Pretty darn interesting forum thread here that talks about cooling “undershirt” technology used by college and professional sports teams (primarily talks about football).
While not immediately applicable to the typical undershirt topics I cover here, there was some interesting information on the moisture wicking claims Under Armour makes about their sports uniforms (pretty circumstantial, but intriguing nonetheless).
Here’s a snippet for those interested:
That is why I find it so funny when Under Armour was touting themselves with their contracts at Auburn and S.Carolina for uniforms and such—and other schools as well.
I know for certain they sold those deals based on their claim that they are drier and wick moisture away.
That works for the base layer–the tight shirts which DO wick sweat, but every company has that product.
ADVERTISEMENT What Under Armour does not elaborate on is that their uniforms are NO different–material wise–than Nike or Adidas or anyone else.
It is nylon and polyester, and the ONLY part of that jersey which does wick are the panels down the side–and even then, it is not enough material to make ANY difference whatsoever.
There was another interesting post in this same thread that comes from one of the forum members who offers up some tips for staying cool:
Not a “cooled” shirt, but I’ll pitch in my tips for staying cool when it’s brutally hot outside.
When covering football and baseball games, I always wear synthetic fabric shirts, such as the “ClimaCool,” “ClimaLite,” Addidas shirts, “Dri-Fit” Nike shirts, or similar shirts from North Face, Columbia, Fitness Gear, etc. In fact, most of my short-sleeve shirts are synthetic material.
They cost a little bit more than regular cotton t-shirts or polo shirts, but they last a heck of a lot longer for a couple of reasons.
They don’t fade, and they don’t get stretched out. They are also difficult to stain.
Another benefit for me is that my camera straps don’t leave any marks or stains on the shirts, and don’t stretch them out so they are ruined after wearing one time.
The biggest benefit is that they are a lot more comfortable because they wick the sweat away and help you to stay dry.
As the sweat evaporates, you cool off.
In a cotton shirt, you can get saturated to the point that nothing evaporates fast enough to cool you off.
I hate when I am wearing a cotton shirt, get drenched in sweat, then get inside an air-conditioned car or building and start shivering.
Now that’s some pretty helpful information about alternatives to cotton t-shirts! I’ll have to check around to see if there are any undershirts made out of those ClimaCool and ClimaLite products.
