Re: Easy question about technical clothing (MORE THOUGHTS)

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Quoted message said:

First of all, thanks to all who replied to my note below.

However, it seems, for the most part, that my initial question still hasn't been answered.
Most of us agree that "cotton kills" (as the saying goes) because it holds your sweat close to the skin,
which in turn evaporates, which in turn cools you down.

If I'm running a LONG race, in the heat of the summer sun, I sweat a lot. And if I happen to be
wearing a cotton T-shirt that day, it will soak up (and hold) the sweat BUT at least it will keep me cool
as I am running. And by staying cool, I am able to run longer.

If I switch to a synth fibre, I notice that the shirt works as designed (it wicks my sweat off my skin)
but so what? At that point, what (if anything) is going to cool me down? The sweat is now evaporating off
my shirt, and not off my skin. I might end up with a cool shirt, but my body underneath is still producing
sweat in order to cool itself off.

Am I missing something? What is the main advantage of wearing a wicking fabric?
Because it feels good? Too keep you warm? To keep you cool?

Please be the first to set this record straight for me :-)

Much appreciated, and thanks in advance.

I'm guessing that to get the cooling effect, you need the sweat to
evaporate. With cotton, it doesn't evaporate, you just get this
drenched shirt clinging to your skin like a suction cup. Just try it
once, I ran 18 miles last summer when it was 98 degrees out (I had lots
of water and there were drinking fountains along the route. It was
probably stupid, but I finished.) I took off my shirt at the risk of
offending people with my big white belly. I just slung it over my
shoulder and was much more comfortable with it off than with it on.
When I got to a drinking fountain, I'd drink a lot of water and then
splash a lot on my now bare skin. It seemed to work a lot better.

"Who are you that is so wise in the ways of science"?
.....
"If... she... weighs... the same as a duck,... she's made of wood."

Monty Python and the Humorous Fallacy

For those unfamiliar with the movie, the setting is medieval England, and in this scene a crowd of villagers is very excited because they have found a witch and intend to burn her. But she claims not to be a witch. How are they to know for sure?

CROWD: A witch! A witch! A witch! A witch! We've found a witch! A witch! A witch! A witch! A witch! We've got a witch! A witch! A witch! Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! We've found a witch! We've found a witch! A witch! A witch! A witch!

VILLAGER #1: We have found a witch. May we burn her?

CROWD: Burn her! Burn! Burn her! Burn her!

BEDEVERE: How do you know she is a witch?

VILLAGER #2: She looks like one.

CROWD: Right! Yeah! Yeah!

BEDEVERE: Bring her forward.

WITCH:I'm not a witch. I'm not a witch.

BEDEVERE: Uh, but you are dressed as one.

WITCH: They dressed me up like this.

CROWD: Augh, we didn't! We didn't...

WITCH: And this isn't my nose. It's a false one.

BEDEVERE:Well?

VILLAGER #1:Well, we did do the nose.

BEDEVERE: The nose?

VILLAGER #1: And the hat, but she is a witch!

VILLAGER #2: Yeah!

CROWD: We burn her! Right! Yeaaah! Yeaah!

BEDEVERE: Did you dress her up like this?

VILLAGER #1: No!

VILLAGER #2 and 3: No. No.

VILLAGER #2: No.

VILLAGER #1: No.

VILLAGERS #2 and #3: No.

VILLAGER #1: Yes.

VILLAGER #2: Yes.

VILLAGER #1: Yes. Yeah, a bit.

VILLAGER #3: A bit.

VILLAGERS #1 and #2: A bit.

VILLAGER #3: A bit.

VILLAGER #1: She has got a wart.

RANDOM: *cough*

BEDEVERE: What makes you think she is a witch?

VILLAGER #3: Well, she turned me into a newt.

BEDEVERE: A newt?

VILLAGER #3: I got better.

VILLAGER #2: Burn her anyway!

VILLAGER #1: Burn!

CROWD: Burn her! Burn! Burn her!...

BEDEVERE: Quiet! Quiet! Quiet! Quiet! There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.

VILLAGER #1: Are there?

VILLAGER #2: Ah?

VILLAGER #1: What are they?

CROWD: Tell us! Tell us!...

VILLAGER #2: Do they hurt?

BEDEVERE: Tell me. What do you do with witches?

VILLAGER #2: Burn!

VILLAGER #1: Burn!

CROWD: Burn! Burn them up! Burn!...

BEDEVERE: And what do you burn apart from witches?

VILLAGER #1: More witches!

VILLAGER #3: Shh!

VILLAGER #2: Wood!

BEDEVERE: So, why do witches burn?

VILLAGER #3: Because they're made of... wood?

BEDEVERE: Good!

CROWD: Oh, yeah. Oh.

BEDEVERE: So, how do we tell whether she is made of wood?

VILLAGER #1: Build a bridge out of her.

BEDEVERE: Ah, but can you not also make bridges out of stone?

VILLAGER #1: Oh, yeah.

RANDOM: Oh, yeah. True. Uhh...

BEDEVERE: Does wood sink in water?

VILLAGER #1: No. No.

VILLAGER #2: No, it floats! It floats!

VILLAGER #1: Throw her into the pond!

CROWD: The pond! Throw her into the pond!

BEDEVERE: What also floats in water?

VILLAGER #1: Bread!

VILLAGER #2: Apples!

VILLAGER #3: Very small rocks!

VILLAGER #1: Cider!

VILLAGER #2: Uh, gra-- gravy!

VILLAGER #1: Cherries!

VILLAGER #2: Mud!

VILLAGER #3: Uh, churches! Churches!

VILLAGER #2: Lead! Lead!

ARTHUR: A duck!

CROWD: Oooh.

BEDEVERE: Exactly. So, logically...

VILLAGER #1: If... she... weighs... the same as a duck,... she's made of wood.

BEDEVERE: And therefore?

VILLAGER #2: A witch!

VILLAGER #1: A witch!

CROWD: A witch! A witch!...

http://www.churchofcriticalthinking.com/archives/print000160monty_python_and_the.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

First of all, thanks to all who replied to my note below.

However, it seems, for the most part, that my initial question still hasn't been answered.
Most of us agree that "cotton kills" (as the saying goes) because it holds your sweat close to the skin,
which in turn evaporates, which in turn cools you down.

If I'm running a LONG race, in the heat of the summer sun, I sweat a lot. And if I happen to be
wearing a cotton T-shirt that day, it will soak up (and hold) the sweat BUT at least it will keep me cool
as I am running. And by staying cool, I am able to run longer.

If I switch to a synth fibre, I notice that the shirt works as designed (it wicks my sweat off my skin)
but so what? At that point, what (if anything) is going to cool me down? The sweat is now evaporating off
my shirt, and not off my skin. I might end up with a cool shirt, but my body underneath is still producing
sweat in order to cool itself off.

Am I missing something? What is the main advantage of wearing a wicking fabric?
Because it feels good? Too keep you warm? To keep you cool?

Please be the first to set this record straight for me :-)

Much appreciated, and thanks in advance.

___________________

At the risk of sounding like an extreme newbie:

Can someone please tell me the advantages of wearing "technical clothing" (polypro and moisture-wicking fabrics) when performing intense physical activity?

It is my understanding that the human body sweats to cool itself down (the sweat on the surface of our skin evaporates and cools us down). If I am running a race in the heat of summer, why would I *NOT* want to wear a fabric such as cotton? Cotton retains water, which will hold my sweat close to my body, cooling me down.

By using wicking fabrics, aren't we essentially moving the sweat off of our skin? How exactly is this supposed to cool down the body?

Cotton is sometimes described as "dangerous" and "lethal" to wear in survival situations, because of the hypothermic effect it has on the body. But isn't this EXACTLY what I want when my body's overheating?

I prefer the reply be sent to my email address ([email hidden]), but I will also check on UseNet for the reply.

Thanks in advance to all who reply!!

Quoted message said:

First of all, thanks to all who replied to my note below.

However, it seems, for the most part, that my initial question
still hasn't been answered. Most of us agree that "cotton kills"
(as the saying goes) because it holds your sweat close to the skin,
which in turn evaporates, which in turn cools you down.

Cotton doesn't kill because it evaporates causing
cooling. Wet cotton kills because it doesn't evaporate
(i.e., wick moisture) and can thus freeze (or fails to
insulate) next to the skin causing core body cooling.

Quoted message said:

If I'm running a LONG race, in the heat of the summer sun, I sweat
a lot. And if I happen to be wearing a cotton T-shirt that day, it
will soak up (and hold) the sweat BUT at least it will keep me cool
as I am running. And by staying cool, I am able to run longer.

Cotton can help keep you cool in hot temps. But as I
said polyester will also get damp depending on how
much you sweat. Cotton just gets wetter.

Quoted message said:

If I switch to a synth fibre, I notice that the shirt works as
designed (it wicks my sweat off my skin) but so what? At that point,
what (if anything) is going to cool me down? The sweat is now evaporating
off my shirt, and not off my skin. I might end up with a cool shirt, but
my body underneath is still producing sweat in order to cool itself off.

In very hot temps your body can produce more sweat
than can rapidly evaporate. Thus you can have excess
sweat. Wicking may be an advantage there.

Quoted message said:

Am I missing something? What is the main advantage of wearing a wicking
fabric? Because it feels good? Too keep you warm? To keep you cool?

The main advantage is wicking. Cotton doesn't wick period.
But if it's that hot and you're sweating more than can
evaporate off the skin wearing a polyester shirt can also
have a "cooling" effect. Is it better to use cotton or poly?
I don't know; like I said I'm not sure it makes that much
difference. Some treated poly fabrics claim to wick more
efficiently over the whole fabric rather than allowing sweat
to build up in one area, thus cooling more effectively.

Quoted message said:

Please be the first to set this record straight for me :-)

Do I get a prize, or are you trolling?

In the end it's a matter of personal experience and preference.

Quoted message said:

Most of us agree that "cotton kills">

Look stupid, you've been trolled by RR's finest trolls. Dot, janitor,
smurf, they are ALL trolls.
Put on cotton and run 10 miles, put on coolmax and run 10 miles. You'll
see NO DIFFERENCE except with coolmax your wallet will be lighter.

Quoted message said:

Most of us agree that "cotton kills">

Look stupid, you've been trolled by RR's finest trolls. Dot, janitor,
smurf, they are ALL trolls.
Put on cotton and run 10 miles, put on coolmax and run 10 miles. You'll
see NO DIFFERENCE except with coolmax your wallet will be lighter.

Hey [censored],
Don't you have anything better to do with your time? What's the matta?
Your NAMBLA website down?

racer1911 said:

However, it seems, for the most part, that my initial question still hasn't been answered.
Most of us agree that "cotton kills" (as the saying goes) because it holds your sweat close to the skin,
which in turn evaporates, which in turn cools you down.

The moisture will eventually saturate the cotton, but the wet shirt will
have more thermal mass and act as a heat sink. It takes longer to start
cooling you, and will continue to remove body heat after you stop running.
After the race, especially if it's breezy, you'll be pretty cold in a wet
cotton shirt.

Quoted message said:

If I'm running a LONG race, in the heat of the summer sun, I sweat a lot. And if I happen to be
wearing a cotton T-shirt that day, it will soak up (and hold) the sweat BUT at least it will keep me cool
as I am running. And by staying cool, I am able to run longer.

It will take longer to start to cool you, as it represents a larger
thermal mass. It's also a larger physical mass, as in heavier, which will
tend to slow you down.

Quoted message said:

If I switch to a synth fibre, I notice that the shirt works as designed (it wicks my sweat off my skin)
but so what? At that point, what (if anything) is going to cool me down? The sweat is now evaporating off
my shirt, and not off my skin. I might end up with a cool shirt, but my body underneath is still producing
sweat in order to cool itself off.

Once it wicks it off of your body, it exposes it to the moving air on the
outside of the shirt, where it quickly evaporates, cooling you. Your body
still produces sweat because it's still producing heat. A synth wicking
fiber is closer to wearing no shirt at all in terms of evaporation.

Quoted message said:

Am I missing something? What is the main advantage of wearing a
wicking fabric? Because it feels good? Too keep you warm? To keep you
cool?

Primarily to keep you cool when you need it and also to provide some
insulation to keep you warm when you're not sweating.