Being sports enthusianst, no matter a veteran or just a novice, you will definitly not ignore the significance of sporting equipment. Have you ever known that there is one kind of sporting equipment which really matters? It is “compression clothing”.
What the hell is compression clothing?
You’ve probably heard of corsets, but the mention of compression suits is simply silly. The greatest benefit of compression clothing is that it increases blood circulation and provides more oxygen to muscles by putting pressure on specific parts of the body.
What is the main advantages of compression clothing?
compression clothes help the body get rid of lactic acid and other metabolic wastes, which can greatly shorten the recovery time after exercise. Compression clothing not only wraps and supports the muscle group, but also focuses on the defense and recovery functions. It can reduce the soft tissue injury caused by muscle vibration.
So for people who run a lot, compression clothing, compression pants can play a supporting role on the knee, core muscle group and other parts.
So, what is compression clothing? With a simple summary is:
Stay out of it, it’s good anyway!
How to Choose Compression Clothing? – 4 popular brands for you based on firsthand experience
However, how to choose and make the right choice among a wide range of compression clothing?
Under Armour, SKINS, CW-X, X-Bionic are 4 popular brands of compression sportswear. Here, I will give you some advice about how to make the optimal choice, based on first-hand experience.
1) Under Armour: Highly Cost-effective
UA compression wear is made by 3D draping, promising comfortable wear and highlighting the contour of body. It functions well in wicking away sweat from the skin, but helps a little in enhancing performance. When running, I tend to wear UA tops and tights, which do fit body shape and draw moisture away quickly. UA is good enough for daily exercise for being highly cost-effective and easy to buy for Chinese consumers.
2) SKINS: Perfect and Refined Compression Technology
SKINS compression wear fits as well as the second skin for using thin material which helps pull sweat off the skin.
SKINS provides superior compression to musle. With its well-known gradient compression technology, different degrees of pressure are applied to musles of human body. The furtherst from the heart, and the stronger the pressure is applied, thus forcing blood back more efficiently, so as to assist sportsmen to realize greater training intensity, longer training time and quicker recovery.
SKINS A400 Series belong to the professinal and high-end catelogue, which fit people who exercise a lot. 400 compression points gurantee precise delivery of compression on the musle where it is needed. SKINS A200 Series are the simplified type of A400, designed for common sporting group exercising less than 10 hours per week. And the compression technology A200 adopt is not as refined as A400.
I own a piece of SKINS compression sleeves and calf tights which have strong compression and can wick away sweat quickly indeed. But it is difficult to put on and off the sleeves. As for the calf tights, they work well for long-distance running.
3) CW-X: Superior Musle Support
CW-X wear utilizes a supportive construction with special elasticity, so as to improve performance and reduce the risk of musle damage. The thick material it uses downgrades wearing experience and sweat distribution, but it suits people who are heavy and have sore knees as bottoms are able to provide perfect support to knees.
I used to suffer from knee pain until I chose CW-X tights. I have to say they support perfectly to knees. However, when it is hot, especially in summer, its tights are not comfortable to wear for using thick material, but can be a good choice when it is not too hot, like in automn or winter.
4) X-Bionic: Advanced Technology and Body Temperature Controling
X-Bionic wear adopts 3D-Bionic Sphere System, and material used in sweating area is not flat but three-dimentional. Following heat-radiating principle, 3D construction thus can distribute sweat over a broader area, aiming for better airflow.
When you start to sweat a lot, sweat will be quickly distributed to the area which would most possibly sweat, where the 3D construction helps sweat evaporate quickly, thus making you stay dry and less sweaty. At the same time, quick evaporation helps body to cool down quickly. Hence, when running, in hot situation, your body will remain dry and body temperature will not climb high. Likewise, in cold situation, the construction can make the evaporative cooling avoid direct skin contact, keeping body warm when there is cold air.
Thus its products are called body air conditioners by compression clothing manufacturers. With such technology, X-Bionic definitely aim for high-end coonsumers, so most track and Triathlon athletes tend to choose X-Bionic. The product price is high, for example, just a piece of shirts (THE TRICK) can cost over USD 250.
I haven’t obtained X-Bionic yet, but according to my friends’wearing experience, X-Bionic can offer comfortable wear and its temperature-controling effect is obvious. Although it is not as compressive as SKINS, it can also provide superior musle support. Its accessory products, such as sporting socks, are popular, too.
