We Love Wacky Wonderful Wicking Wear!

When shopping for atheletic wear you may notice gear tagged with all sorts of technical terms such as base-layer, anti-odor, microfiber, performance tee, quick dry, tagless, compression, etc. But perhaps the most significant for any athlete looking to work up a sweat is the almighty WICKING material. Wicking is also sometimes used as a verb as follows: “I sure love the way my sportsbra efficiently wicks away sweat.”

What the heck is wicking anyway? I looked to the holy grail of answers known conveniently and coincidentally as Wikipedia and found that wicking is the transfer of moisture in fabric due to a “capillary system”.  Capillaries? In my clothes? Aren’t capillaries teeny tiny vein-like things? Interesting. When moisture moves from skin into nonabsorbent or wicking fabric it has more surface area and will evaporate faster. It is this action that makes moisture-wicking clothing great for baselayers.

Why am I even talking about wicking? I didn’t really give it much thought until I bought a Nike Dri-FIT women’s short-sleeve tee and wore it for a grueling, sweaty, two-hour workout.

The heavens opened up and the angels began to sing and the moisture wicked away from my skin and into my super comfy tee. I like this shirt in particular because there’s none of that stiff-shiny-too-tight-shows-every-bulge-fabric that you get with, for example, the Under Armour base layers with special wicking fabric.

You see, many of the wicking tees I’d previously purchased were that shiny spandexy lycra stuff. It’s not comfortable, nor flattering and, as it turns out, not all that wicky.

How does Nike do it? Don’t know. Somehow the mad scientists in their top-secret batcave have developed a fabric that feels soft and cottony and has a really great fit. What makes the Dri-FIT tees a must-have for me is the “hand”, meaning the soft cotton feel of the fabric, even though it’s not a 100% cotton tee. They also have a flattering fitted shape and are long enough so as to not ride up during a strenuous workout.

Wicky wear isn’t a necessity but it certainly does make the sweaty grossness of being sporty more tolerable. We are girls after all and like to not only feel good but look good. Even at the gym. Nike’s always been hip to this, and produces tees, pants, shorts, jackets and sportsbras with their super wicking technology. We haven’t sampled the vast array of wicky technology on the market, so if you have some suggestions, send them our way!