The cooler weather brings the need for us to restock for another season on all sorts of thermal underwear. We carry this merchandise for just about everyone. We have it for men, women, kids, and big/tall customers, all with their own unique selection. Customers are often confused why we have so many options. Let us explain a little about the fabrics, and it may help your selection. As always, the staff is well versed and can show you your choices, after asking a few simple questions.
Most of the difference in these items revolves around the fabric that it is made of. It will come as no surprise that different fabrics do different things, and as a result warm you in different ways.
COTTON
Cotton is the most basic. We carry it in traditional waffle knits, which create small pockets of warm body heat next to your skin, and also Rashel knits, which do a bit better at keeping you warm, but largely in the same fashion. The advantages of cotton are price, usually very moderately priced, and the next to skin comfort of cotton. The disadvantages are many, but primarily revolve around the idea that cotton acts like a sponge when you perspire and unfortunately keeps that moisture next to your skin, which negates the “warm pockets “ ability to keep you warm. These items are great if your not very active but become inappropriate for someone who would be active and break a sweat while in a cold environment.
SILK
Silk is available also. It mimics cotton in the sense it is very soft and luxurious as an under garment, next to your skin. It has inherent ability to warm you as silk does a better job at that than cotton. It is great to wear in an office for example that may be cold. Very thin and easily fitting under your clothing, it is a fine choice when needing just a little bit extra to keep that chill off. It is very lightweight and warmer than cotton. Unfortunately it is even worse than cotton at absorbing moisture, and once wet, tends to stick to your skin due to how sheer it is. While good in many settings, once again, not a great choice for active outdoors enthusiasts.
WOOL
Wool is available, and is one of the best sellers as, you guessed it, its clearly the warmest of the natural fabrics. We sell Merino wool, which have been treated on a way to make thenm “non–itchy”. The knock on wool has always been that it itches. Well, no longer, with the advent of Merino wools fabric. It has been washed in an acid bath that removes the scales of the wool fiber, and as a result has a much better performance. Wool also continues to work when wet, which sounds odd, but indeed is true. As well Merino wools wick away moisture, allowing your body heat to such it away from your skin. This eliminates the major drawback of cottons, and silks. For a natural fiber, it is clearly superior.
SYNTHETIC FIBER
Synthetic Fiber thermals are the most high tech that we sell. We sell them from brands such as Under Armour, IceTex, Hot Chillys and others. As the name suggests these garments are made from different variants of polyester, all performing the wicking function extremely well, and transporting the moistures away. These garments are ideal for any type of outdoor activity. We all button up our kids really tightly when we send them out doors to play, but many don’t realize you begin to overheat quickly and sweat underneath all those clothes we piles them into. We do the same to ourselves. Its this sweat that must be controlled for any chance to remain warm. Skiers, Snowboarders, hikers, all can use these performance fabrics to their adavantage. Each brand works in its own way, some wick faster than others, some wick more volume than others, some transport the moisture to an outer layer better than others. We can show you the difference and find the right product, just feel free to ask us.
