Hi there,
I was recently looking for tshirts/shorts that I can use when sweating a lot – when trail running, mountain biking, climbing.
I decided to get the Rab Aeon Tee since it's very lightweight and quick drying.
When looking across the different products available, the following questions came up in my head:
– should it be as thin as possible, or how much volume do you need for something to wick moisture as good as possible while still not being too warm? I can imagine that the thinnest/most lightweight tshirt might not be the best option since it also has a limited volume. A thicker shirt can also be too much in terms of warmth, making me sweat even more.
– polyester or polyamide (nylon)? I came across a lot of different combinations of polyester and polyamide, but it is very hard to find clear theory about which of these fabrics is really better in terms of wicking (some say nylon, some polyester). What seems to be clear is that nylon is more durable.
What I found the most difficult thing is how to find out what all these brand names like capilene, driclime, blah really are. It's very confusing since some are very similar, some are simply aliases, etc.
What I am looking for is tests/theoretical answers to the questions above, not just opinions and something like a collection/explanation for different materials, hierarchies etc so I can learn about the fundamental differences and really draw conclusions like "for this activity this fabric is optimal" instead of blindly relying on opinions and marketing descriptions..
I realize that my question might be a bit unclear, but I think you understand what I mean.
