Workout Clothes
Occasionally, we touch on workout clothes in our reviews, but far more often those discussions are left to our text message threads. There’s a lot out there, a lot of different workouts to be optimized for, and the list can be never ending.
The great part about workout clothing is that it is typically on the cutting edge of performance — long has this industry been looking to give people any edge they can. The downside of this is that more and more marketing hype is making it really hard to separate facts from fiction.
Here’s how we approach our workout clothing…
What to Look For
Before you evaluate the fabric in any workout clothing, there’s four key attributes to keep an eye on. The first is what (if any) stretch has been built into the clothing. Almost every type of workout (including walking) benefits from clothes with stretch. Mechanical stretch need not apply, we need elastic stretch to get what we want. That’s why stretch tops the list.
Next, is the ability for the garment to wick moisture and dry fast. We all know what it feels like to have a heavy wet shirt on (whether sweat or rain) — it is miserable and can take you from feeling too hot to hypothermic in under 5 minutes. So there’s two parts to a good workout item: it pulls the moisture (sweat) from your body, and it dries unreasonably fast. If your workout clothes are not the fastest drying clothes you own, then you have plenty of room to upgrade.
Third: breathability. There are plenty of workout items which dry fast, and stretch, but don’t breathe well. These can be suffocating to wear, especially when your heart rate hits full stride. Some of the best garments use laser perforations to build in hidden mesh areas in otherwise normal looking fabric, utilize more open weaves, or combine both with panels to allow the warmest areas of your body to breathe.
Lastly, these clothes are going to cost more than a standard big box workout item, and so you need the item to be durable and to last long enough that you want to replace it only because you’ve had it a really long time. Durability can be the toughest thing to get right on these materials as they often won’t have holes worn in them, but rather start to pill well past the point of looking decent enough to be seen in.
With those criteria in mind, we have some favorite fabrics.
Fabrics We Prefer
Most workout fabrics will be a blend, typically of two materials. One is likely to be Spandex/Lycra/elastane, which will give the garment the stretch it needs. The second will vary wildly. Our preference for performance for the second (main) fabric is:
Polyester treated with Polygiene (or other similar anti-odor treatments)
Nylon
Yes, only two. And while we are huge fans of merino wool for general everyday wear, it’s not as performant as the two above when you are in a high sweat/exertion situation. The main differences between our two favorites here come down to durability. Polyesters (and there are many variants of them) dry significantly faster than nylon, while tending to be much lighter and softer on the skin. The downside to polyesters is that they are generally less durable than nylon goods. Nylon, when done right is nearly indestructible, while being more smooth than soft.
The main downside to all these fabrics though: smell. Any of these will stink to high heaven when you get done with your workouts — Nylon more so than polyester. The garments with a Polygene treatment hold up better, but those treatments wear off over time.
What we’ve found is that the best thing to do is wash your workout clothes after each workout. That’s a lot of sweat to just let dry on a garment, not matter what the garment is made from. If you don’t wash right away, you should at least let them air dry rather than throwing them into a hamper soaked with sweat. And even still, sometimes synthetics will get a funk you just can’t get rid of — detergent specifically for activewear can help here.
Fabrics to Avoid
Cotton. Let’s chant it again: say no to cotton. We wrote about this, but for those who missed it we can recap quickly.
While being one of the most comfortable fabrics against your skin, cotton is also a disaster when it comes to working out. It pills, it tears, it smells, it doesn't wick moisture, and it does not dry fast at all. This is the worst thing you can workout in, from socks and underwear, to shirts and shorts. Don’t do it.
Merino is also another we’d suggest using only in moderation for workouts. It doesn’t dry as fast as a fully synthetic item, and for most the odor resistance won’t matter as many wash their workout clothes after each workout. The only time we consider merino for workout clothing is in non-base layers and socks — always merino socks. And if we are going to travel, it’s a smart option to bring for working out on the road.
Some of Our Top Picks
To break this down even further here are each of our favorite items:
Ben
I basically wear GORUCK clothing head to toe. My workouts are rucking only, so durability is top billing for me as GORUCK backpacks are brutal on fragile clothes. Of the stuff they sell I am a huge fan of their Simple Pants for working out in cold weather. If it is raining, and then stops — even in cold weather these pants dry in 15 minutes or so while I am working out.
I also only wear Darn Tough socks, keeping your feet comfortable can make or break rucking and Darn Tough socks keep proving to be *the best* socks out there.
One non-GORUCK pick I will toss in are these tactical long sleeve shirts from Under Armour. I bought them on a whim because they are so cheap, but they have help up great, and are a nice option for me even in the heat if the mosquitoes are out in force.
Steve
I’m pretty much a shorts guy when it comes to working out, so I favor stretch polyester shorts. My absolute favorite pairs are some Mountain Hardwear shorts I got on sale at REI forever ago. But I’ve recently also been wearing the Western Rise Movement Short, and they seem like a good replacement. Which is a good thing because I was getting worried.
Darn Tough socks are also my go-to, they last for a long time, are comfortable, and never fall down or bunch.
The Patagonia Capilene line-up is my top pick for workout shirts. My favorite is the Cool Daily (Long Sleeve, Short Sleeve) variant as it’s a good balance of weight and UPF sun protection. Patagonia also recently switched to HeiQ Fresh from their Polygiene odor-resistant treatment, and I think it’s a step up. These shirts also come with the bonus that they are 68% recycled (for the current season’s fabrics).
I also still wear my Y Athletics SilverAir Merino shirts. These are great for travel and strike a nice balance between the properties of merino and nylon.
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