Walmart wicking wear

I got some of that Athletics Work wicking stuff from Walmart. It was on sale. It says DriMore on it and it feels (to me) just like DriMove from Golite. Its 100 % polyester. Has anyone else thought this to be the same type material and has it performed well?

No, but waiting to read your report!

My boys and I have some. I've used it on several trips and am satisfied with its performance. One of my boys has worn it extensively and is very pleased with it.

Yes I have and I own around 8-10 of these shirts that you mentioned. They do work great in almost any application. As a base layer they move great under almost any thing and then they can be worn just like a regular shirt if you so desire..Oh yeah, and they are very warm layered under some thing else like a wind jacket or shirt.. They, (Wal-Mart) have added to the line recently with wicking hooded shirts. I also have a couple of these too. They are little more than the others but no where near what you would pay for Columbia, The North Face, or Outdoor Research....sabre11004...



The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I don't think any skin layer should feel cold and heavy to their touch. I think this whole wicking business is highly over-played. All good insulation layers needs to do that anyway. The primary function of a skin layer is that it is just another layer of insulation, wool or polyester or whatever, that is thin enough to fit under your main layer or over layers. It should of course breathe and dry itself out as you wear it like all your other layers, if they are any good. Its just another layer, but thinner, and closer fitting, but mostly just so that it still fit while still doing some good. It shouldn't matter which layers you wear when you don't need to wear them all.

I have a couple of the Target brand versions (G9 or something) in short sleeve which I bought at the beginning of the summer. I simply love them! During the summer I wear them by themselves and I sweat like a pig and they dry quickly and I don't look quite so rumpled. During winter, like today, I've got the short sleeve version on as an undershirt and I've never been so comfortable. Usually at work I wear a plain cotton T under my shirts in winter time but not after today!
They've held up very well although I wash mine in cold and then line dry instead of using the dryer (they dry in about 15-30 minutes, faster if I point a fan in their direction). One of them snagged on the velcro pockets of a pair of shorts, so I clipped the snags, removed the velcro and replaced with buttons (which I prefer anyway) and I've never had a problem.
Cost on sale was something like $7 a shirt. I'm going to get some for my 12 yr. old son with the understanding that they are only for camping...otherwise he'll wear it out really quickly!
They're unltra lightweight, silky smooth to the touch (almost like my wife's lingerie...I mean when she's wearing it, not me <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />) wicks sweat and dries easily and it's cheap! It's all good.

If it's made in China, Golite that is, then there's a good chance that the manufacturer has an 'open backdoor' for other companies to buy over run rebranded with their name IMO.

This is gonna sound kinda gross- but it had to be done in name of testing. I got three thicknesses of polyester clothing at Walmart. There is a thin stretch material made by athletic works (5.00ea), a slightly thicker polyester zip neck made by starter (3.00ea), and a thick polyester zip neck made by athletic works (11.00ea).
Friday I left for work at 6:00 am wearing the thin layer and the medium layer under a jacket. I was outside until noon. I left work with backpack and headed to the mountains. I changed pants and shoes, added the thicker layer and a Marmot Precip and started hiking. I hiked until 7:30, and it was somewhat strenuous. Temps that night got down to 30 degrees. I slept in the same clothes -sans Precip. I woke up Saturday and hiked all day. I slept in the same clothes again. Sunday I hiked from 9:00 until 2:00 in the same clothes. Nightime temps were 30 degrees and daytime reached 48 degrees. I was from 1800 to 4200 feet above sea level. I thought the stuff performed really well. My body temps were very well regulated through through a wide range of enviromental temps. I did not have to take off and put on clothes as conditions changed and I never felt sweaty. The only thing I added or took away was the wind shell and that was due to temperatures and not excertion. Wind ranged from <2 to >5 mph. No precip. There was no noticable odor retention, no feeling of claminess. I guess basically I was unaware that I had anything on. I also got a pair of athletic works compression shorts. I was afraid of these because I hate that squeezed feeling that you get from bike shorts. These things felt great and there was no chaffing. I guess the best thing I can say about this stuff is that I was unaware that I had anything on and to me that is the best clothing there is. Athletic works is sized big so try it on before you buy it.

I've used a few of their short sleeve shirts for a couple of years now for hiking, biking, and general exercise. They seem to work just as well as some of the pricier stuff I have used, so no complaints from me. I did notice an odor after a day or so of use, or if I had been sweating excessively (hey, I live in the Southeast so its bound to happen during the summer months), but again no worse than other garments.

Of note, I noticed that some of the newer Athletic Works garments are using cloth made of Repreve fibers. Repreve is a recycled yarn (post production I think, but better than nothing), so Kudos to them for spec'ing that in their garments. As much as some people hate Wal Mart, their purchasing power can help build the economies of scale needed to help these newer renewable (or quasi renewable anyway) products viable.

My son wore the stuff extensively throughout his high school football and track career and on every backpacking trip he took. He loved it.

I have a large collection of the Starter shirts that are medium weight and lightly fleeced on the inside that I wear almost daily. They run closer to $9 each, but well worth it. I find them in the boys department only - the ones in the men's department are different. Good thing I'm small <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

MNS

Thanks for taking one for the Team Hooty...We all know it was something that had to be done, and, well, frankly, none of us thought of it first <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />