Easy question about technical clothing (overheating/overcooling)

[Raptor]

small change wrote:

(Good stuff.)

Not to mention chafing. Few things are as wondrously painful and
annoying as a sodden clump of cotton briefs and/or shorts between your
legs near the end of a long ride. Or hike for that matter. I've even
gotten raw underarms from soaked cotton.

I suspect most people wearing that skin-tight (or loose) synthetic stuff
are like me, and have also logged many hours of exercise in that rugged,
cheap cotton clothing. The technical stuff lasts just as long, unless
you wear it all day, every day.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
"We should not march into Baghdad. ... Assigning young soldiers to
a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning
them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerilla war, it
could only plunge that part of the world into ever greater
instability." George Bush Sr. in his 1998 book "A World Transformed"

 

At the risk of sounding like an extreme newbie:

Can someone please tell me the advantages of wearing "technical clothing" (polypro and moisture-wicking fabrics) when performing intense physical activity?

It is my understanding that the human body sweats to cool itself down (the sweat on the surface of our skin evaporates and cools us down). If I am running a race in the heat of summer, why would I *NOT* want to wear a fabric such as cotton? Cotton retains water, which will hold my sweat close to my body, cooling me down.

By using wicking fabrics, aren't we essentially moving the sweat off of our skin? How exactly is this supposed to cool down the body?

Cotton is sometimes described as "dangerous" and "lethal" to wear in survival situations, because of the hypothermic effect it has on the body. But isn't this EXACTLY what I want when my body's overheating?


I prefer the reply be sent to my email address ([email protected]), but I will also check on UseNet for the reply.


Thanks in advance to all who reply!!

 

[small change]

[email protected] wrote:
> At the risk of sounding like an extreme newbie:

( extreme newbie hint, don't double post)
>
> Can someone please tell me the advantages of wearing "technical
> clothing" (polypro and moisture-wicking fabrics) when performing
> intense physical activity?
>
I'm the resident technical fabrics expert. The new polyesters are engineered
to move moisture away from the skin and to the exterior of the garment,
which facilitates evaporation and facilitates keeping the skin dryer. You
can google "hydrophilic" and Hydrophobic" polyesters if you want.

Cotton is a good choice in hot climates, but it has to be light woven and
not Tshirt. T shirt knit holds moisture and heat. Look at what people wear
in the tropics.. light guazy things, not knits.


> It is my understanding that the human body sweats to cool itself down
> (the sweat on the surface of our skin evaporates and cools us down).
> If I am running a race in the heat of summer, why would I *NOT* want
> to wear a fabric such as cotton? Cotton retains water, which will
> hold my sweat close to my body, cooling me down.

Cotton also retains water, which robs the body of heat, and promotes
hypethermia. And yes, you can get hypothermia in warm weather if the
condition a are right.
>
> By using wicking fabrics, aren't we essentially moving the sweat off
> of our skin? How exactly is this supposed to cool down the body?

evaporation.
>
> Cotton is sometimes described as "dangerous" and "lethal" to wear in
> survival situations, because of the hypothermic effect it has on the
> body. But isn't this EXACTLY what I want when my body's overheating?

Cotton IS lethal and dangerous in many outdoors situations. Spend the night
out in a wet pair of jeans if you want to test the theory. When you are
overheating, wet cotton will still hold all that moisture next to your
overheated skin. The wet heavy cotton traps the heat if you are overheating,
it's not moving it away like wicking fiber will. Here's an easy test. Run 5
miles in the desert in a cotton T, a wicking T, and then a light shirt like
a dress shirt with the sleeves cut off. I guarantee you will be overheated
in the T shirt.

Penny S


>
>
> I prefer the reply be sent to my email address
> ([email protected]), but I will also check on UseNet for the
> reply.

I do not cc email addresses. If you post to usenet, the reply goes to usenet
so that all can benefit from the discussion.


>
>
> Thanks in advance to all who reply!!

 

[G.T.]

Yeah, I've taken to wearing cut off dress shirts for cycling if I don't
have a jersey available. I stay much cooler than when I'm wearing a
tshirt.

Greg

 

[Ride-A-Lot]

G.T. wrote:
> Yeah, I've taken to wearing cut off dress shirts for cycling if I don't
> have a jersey available. I stay much cooler than when I'm wearing a
> tshirt.
>
> Greg
>

Hah! I'll be rollerblading from my hotel in Anaheim to the convention
center next week (can't bring the bike this time ) in a suit and tie.
I'll bet that will look more gay than GRS! It's self powered wheels
though.

--
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