I Wick This Kept Your 6 Pack Dry
Written: Mar 08 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Comfortable; nice fit; attractive.
Cons: Doesn't provide wicking or thermal regulation.
The Bottom Line: Since the top doesn't do what it is intended for I can't recommend it.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Medalist Women's Short Sleeve Wicking Top |
Before we went away in December my husband gave me a couple of my birthday presents. One of the items was a pair of Medalist Wicking Bottoms. He also gave me a Medalist Women’s Shirt Sleeve Wicking Top.
Details::
I am reviewing a top for women. Like the bottoms Medalist makes wicking tops for men I could not find this exact top for men. The retail price is $30.00 but my husband bought them online for 14.95.
The top come in XS which is a size 4; S which is a size 6-8; M, which is a size 10-12; Large which is a size 14-16; 2XL (extra large) which is a size 22-24; and 3 XL which is a size 26-28.
My top comes in two colors. One is red and the other is the color of mine which is a shade of blue sort of in the light aqua family. The Medalist logo is on the bottom left of the shirt.
The top fits a little differently than the bottoms. The bottoms were loose with a stretch waist. Although the top isn’t a tight fit like Spandex, it doesn’t fit loosely like a t-shirt. I wear a size 8 -10 top. The medium size fits me perfectly. If you are a size 12 I would recommend the large top. I will give you more exact measurements. The neckline is about 6 inches across. It measures about 21 inches from neck to bottom. The sleeves measure 13 1/4 inches down.
The top is very pretty. There is a strip of gray around the neck, shoulders, bottom of the sleeve and the waist. (You can see the red has a black trim.)
The sleeves are called Raglan cap sleeves. This means that at the top of the shoulder there is a little bit more room than you might find in other shirts but it tapers down so that the bottom of the sleeve fits closely to my arm. The neckline is really nice. It is a crew neck but hits just the right spot of my neck. Sometimes I wear a t-shirt to the gym and feel as if I’m choking. I also have had the experience of wearing tops that are too long while hiking and it just gets in the way. This top hits my hips so it isn’t too short or too long.
It is made in the U.S of 97% polyester and 3% X-Static.
The fabric is the same as that of the bottoms. The shirt is a lightweight mesh made with X-Static Silver fibers. What this means is that the material feels thin and has tiny holes in it. Because it is more snug than loose it doesn’t come away from my body so there is no part of it where it can be seen through.
We are told that the shirt is thermo-regulating which means according to Medalist that I will stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
About X-Static?
X-Static- The Silver Fiber, produced by Noble Fiber Technologies, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. The company has licensed its silver-coated fibers under the X-Static brand to more than 100 manufacturers, the article reported, including Marks & Spencer, Adidas, Puma, Spyder, and Johnson & Johnson.
Active wear is incorporating X-Static, according to WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, Ohio. The station tested the wear and found that it stayed fresh and odorless despite intensive workouts and was still going strong after many washings.
The fiber provides other benefits. "Besides its bactericidal abilities, X-Static, as its name implies, acts as an anti-static and as a good thermal regulator, two other notable properties of the metal."
http://www.oandp.com/edge/issues/articles/2004-11_08.asp
This fiber we are told should keep my skin dry when I sweat, prevent odors despite intense workouts and do well after many washing. X-Static should keep my skin dry. The silver fibers are permanently knit into the fabric according to the company which makes all these good things happen. Different yarns are used on each side of the material. One should move moisture away from my skin and the other should dry the material quickly.
My experiences:
Like the bottoms I have waited to review the top because I wanted to test it. The top is as comfortable as the pants are so I lived in them while on our cruise and in Florida. I got a chance to test them in the heat in Florida, the cold in Massachusetts and in the gym. I wore the Medalist top one day to a step class and another day to an interval training class. I did this a couple of times always in high intensity classes.
The material is soft and as I said thin. Unlike the bottoms I would wear the top hiking. Although the top is thin like the bottoms and there are times I climb over rocks and my top might scrape across a rock, that doesn’t happen as much as it does with bottoms.
Like the pants I really like wearing the top because it is so comfortable. However just like the bottoms I wore them when we disembarked in Fort Lauderdale. It was cool there and I noted that my Medalist X-Static top was not keeping my top warm. It felt as if the wind was just blowing through the little holes. I had to put on a sweatshirt.
I wear various materials to the gym but primarily I wear spandex or cotton tops. I made it a point each time I wore the Medalist top to touch my skin to see if my body especially an area that generally gets soaked – my upper abdomen area. I hoped each time that my body was dryer than on the day I wore other clothes. It was not. I was as soaked as if I were wearing cotton. The top wasn’t wet but usually no matter how much I sweat my top seems to stay dry or at least not as wet as my skin.
I have washed the top a number of times. I followed the instructions to machine wash it in a warm, gentle cycle. I never dry my gym clothes in the dryer. I let the top dry on its own. I was concerned since the tag says to tumble dry on low and iron if necessary. The top doesn’t need ironing. It dries without wrinkles. It dries quickly which is nice. There is a claim that the X-Static makes clothes anti-static and I do find that to be true.
My top has fared a little better for some reason than my pants. My pants have pills on them already but the top doesn’t. Perhaps my bottoms get more wear and tear during my classes than my top does so in general the bottoms think they are older than the top.
My rating:
My Medalist Wicking top is quite comfortable. I love wearing it to the gym and around the house. Like the bottoms it is pretty enough to go do errands in. However I have found few of the claims being made to be true. For $15 you will get a comfortable top but none of the benefits of wicking or thermal regulation.
I am rating this top based on the purpose for which it is intended and advertised. Since it doens't do well in those arenas I can’t recommend the top.
All my fitness equipment reviews can be found here.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 14.95
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