.....

 

Side note 2 - when I was a young teen, my mother bought me a "tech suit" - yes, it was a polyester liesure suit. And she made me wear it to church on Sundays. Even the good Lord got a chuckle out of that, I'm sure.

 

Of course, at the time, we didn't know anything about tech shirts and the wicking action and all that. It just goes to show you that the leisure suit really was ahead of its time!

I got a good chuckle out of this!

I agree, LRB.  The 'weave' material works far better for me.  Living in a high humidity climate, they seem to work better for me.  The 'shiny' ones wick but just feel like I'm wearing a wet towel usually.  I've found that I like the Champion C9 from Target best.  I'm kind of tight on spending for clothes and the C9 works well for that....shoes on the other hand, I have a small fortune invested in those.

LRB I love your observations and analysis.  It's totally something I would do (as me about my spreadsheet on non chocolate protein bars LOL)

And I agree with everything you've said so far.  Also, let's add a twist: women specific cut tech shirts!!  I hate it when I register for an event and 1. I don't know what the tech shirt will be and 2. I don't know what size to get because they don't say if they are "womens" or "unisex."

FWIW, every event I have a tech shirt for, it's white.  For every event Phil has one, it's a cool pattern and generally a waffle type weave pattern.  But that's just me getting screwed.

I had no clue that there were so many types and qualities of tech shirts! For me, it's more the size and cut that matters. If the shirt feels too big on me, then all the flapping feels very uncomfortable, especially when wet. I like a racerback type or a tank top. If I wear a shirt, I prefer short and well adjusted. The type of fabric matters little, as long as it's tech and not cotton.

I run in New Balance shirts most of the time. They have an outlet store in my area, and their prices are great but so is the quality. Reebok has a dri shirt that feels likes cotton at their outlets that don't fare well on a run so I wear them to work out only.

As far as tech shirts at races I may wear them on a weekend, but never running. Ones I get at them don't appear like they will last long. Only 1 particular race has 1 that seems to last years. I rarely care about whether I get a at any race.

I get most of mine at a closeout store, whatever brand, but the weave type seem more prone to chaffing, to me, and I can't tell the diff. in wicking. Tech is better than cotton, though. I can't go back after making the switch.

 

Thankfully, I only experience chaffage on runs of 12 miles or more, regardless of the material.  I have one friend who claims however, that tight fitting spandex type shirts alleviate that problem.

 

I prefer loose fitting tops while on long runs though, so I wear waterproof band aids over my nips and that works well.

Had my first experience with the chaffing yesterday after just a 5 mile run, DAMN, my nips were on fire! Gonna have to try the band aids next weekend.

Yes, the 'KNIT mesh' construction will make a much more open garment.  The more open, the better it wicks - assuming you are comparing apples to apples with the yarn content and treatment on the yarn.

I tend to prefer Nike Dri Fit.  I have found that the wicking treatment on the yarn is more durable that the treatment on some other cheaper brands.  I'll pay the extra $$ for Nike - even if they are made by 7 year olds.