What Does Moisture-Wicking Mean?
Moisture-wicking is on almost every workout clothing tag. But what does it actually mean, and does it make a difference? Here is the plain-English version.
What moisture-wicking means
Moisture-wicking fabric pulls sweat away from your skin and spreads it across the outside of the fabric, where it can dry faster. Instead of sweat sitting against your body, it moves outward and evaporates.
The result: you stay drier and more comfortable, and your clothes feel lighter when you sweat.
Wicking is not the same as water-resistant
This one confuses a lot of people. Water-resistant fabric is made to keep water out. Moisture-wicking fabric does the opposite: it lets moisture move through and dry off. For training, wicking is what you want.
Which fabrics wick sweat best?
- Nylon: smooth, soft and quick-drying
- Polyester: light, durable and quick-drying
- Blends with spandex: add stretch while keeping the quick-dry feel
- Cotton: soaks up sweat and holds onto it, so it gets heavy and stays damp
For a full comparison, see polyester vs. nylon vs. cotton for workouts.
Why it matters
- Comfort: less clingy, heavy fabric mid-workout
- Temperature: damp clothes can leave you chilled once you stop moving, especially outdoors
- Less rubbing: drier fabric can help reduce chafing. See how to prevent chafing at the gym.
How to keep wicking gear working
Fabric softener can leave a coating on performance fabric that gets in the way of how it handles sweat. Wash cool, skip the softener and hang dry. See how to wash workout clothes for the full routine.
Built to handle sweat
The KYNOS Performance Tee is a 160 GSM nylon, polyester and spandex blend that wicks moisture and dries quickly, in black, olive, blue and purple. Pair it with the KYNOS FlexStride Jogger, an 80% nylon and 20% spandex four-way stretch jogger in navy, black and olive.
For more on fabric, see spandex vs. elastane and what GSM means in clothing.
Browse the full KYNOS men's collection.