Since fitness has more recently taken off as everyone’s favorite hobby, the sales of fitness clothing have naturally soared, too.
However, the market is bombarded with clothes claiming to use the latest textile tech to help aid your workout, make you sweat less and give you the most comfortable experience while exercising.
While these claims night just be a load of old marketing spiel, one way of seeing And what are the best offerings out there at the moment?
I wore a bunch of different high tech fitness clothing to some of my favorite exercise classes to find out. Here are a bunch of my best, sorted by clothing brand…
Adidas AlphaSkin
Adidas latest compression wear, AlphaSkin, has been designed with a kinetic “wrapped performance layer” fabric which the German firm says eliminates unwanted distractions from the task in hand by “moving with the critical areas of athletes in motion”.
Unlike traditional base layers, Adidas says each section of its Alpha Skin tech has been constructed to match the body’s movements.
They’re super comfortable, even when wearing for classes where lots of movement is expected. I wore them for a handstand workshop and found they felt snug but without being too restrictive. This is the idea, Adidas says, that by removing unnatural friction between the fabric and skin, athletes wearing AlphaSkin can benefit by not having to think about what they’re wearing.
2XU ICE X
2XU aren’t one of the legacy brands you’d associate with sports or fitness, but it’s certainly getting there. I’ve used the firm’s compression stuff for many a yoga class and they’ve proven the best again and again, mainly due to the extra grip built into the fabric that helps with balances poses when you’d usually be sweaty and slipping everywhere. The durability of the material is top notch too. My favorite are the ICE X full-length compression tights.
They’re pretty dam tight but easy enough to get on and not comfortably so, doing exactly what compression wear is supposed to do; keep everything in place while you get your exercise on.
They’ve got a great selection over at Greaves if you’re looking to get your hands on some at a decent price.
SculptMode
This brand’s not one of the big players in the fitness world…yet. I’ve been using the firm’s “athleisurewear” for a good few weeks now, and found it to be one of my favourites for comfort, no matter how I’m exercising.
The team behind the brand said they worked with yoga instructors and athletes to assist with the design of SculptMode, incorporating a whole caliber of tech fabrics, and you can tell. I’ve probably worn the short sleeve grey SculptMode t-shirt more than any of the other pieces of clothing in the feature due to not only how good it looks for any occasion but how its dry tech fabric is able to keep me cool while powering through a workout.
Adidas Ultraboost trainers
They might be labelled as running shoes but in my experience, the Adidas Ultraboost trainers can make any fitness activity or sport feel like you’re floating on a cloud. Combining comfort and high-performance shoe tech, they have a stretchy knit upper that adapts to the changing shape of your foot as you run, skip, jump, cycle, hop or whatever. They also have a responsive midsole cushioning and a flexible outsole, which works to ensure you forget you’re wearing trainers at all, even after long periods of use, especially at home using the Fiit app.
And better yet, you can get them at a pretty great deal right now over at getthelabel.com.
Ion8 water bottle
Okay, I get that this entry might not be fitness clothing but I used this ion8 water bottle a lot while working out and I had to include it because it has to be one of the best water bottles I’ve used lately, and believe me I go through a lot (I lose everything). It doesn’t have inbuilt water filtering like a Bobble for instance, but it has a secure, easy-release cap that I’ve never had leak on me once. It’s also got this really nice soft grip to it, which is ideal if you’re an active person like me and will be grabbing it a lot while on the go.
Dagsmejan temperature-controlled sleepwear
And last but not least, let’s not forget about the best apparel for resting in after your workout, too. These pajamas are scientifically made to help you sleep better thanks to the high tech fabric that is used.
Made by Dagsmejan, they have apparently taken insights from high-performance sportswear and have been adapted to the body’s physiological sleep needs “with the help of sleep science and research to offer innovative benefits never seen in the sleep industry before”.
The company says it has done this by working with Empa, the Swiss federal institution for innovation in materials and science, to ensure that the fiber mix and construction of the garment meets the body’s needs during sleep.
While that’s a bold claim, I have to admit that these pjs are seriously the most comfortable items of clothing I’ve ever worn for bed. They are super light and soft, even after a good few washes, so whether the science that has done into designing them works or not, I’m sold.
Keep checking back – this article is work in progress and will be updated regularly as I try more gear.
