After years of hearing about the AIRism Undershirts from Uniqlo, it’s finally time for me to write my Uniqlo AIRism Undershirt Review.
If I recall correctly, I first heard about them back in early/mid 2012 when I was trolling on Reddit.
The issue back then was that Uniqlo did not have a U.S. website, which meant you could only buy them in-store. The challenge with that was Uniqlo only had retail stores in New York City.
Thankfully, in the fall of 2012, Uniqlo expanded their retail footprint with a store opening in San Francisco. Then in October 2012, Uniqlo launched their U.S. website, making getting their line of products a bit easier for all of us here in the U.S. Now they have around 40 retail locations.
Going back further for just a moment, I first learned about Uniqlo’s other Heattech Undershirts and their t-shirts in 2009, then professed my love for Uniqlo undershirts in my Uniqlo Heattech Undershirt Review.
They also made my favorite undershirt list at the time, and have been there ever since.
Now, four years later I get the opportunity again to profess my love for yet another Uniqlo Undershirt — the Uniqlo AIRism.
Uniqlo AIRism Undershirt Review
Uniqlo AIRism Undershirt Features
- Website: (uniqlo.com)
- Price: $12.90
- Styles: V-Neck, Crew Neck, Tank Tops, V-Neck Sleeveless/Muscle
- Fabric: 86/14 Polyester/Spandex
- Fabric Weight: 115 gsm (super lightweight)
- Colors: V-Neck/Crew Neck – 12 colors, Tank Tops – 5 colors, V-Neck Sleeveless – 6 colors
- Sizing: S – 3XL
- Made In: China
- Other: Anti-Odor, Developed jointly with TORAY Industries
- Care: Wash in Cold, Line Dry, Do Not Iron or Dry Clean
Uniqlo AIRism Photos
The Good
Fabric weight
At 115 gsm, this is one of the lightest weight undershirts I have ever worn. In my opinion, all undershirts should be close to this weight. Thanks to the folks at Uniqlo for getting me the fabric weight!
Fit
My size large AIRism is a tad too big for me, but proportionally I think the overall fit is spot on. Not knowing the sizing, I asked for large instead of my regular size Medium since I heard they run a bit small. Though, after trying large, I’m certain they don’t run small, and that a size Medium would likely fit me perfectly
Length
Plenty long and great length for staying tucked. My size large is about 29″ long after washing which is a respectable length, and with the 4-way stretch, this undershirt reaches far down around my hips
V-Neck Depth
Plenty deep to stay hidden with 2 buttons undone. Front drop on the size large is 7.75″
Breathability
Awesome. The 115 gsm fabric is slightly transparent, which is ok with me, and breathes incredibly well. It’s so lightweight, it’s one of the most undetectable undershirts I’ve worn
The Not So Good
Honestly, it’s really hard to point out any not-so-good items on this undershirt, but if I had to point out anything, they would be:
Fabric blend
While the polyester/spandex blend is pretty darn nice, it does slightly border on the synthetic-feeling side. I generally like more natural feeling fabrics for my dailywear undershirts
Visible chest hair outline
Since the fabric is thin (which I like) and smooth (which is nice), when I look at myself in the mirror, I see my chest hair outline under the fabric.
This may deter me from wearing the undershirt alone around the house
Other Observations
I decided to wear the AIRism undershirt and underwear to the gym, just to see how they felt & performed under severe sweating conditions.
Overall, they both performed pretty well, though I did notice they felt slightly more wet than some of my other synthetic gear that I wear to the gym.
Drying time seemed to be about the same as some of my other synthetics and synthetic blends.
Keep in mind, this is just an observation under a very high sweating condition, and not a situation this undershirt is specifically designed for.
I would say that under most normal dailywear conditions, this undershirt will keep you cooler than many other undershirts, thus likely allowing you to sweat less than you would normally wearing something heavier.
Final Thoughts about Uniqlo AIRism Undershirts
Buy them now. They are an incredible undershirt at an incredible value.
I also just added them to my favorite undershirt list.
My Uniqlo AIRism undershirts have found a permanent place in my coveted undershirt drawer.
how do i buy them….web sight sucks no phone no. no order spot…??”?????
I live in a hot and humid country all year long and is required to wear a shirt as my school uniform and my sweat always seeps through it and antiperspirants dont help alot. I sweat on my back mostly and will Airism be good for this condition? Will it keep me cool under hot weather and make me sweat lesser than just wearing a shirt?
look forward to your reply
thanks
heya rick, good to hear from you buddy and thanks for stopping by!
generally speaking undershirts won’t help you get cooler (meaning lower your body temperature), or help you sweat less.
they will however help you feel cooler, more comfortable, and will block sweat from reaching your outer shirt as fast as it would if you weren’t wearing an undershirt.
in some cases, when you are less nervous about sweating through to your shirt, you may actually sweat less — but i don’t have any studies that would prove that. it’s just a theory.
the uniqlo airism undershirts are very lightweight, so they will keep you cooler than if you wore other thicker undershirts.
if you want something even more lightweight, you should check out the undershirts listed on this page:
https://undershirtguy.com/thin-undershirts/
hope the above helps you. let me know if you have any other questions (:
Love the website. I have a quick question. I use an aluminum-heavy antiperspirant to prevent sweating, and it works very well, but I’m concerned that the aluminum will rub off on my dress shirts and stain them. In your experience, are mesh undershirts enough of a barrier to prevent that?
hey david, thanks for stopping by and posting your question!
yes, even thin, lightweight undershirts like the uniqlo airism mesh would be enough to prevent most residual sweat+antiperspirant from reaching (and staining) your outer shirts.
if you have some underarm-stained shirts, and looking for a way to clean them, check out this article:
https://undershirtguy.com/diy-deodorant-stain-buildup-remover/
Hi there,
Came across the airism recently while I was out shopping. Couple of questions, some may be dumb, I apologise.
1) I plan to get them as inner shirts but I sweat a lot and I’d not want the pit to seep through my shirts. I know wearing the airism will keep me cool but does that mean it will wick more moisture hence more sweat will seep through my shirt. If so, what can I do? I have bought underarm pads recently and I’ve tried it. It did help curb but sweat still seeps through although not as much as it used to. Should I wear the underarm pads under the airism tops or should I wear over the airism tops, underneath the outer shirt?
2) I have not purchased the airism tops yet but I’ve tried them on in the fitting room. It was very light and thin which is nice but my nipple can be clearly seen. It really protrudes out and I have normal sized nipple. I clearly won’t wear it on its own but because of the protrusion I noticed, it will definitely protrudes through my outer shirt too. Not sure if you’ve addressed this but just wondering how can one prevent his nipples from getting attention.
Thank you!
heya aaro,
thanks for stopping by and posting your questions!
my thoughts to your questions:
1. sweat-through prevention
it is very possible that you will sweat through your airism undershirts, especially if you sweat through a traditional undershirt made with absorbing fabric like cotton.
one reason why you may not sweat through as much in the pit area would be because the wicking fabric of airism may spread the sweat more over the surface of the undershirt, and as a result, you may not got a concentration of wet “hot spots” (pools of sweat in one area) that have a higher likelihood of saturating the underarm area of your outer shirt.
you definitely could sweat through more too, just because the fabric will not absorb as much sweat as an absorbing undershirt would.
the only way to know for sure is to test it and see what happens.
i would try wearing the underarm sweat pad underneath the outer shirt, instead of on the inside of the airsim undershirts. the main reason i suggest this is that the airism undershirt should help distribute the sweat a bit, and pull the moisture away from your skin. if the pad is on the outside of your undershirt, this may help you feel drier than having the absorbing underarm sweat pads directly next to your skin.
2. minimizing protruding nipple exposure
the best ways to minimize the appearance of protruding nipples is to:
(a) buy a size undershirt that fits tight around your chest. the tightness should help compress the nipples some so they are not as visible
(b) if you’re open to the idea, and you really want to make sure your nipples don’t protrude through, wear nipple covers like nipeaze (link)
(c) if (a) doesn’t work for you and you’re not open to doing (b), i’d recommend finding an alternate fitted undershirt that is still lightweight, but is a tad thicker.
for example, the airism is 115gsm, which is pretty lightweight. if you find something a bit heavier, like in the 130-140gsm weight range, it will still be cool to wear, but possibly heavy enough to flatten your nipples.
if you need some suggestions on undershirts that are around that weight, let me know and i’d be happy to recommend a couple.
hope that helps. let me know if you have any other questions!
Hello, I love Airism undershirts, and I use the t-shirts that are slightly visible from under the shirt. The only thing – after 10-15 washes they become light gray instead of white. Have you guys found a way to safely whiten them? TIA
heya yuri — i haven’t found a reliable way to re-whiten synthetic clothing (polyester, nylon) yet.
but, i do have some articles here on the site about how to re-whiten undershirts.
check those out (:
My $.02 – bought Airism shirts a year ago and loved the lighter weight and comfort.
However, because they wick sweat away, I’ve noticed that my dress shirts are getting pit stains.
Didn’t have this issue w/ more traditional cotton t-shirts.
Would love to see if there are comparable shirts to Airisim but made in different fabric. Any suggestions?
heya dar, good to hear from you buddy and thanks for posting your thoughts and question!
it’s funny — i’ve been saying this (wicking undershirts getting your outer shirts wet faster) exact thing for years.
but, i do have some recommendations for you:
1. if you’re sweating through only in the underarm area, you may want to find a lightweight undershirt with underarm pads, or a hyperhidrois undershirt. they are designed not just those with hyperhidrosis, but any situation where you may be sweating more.
2. if your only sweating area is the underarm area, you may want to consider wearing a stronger antiperspirant like sweatblock or kleinerts dry body wipes.
3. if you like the weight of the airism, then you can either try a lightweight undershirt made with a blend of wicking/absorbing yarns like cotton/polyester, or cotton/polyester/rayon, or you can look at other higher performing moisture management fabrics like tencel. see my thin, lightweight undershirts article for recommendations.
4. you can find a super lightweight 100% absorbing undershirt. the lightest 100% cotton undershirts i’ve come across to date include zimmerli (very expensive) and shirtless undershirts. they are both actually lighter in weight than airism, but are made with absorbing fibers in place of wicking fibers.
hope that helps buddy.
if you try out some of the undershirts recommended in the above articles or mentioned above, please let me know which one(s) work out the best for you.
I just switched over to the Airisms (maybe too quickly) and noticed the same thing. Like the weight of the shirt, but would rather not give up the functionality for weight. Curious if you have any additional recommendations for this issue. Thanks.
heya michael!! good to hear from you buddy (:
outside of the recommendations above, i’d also recommend checking out the brands on my favorite undershirts page:
https://undershirtguy.com/tugs-favorite-undershirts/
i’d say either look at the undershirts on that list, or the ones listed in the article i link to in #3 above.
hope it helps!
Hey,Tug:
I was thinking of getting an airism undershirt.
Recently uniqlo has launched seamless v neck airism which claims that stays invisible under shirt and the offer is quite tempting.
However the blend is different from the usual airism, i wish i can refer to your review before decide whether to get the seamless or the usual one.
I am a college student from Malaysia (part of south east asia which summer through out the year) but still have to wear shirts to college and i sweat quite heavy and i hope to solve the problem.
Nice website by the the way, as undershirt is kind of important to a guy but rarely people talk about that but you did! ;)
I hope i can get your reply soon , thanks anyway.
Sincerely, AHL
heya ahl, good to hear from you buddy and thanks for stopping by my site!
can you point me to the airism seamless v-neck undershirt? i’d like to look into them a bit and see how they compare to the existing ones.
let me know where i can find them (:
hey ahl — i found them by doing a google search!
i’ll write a little article about this, because it’ll be good for my readers to know that there is a seamless version of the uniqlo airism (:
stay tuned.
hey ahl, here’s the article — take a look (:
http://www.undershirtguy.com/uniqlo-launches-seamless-v-neck-airism-undershirt/
I only have the Heattech, which I love. So how does AlRism compare to Heattech? Better, worse, or about the same (in terms of fit, comfort)? They are the same price, but I wonder which is better since there are no stores in my area to try them on….
heya gg, good to hear from you!
airism is for the summer. heattech is for the winter.
airism keeps you cool. heattech keeps you warm.
overall body fit is similar, and neither is better or worse than the other, but as mentioned above, they are designed for the different seasons.
hope that helps!
I usually stick to ribbed-tee but it looks like its going to be a killer summer in GA and I need to invest in some sweat wicking t-shirts. After having these shirts recommended by Lifehacker and reading your review I guess I’ll take the plunge.
yeah, i think you ought to give the airism and airism mesh a try. i’m actually going to be posting another reader’s review of airism mesh in a little bit, so you may want to take a look at it.
i’d say the ribbed-tee retro tri-blend heather grey v is neck and neck with airism. i like the natural feel and lightness of retro moreso than the slightly synthetic feel of the airism, but the pricing on airism is hard not to like coupled with the overall fit & feel.
after you check out the airism, be sure to come back here and let me know what you think of it.