What Is Moisture Wicking and Why Does It Matter?
Learn more about this fabric property, from how wicking works to its benefits and some common moisture-wicking fabrics.
Introduction
What does “moisture wicking” mean? It usually means that a garment is made with moisture-wicking fabrics that help pull sweat away from your skin and allow it to evaporate. Moisture-wicking clothes can help keep you comfortable and dry when you’re working hard and perspiring. In warm climates, this means your body stays cool by more efficiently conducting sweat—the body’s natural cooling mechanism. In cold climates, your body stays warmer by keeping the fabric next to your skin drier.
While non-wicking garments absorb moisture, moisture-wicking clothes help regulate your temperature by pulling sweat away from your skin—so garments don’t feel as wet. We make durable men’s and women’s moisture-wicking clothing for trail running, climbing, mountain biking and more, including technical men’s and women’s tees, jackets and bottoms with built-in sweat wicking and odor control.
How Moisture-Wicking Materials Work
How does moisture wicking work? When you’re wearing clothes made with moisture-wicking fabrics, sweat and moisture move away from your skin and onto the surface of the garment through a process called “capillary action.” Once the moisture reaches the surface of your clothes, it evaporates into the air. To better understand sweat wicking and capillary action, let’s look back at an excerpt from the Fall 1985 Patagonia catalog, the year we introduced Capilene® baselayers:
A fabric can wick by using capillary action: It is constructed so that its fibers are so close together that water will “climb” between them, in the way water used to crawl up capillary tubes in high school chemistry class.
Vapor transmission is another method by which moisture is transported off the skin. Often confused with wicking, vapor transmission relies on the open weave of a fabric and the non-absorbing nature of its fibers. These characteristics allow moisture-laden vapor to pass through the fabric.
Capilene® polyester wicks by yet a third method, known as spreading action. Normally, polyester is a water hating, or hydrophobic, fabric. The surface of the fibers of Capilene polyester, however, have been chemically altered to make them water loving. Thus, a very thin skin of each Capilene fiber absorbs water while its inner, untreated core repels it. This combination of opposing forces creates a fabric that wicks with great efficiency. Water molecules are attracted to the surface of the fibers; once there, they spread out, drying rapidly.
The fibers of moisture-wicking fabrics help keep sweat under control, leaving your clothes feeling lightweight and dry while helping your body more efficiently regulate its temperature.
Commonly Used Moisture-Wicking Materials
Is polyester moisture-wicking? What about nylon? Synthetic fabrics like these are “hydrophobic,” which means they don’t absorb water easily or well and, instead, help wick away moisture. That’s why you’ll find synthetic blends in so many moisture-wicking clothes. Here are some of the fabrics that wick moisture well—materials that are commonly found in moisture-wicking garments:
- Polyester
- Polypropylene
- Nylon
- Spandex
- Merino Wool
Wicking Fabric Finishes: The Impact
Applying moisture-wicking finishes to fabrics can come at an environmental cost. We work closely with our material suppliers to understand the environmental impacts of the chemical finishes we use and only apply wicking treatments to garments when there’s a significant performance benefit.
The majority of the wicking treatments we use are bluesign® approved, meaning they’ve been assessed and approved by our partners at bluesign technologies to be safe for the environment, workers and customers. We also source wicking chemistry from Beyond Surface Technologies (BST), a chemistry-innovation company that offers a wicking chemistry made from plant-seed oil.
And because moisture-wicking garments usually involve sweat, we use HeiQ® Mint to help prevent stink and keep things fresh. HeiQ Mint is a plant-based odor-control finish that is strongly bonded to the fabric and is bluesign approved.
How We Use Moisture-Wicking Materials
We use moisture-wicking fabrics for our quick-drying performance gear. Many of our sweat-wicking garments are made with synthetic fabric blends, though some are chemically treated for added wicking and softness and others wick moisture naturally. Here are examples of the wicking materials used in Patagonia gear.
Caring for Your Moisture-Wicking Clothes
Want to keep your moisture-wicking clothing working hard for a long time? You can wear it anywhere, but wash and dry it with care. Moisture-wicking fabrics can lose effectiveness when laundered, so follow the care instructions printed on the white tag inside your clothes.
Wicking treatments can degrade with time and use. Laundry detergents and fabric softeners (also called conditioners) contain waxes that can interfere with the wicking chemistry and reduce the effectiveness of your sweat-wicking garments. Avoid using harsh detergents, dryer sheets, waxes, fabric softeners and stain removers, and keep your washing machine and dryer on the low- or medium-heat setting to avoid damaging the synthetic fibers. With a little care, your gear can have a long, interesting life.
