Powerful functional fabrics suitable for your activity

One of the very basic clothing items of every adventure lover is a T-shirt. There is perhaps no other more practical and versatile all-rounder for hiking, cycling, running, skiing, climbing or camping. Certainly, the favourite music band t-shirt, which is hiding on the back of our closets since the high school times, is a great manifestation of our music taste, but is it really the right choice for your next nature exploration? Maybe yes! After all, it all depends on its material. In this blog post, we offer you a brief glimpse of different T-shirt materials and their suitability for various activities.

Before we move on to the textile fibers, let's just shortly summarise how our body works during physical activities. When we move, our muscles create heat, which increases our body temperature. The thermoregulation system starts to work and tries to get the body temperature to the optimal level. It uses the body's natural cooling system – sweat. When the sweat is on the skin surface, it evaporates, thus transferring heat from the body to the environment. The sweat and different materials may react to this process differently. Let's see how.

MERINO WOOL

Merino wool is one of the most popular natural fibres in the outdoor industry because it offers high comfort with hypoallergenic properties, elasticity, natural odour resistance and, unlike other materials, it is suitable for both cold and warm weather. Among other positive attributes of this material, any ZAJO Merino product comes from clean and gently cut sheep without using the extremely painful Mulesing.

Pros:

• Heats you in a cold weather, cools you down in a hot summer
• High UV protection
• The Merino wool is naturally antibacterial with an antistatic capability
• Resistant to odours even even after a multi-day wear
• Keeps you warm even when it is wet
• Water-repellent and breathable

Cons:

• For people with more sensitive skin wearing Merino wool may feel itchy
• Dries longer than synthetics
• Prone to mechanical damage

Suitability:

• Alpine hikes in summer or winter
• Comfortable for casual wear or longer travels
• Skiing

ZAJO Tip 

In case of ZAJO collections like Bjorn Merino, Elsa Merino and Elf Merino, we use a construction of a fine natural 18.5 micron Merino wool wrapped around a very fine core of nylon with a mixture of elastane. This solution keeps 100% Merino wool properties and offers higher resistance to tearing, abrasion, but greater flexibility and shape stability as well. he result of the innovation is an increased resistance of our products, while preserving the ideal microclimate at any time of year.

For people with sensitive skin we recommend Zajo models Bergen Merino and Nora Merino, which are a combination of two natural high-performance materials 100% Merino wool and 100% bamboo viscose.

ORGANIC COTTON

Organic cotton is a favourite choice for people with sensitive skin. ZAJO T-shirts are made from certified organic cotton with the addition of 5% elastane to give the fabric elasticity.

Pros:

• Soft and comfortable to wear
• Durability and breathability
• A good heat conductor that keeps you cool in summer and warm in winter
• Allows air to circulate and move freely across the fabric

Cons:

• Absorbs a lot of moisture and dries slowly. This feature can be both positive and negative depending on the circumstances. Although it may have a very positive effect in the summer, in the cold and windy conditions it may rather play against you
• Weak stain resistance

Suitability:

• Suitable for activities where the damp fabric fits you well for cooling down
• Refreshing for hot destinations and water adventures
• Practical and good looking casual wear

Do you know the difference between cotton and organic cotton?

• Organic cotton is grown at organically certified fields
• synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are replaced by organic ones.
• Only biologically controlled pests are used instead of pesticides
• Alternative cultivation is used to relax the soil
• Organic cotton is a more effective user of water. The water consumption of organic cotton is 91% lower than that of conventional cotton. This is because organic cotton receives relatively little irrigation, relying predominantly on natural rainfall.
• Organic cotton production uses significantly fewer fossil fuels than conventional production
• Growing organic cotton respects the needs for saving the resources and environmental sustainability

ZAJO tip

If you are looking for a comfortable material for casual wear or walking, any of the ZAJO cotton t-shirts with added elastane, slightly fitting cut and original graphics is the right choice for you. For gentlemen, we recommend Bormio and Sven models and for ladies, Corrine and Alisa collections.

SYNTETICKÉ MATERIÁLY

In general, synthetic materials will help keep you dry and help to support the body temperature control. Instead of catching the sweat, the synthetic fabric releases it, supporting an important evaporation process.

Pros:

• Durable and lightweight
• Water-repellent and quick-drying fabric
• Drains sweat from your body to the outer layer of material where it can evaporate quickly, helping you staying dry and comfortable
• More resistant to stains

Cons:

• Tends to contain odours,
• Does not maintain much heat fitness
• Not natural fibre

Suitability

• For an active movement of any kind (exercise and various sports activities)
• Summer hiking, running or cycling
• Casual wear

ZAJO Tip #1

ZAJO Litio collection is made out of DELTAPEAK™ material - a balanced, ultra-high-functionality material which achieves a sophisticated fusion of comfort and the various features required in sports such as light weight and stretch. It supports a full range of sport activities.

Details

• Extremly light, breathable and fast-drying,
• Anti-UV protection and soft hand-feel touch
• Repels your sweat at the surface of the fabric, where it can easily evaporate and keeps you dry
• Anatomical shaping for fit and comfort wearing
• Flatlock seams prevents chafing enhance comfort while wearing

Zajo Tip  #2

Contour kolekcia- 3D weaving technology with a biogenic silver ion additive. Elasticity in 4 directions with ventilation zones.

Details:

• Staying comfortable while on the move

• Seamless stitching helps to prevent chafing
• bodymapping technology keeps you cool in the areas where you most need it
• Antibacterial additives keep you fresh and reduce the odor of sweat.
• Thanks to the low absorbency of the functional fibers, less dirt is possible to attach to the fibers, it is also easy to wash in cold water

If you plan to do a lot of hiking or climbing all year round, it is very useful to know more about materials that are in direct contact with your skin. The main thing is to understand your body and what it undergoes during increased physical activity so that you do not cause unnecessary discomfort wearing inappropriate clothing.

We encourage you to try a few T-shirts and find out what suits you best depending on the kind of activity you do and the sensitivity of your skin. If you have a Zajo base layer or t-shirt, share your experience with the product review!