Nike Basketball Shorts

Soft fabrics for tough workouts: new high-tech athletic wear is made of bamboo ...

14.12.09

Fitness clothes — and the people who wear them — typically fall into two types: old-school sweatshirts and cotton gym shorts on the one side and new whiz-bang compression pants, tissue-thin, sweat-wicking tanks and polypropylene quick-dry socks on the other.

Missing from both: comfort. The high-tech gear is thin and stretchy, keeping you cool and dry. But nylon fabrics feel about as natural as a garbage bag, and some brands retain odors despite washings with industrial-strength detergents.

Old-fashioned cotton shorts and T-shirts are softer, but get heavy when soaked with moisture and slap against the skin, creating a visual that’s less “GI Jane” and more “Sweating to the Oldies.”

On my morning runs, I wear Nike shorts and alternate between racerback tanks and whatever T-shirt is within reach when I roll out of bed.

Other early-bird exercisers on the levee with me are a mixed bag. The guy who offers a friendly wave as he leaves me in his dust wears a sleeveless compression shirt tucked into his running shorts. The woman who has the long, even stride I admire wears race-day shirts from the Crescent City Classic, the Mardi Gras Marathon and other events. The neighbor who’s deep into his marathon training just looks miserable, no matter what he’s wearing.

Source: NOLA.com