cool in summer, and is very comfortable to wear.
It is suitable for daily life use, and some close-fitting clothes on the market alsouse Coolmax® EVERYDAY material.
Coolmax® Active (containing about 50% Coolmax®) has a stronger sweat-wicking function and can keep you cool and dry for a long time. Even when you sweat a lot during exercise, you won’t feel sticky and uncomfortable. It is used in walking, golf, and other medium-intensity leisure sports clothing.
Coolmax® Extreme (containing about 80% Coolmax®) is specially tailored for competitors, with the most advanced temperature control management, maintaining a lower body temperature, reducing physical energy consumption, and is used in running, climbing, and other extreme sports clothing that requires the highest functional level.
2. Anti-UV+ Fabric Choice
It can generally protect the skin from sunburn in outdoor environments in summer.
The highest-grade sun protection fabric is the sun protection fiber itself, which can reflect sunlight and absorb a fixed wavelength to achieve sun protection. This kind of outdoor running T-shirt will be more expensive;
There are also sun protection fabrics that use special weaving to achieve physical sun protection of the fabric itself, and add sun protection aids during the dyeing process to jointly resist ultraviolet rays. The price is relatively reasonable.
3. Choice of Three-Proof Fabric
In outdoor climbing, skiing, and other sports, you often encounter harsh environments, snow and rain, or humid environments. At this time, choosing three-proof fabric is particularly important.
Brands that do a good job in three-proof include GORE-TEX fabric, DuPont Teflon (Teflon) post-processing, NANOTEX company post-processing in the United States, and Columbia’s Omni-Tech fabric, as well as some products from Teijin and other companies. The most commonly used in the market is GORE-TEX\Teflon finishing, you can pay attention to the tag when buying!
Also, when washing waterproof clothes, it is best to use neutral laundry detergent. Generally, prepare a basin of hot water first, then add detergent, soak the clothes in it for about half an hour, and then gently rub it with your hands.
Note that after washing, do not wring out the waterproof clothes to avoid damaging the fabric. After washing, just put it in a cool place to dry.
4. Choice of Warm Fabric
Warmth mainly considers two aspects: one is the thermal insulation of the fabric, and the other is the warmth of the filler.
For the thermal insulation of the fabric, we usually solve it by coating and laminating. However, when choosing such products, we need to pay attention to whether they have moisture permeability and breathability. There are generally notes on the tags. Only in this way can we achieve a balance of temperature and humidity, and we won’t feel stuffy when we sweat!
The choice of filler is also very important. If it is outdoor warmth, look at Promaloft cotton or other functional cotton, as well as down fluffiness. The higher the fluffiness, the better the warmth!
5. Choice of Antibacterial and Deodorant Fabric
If you want to avoid sweat and odor, you can look at a Swedish antibacterial brand “Ploygiene. The silver salt (silver chloride) in Swedish Polygiene technology can effectively inhibit the growth of bacteria, fungi, mold, and other microorganisms that easily produce odors, maintain a lasting fresh smell, and effectively extend the product life!
6. Choice of Elastic Fabric
Sportswear has high requirements for fit and elasticity. In terms of elasticity recovery, three commonly used fabrics are recommended: one is Lycra (LYCRA), a man-made elastic fiber exclusively invented and produced by DuPont, which can be freely stretched 4 to 7 times and quickly returns to its original length after the external force is released!
One is DuPont’s Sorona! And another is SOLOTEX from the Japanese TEIJIN company!
Many runners are increasingly liking fabrics with good elasticity because they are very comfortable to wear. Female runners will find that tight Legging-type pants can also highlight a good figure.
This type of fabric can be freely stretched in all kinds of movements. Generally, the best of these types of clothing will add “Lycra Lycra fiber”, many big brand sportswear will add it, you can pay attention to that special tag when buying.
Other elastic fabrics, such as tight pants for long distance trail running, can provide some muscle protection and support, which is also very helpful in reducing muscle damage during exercise.
7. Conclusion
The above is Aprilluck’s view on fabrics as a sportswear and yoga wear manufacturer. The aforementioned fabrics are also used in Aprilluck’s products. In summary, sports is a joyful thing. Choosing good fabrics and clothing can not only make sports more comfortable but also have a good protective effect on one’s body, improve sports performance, and better enjoy sports.
