What does functional clothing mean?
As the name suggests, functional clothing for water sports has to fulfil functions specific to the type of sport. In water sports, these are the protection against cooling down, since even in warm outside temperatures the constant contact with the cool water leads to a loss of body temperature and thus of performance. The shirts that work against it are especially Lycra or Rash Guard shirts which are specialized to keep the heat on the body even in wet conditions. At the same time these shirts absorb a lot of sweat and transport the natural cooling of the body to the outside. But functional clothing is also worn under a dry suit - for example fleece functional suits which help you to stay warm and efficient in extreme cold. The same theme is taken up by the thermal underwear, which keeps you very warm under a dry suit or oilskin suit, but at the same time provides optimal freedom of movement with the material thin and the tight-fitting cut.
Where is functional clothing used?
In water sports you will find a wide range of applications for functional clothing. Whether on the beach in hot temperatures as UV protection and sweat removal, or in warm temperatures on the water as a warming first layer against cooling wind in splash water. Even at cooler temperatures as a sweat-absorbing layer under spray tops or neoprene suits and even colder temperatures under oilskins or dry suits, functional clothing is chosen as the base layer and supplemented by further garments.
The technology behind functional clothing
The vast majority of functional garments for water sports are based on LYCRA® fibre. The fibre LYCRA® is a synthetic elastane fibre which is never processed alone but is always combined with other fibres and incorporated into the garment. LYCRA®, like later finished shirts, has unique stretch and recovery properties, which mean that the LYCRA® fibre greatly improves the comfort, fit, dimensional stability, durability and freedom of movement of the garment. LYCRA® can be stretched up to seven times its original length and returns to its original length as soon as the tension decreases. At the same time, very small proportions of LYCRA® in the processed fabric are sufficient to transform the performance into the functional part - the proportion of LYCRA® fibre in a quality of 2 % can already be sufficient. In other functional garments today the high performance merino wool is processed and worked with Rash Guard or Thermofleece materials.