Active wear and sports intimates have come a long way since the days of wearing a loose oversized cotton t-shirt and shorts with more than two conventional holes to put your legs through. Today, particularly yoga equipment, comes in a range of colours and designs, with some high-end brands offering fabrics that possess multi-stretch and sweat-wicking properties allowing you to stay comfortable and dry during practice.
However, not all textiles perform the same way. Owing to their structure, many have unique properties and behave completely differently to others. When choosing certain clothes to work out in, you to bear in mind that it is the type of fibre, fabric structure and weight that are the most important parameters when wearing them for their intended purpose.
New Materials for Yoga Equipment
Modern technical fibres, such as polyester, have lightweight properties although some come with a rougher hand-feel. Originally designed with the intention to replace heavier natural fibres, polyester can improve breatheability. Much of the yoga equipment you’ll currently find on the market is made from polyester to provide adequate moisture management, which is essential during an hour’s worth of vinyasas.
Other synthetic fibres, such as polyamide (also known as nylon), have greater moisture loving properties than polyester. This is because many polyester fabrics are hydrophobic by nature, meaning they are resistant to liquid and therefore dry faster.
There are also some other differences. Whilst polyamide fabrics tend to dry less quickly, the flip side is they are much softer to the touch and pliable. These properties exist because polyamide fabrics were initially intended as an alternative for silk – magnificently smooth and cool to wear.
Yoga Equipment with Space Age Tech
As we know, when we workout our body temperatures change and we produce sweat to cool ourselves down, which is a framework of thermodynamics. So, in developing Just FIT’s capsule range, we considered innovative textiles to manage fluctuations in body temperature. The garments contain phase change technology originally developed for NASA, which absorb, store and release heat for optimal thermal comfort.
The technology we use is phase change material; comparable to ice in a drink, as it changes from solid to liquid, it absorbs head and cools the drink, keeping that drink at the desired temperature for longer. It works in the same way, but is microencapsulated and permanently enclosed and protected in a polymer shell, called ThermoculesTM.
It has the ability to continually regulate your skin’s microclimate, unlike wicking, which pulls sweat away from the skin. As the skin gets hot, heat is absorbed and as it cools that heat is released back. This proactively manages heat while controlling the production of moisture before it even begins, hence the difference.
Where you find this technology is in the seamless underwear and base layers of your yoga equipment. For example, our recently launched SKYLUXE low impact sports bras are perfect for yoga and even wearing under a work shirt too. They are made from luxurious polyamide fabrics, which when paired together, they are a perfect combination of fit and comfort.
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