Changes in sportswear technology
Here we take a look at the developments in sports clothes over the last few years.
Sports clothing
Historically, natural fibres like wool, cotton and silk have been used in the manufacture of clothing. All of these fabrics have served us well in the past but they are now being improved upon particularly with regards to sports clothes.
We are now better able to manage our personal environments (keep cool, warm, dry) with modern fabrics.
Sportswear - Base layers
Sports base layers, long sleeved t-shirts and sports t-shirts now are both breathable and wick perspiration away from the body to the outer part of the garment. This leaves the garment itself dry with modules of perspiration on the outer part.
Sportswear - Insulating layer
In a sport clothing layering system the next layer is usually a micro fleece – the objective of which is to keep the body warm. This not only insulates the body but also allows the body to ‘breathe’ and allows modules of sweat to continue through the fleece to it’s outer. As most sports involve perspiration this is a key requirement of sportswear.
Sportswear - The outer layer
The sports wear outer layer should also allow sweat modules (which are smaller than rain modules) to exit through the garment while also keeping wind and rain out. This results in you staying dry. The best sports outer garments have a Gore-Tex liner which allows this waterproof breathability to occur. There are other cheaper systems that allow perspiration out and stop the wind and rain penetrating your personal environment but Gore-Tex remains the market leader.
Obviously any of the layers in the sport layering system can be used individually, together or in different combinations depending on the weather conditions.
The future of sports clothing
The sportswear base layer is where the most interesting technological developments are occurring at the moment. Below are some of the more interesting new sportswear technologies on the market:
- Nike Sphere react – manages your personal environment keeping you cool if you are getting hot, and warm if you are too cold. It also keeps you dry.
- Skins – compression garments which are designed to improve performance in just about any athletic sport. Skins fit very snugly round the body and with their gradient compression technology they compress the muscles in key areas and reduce the build up of lactic acid, reducing fatigue, improving performance, keeping you cool, dry and reducing recovery time. All these impressive claims are backed up with independent scientific research.
- Nike Pro – Nike's own sports gear compression range
- Odour free technology there are also fabrics coming on the market that do not take in odour they therefore do not allow bacteria to breed and do not retain bad smells. This technology has some way to go before it becomes the norm but certainly a future where all your sports clothes smell freshly washed even after a hard game is not that far away.
In conclusion, sports clothing technology has moved on significantly in the last few years. Fabrics now exist that are proven to keep us warm, dry, cool, improve our performance, help us recover quicker and even smell better. Progress indeed – make the most of it!
