Activewear Fabric Choosing Guide

A plan for a good and long workout session can quickly turn sour with bad clothes. This usually results in the removal of soaked clothes from the body or battling with the sweat of past workouts.

Honestly, there’s much more to choosing activewear than the popular belief of trendy and fashionable clothing. This can be confirmed by a good gym clothing manufacturer.

The apparel might feel nice at first, but a little bit into working out, sometimes there will be a feeling of discomfort. Activewear shouldn’t just look great but perform as much as it appears, ensuring maximum comfortability and support. In this case, a decision on fabric is the centerpiece.

In this post, we’ve prepared a detailed guide on choosing the best activewear fabric that will benefit your customers and scale up your business.

Types of Fabrics for Sports Clothes

Below are the best materials for workout clothes with the description of their features, what they are best for, and when to wear them.

1， Nylon

This is one of the most common athletic wear fabrics. It’s well-known for its use in pantyhose. Nylon is a soft, mildew-resistant, quick-drying, and stretchy material. It flexes effortlessly with every movement and returns to its pre-stretched shape and size without breakage. The fitness fabric is highly breathable and allows cool air to penetrate into the skin.

It can also wick away sweat from the skin and through the fabric to the outer layer where it evaporates. Thanks to its unique traits and its soft-as-silk feel, it’s found in almost every sportswear, ranging from tank tops, leggings, sports bras, T-shirts, and performance underwear.

Best for: All workouts and weather conditions. It is perfect for even the sweatiest of workouts.

2，Spandex

Other than the original name, it is also called by the brand name “Lycra.” Spandex is very flexible and stretchy, which is why it’s largely used as a weightlifting and yoga pants material, as well as in other workouts that require a wide range of motion. Spandex clothes are commonly in skin-tight apparel, such as tracks shorts, sports bras, leggings, boxer briefs, socks, and customizable compression shirts because of their superelastic qualities.

As a flexible fabric that can stretch as much as eight times its usual size and return to its original size, spandex permits unrestricted and comfortable movement in all patterns.

Best for: Workouts with a high range of movement, like yoga, pilates, and weightlifting.

3，Poly-Dri

Think of this as Polyester 2.0. Standard polyester is not so much appreciated as it traps bacteria and doesn’t repel odor very well. Poly-Dri, on the other hand, repels bacteria & odor and wicks more moisture. It is also durable and doesn’t wrinkle as fast as other workout fabrics.

This fabric is the workhorse of fitness apparel. It’s used in making almost all the activewear available in the store. Thanks to its tightly woven structure, it has the capability of protecting against UV rays. According to a blog published by Skin Cancer Foundation, it prevents the sun’s rays from hitting the skin.

Best for: Any type of workout and weather conditions.

4，Merino Wool

The popular belief is that wool is a cold-weather fabric that keeps the body warm. While this is true, wool is also a great warm-weather fabric. Merino wool in particular is a good sweat-wicker that’s thinner and softer than standard wool.

Merino wool performs a dual function. When it’s cold outside, the crimps in the fibers trap the warm air coming off the body. When it’s warm outside, the fiber wicks sweat away from the body and through the fabric.

It’s hard to find much activewear made of purely Merino wool. It’s mostly used with other fabrics like polyester for softness and breathability.

Best for: All outdoor workouts.

5，Polypropylene

Polypropylene is made from plastic and is totally water-resistant. It’s an outstanding fitness fabric that forces moisture to pass through its fibers, pushing out to the fabric’s surface for evaporation. Even after being sweaty at the completion of a long marathon, only the outside of the clothes will be wet. The inner side touching the skin will be completely dry.

Polypropylene is also very durable and resistant to wrinkles. It ensures a comfortable feel during and after a long, sweaty workout.

Best for: Extreme weather, such as high humidity, sleet, rain, and snow.

6，Bamboo

Bamboo pulp produces a natural fabric that’s light, breathable, and has an anti-static nature. This workout fabric is super soft, wicks away moisture, repels odors, and regulates body temperature. Like Merino wool, bamboo is often used with other fabrics.

One of the best attributes of bamboo fabric is that it’s environmentally sustainable and durable, ensuring that it’s worn severally without fading. Also, since it’s made of natural fibers, it is hypoallergenic, causing less skin irritation after sweating.

It’s a highly-rated fabric, making it more expensive than other popular options. However, it has a lot more benefits to offer than other fabrics.

Best for: All workouts and weather conditions.

7，Tencel

The name TENCEL was coined from Tenacity and Cellulose. It’s a natural fiber, offering anti-microbial benefits with a smooth finish. Similar to bamboo, TENCEL is obtained from sustainably sourced wood pulp. And the workout material is very close to polyester in structure, making it have a luxurious texture and super durable.

It’s not only breathable and biodegradable but also contains tiny fibrils that make the fabric capable of wicking sweat.

Best for: All workout activities and in any weather condition.

8，Moisture-wicking Cotton

Because cotton is considered to be incapable of wicking moisture, fitness experts and researchers created Moisture-wicking Cotton. It’s an alternative made from a cotton blend of synthetic fibers. While this fabric does help to absorb sweat more and doesn’t cause hotness, it is advisable to wear it sparingly, especially if higher temperatures are forecasted.

This fitness fabric is perfect activewear that can be worn daily for activities that won’t result in a lot of sweat.

Best for: Regular intensity workouts in cool-weather environments.