Having our performance clothing and footwear dry out efficiently is considered to be a key feature for most performance garments, as nearly every item that we wear will come into contact with liquid moisture from one point of origin or another, be it from snow, from rain, or most commonly of all from sweat.

Some key terminology surrounding dry rate testing is:

Drying rate — the change in volume per unit time a liquid evaporates from a textile.

Drying time — the time it takes for a specified amount of liquid to evaporate from a textile under controlled testing conditions.

Performance textiles and the human body

To further understand the functions of performance garments, and to explore why dry rate testing is such an important subject in this area of textiles, we need to look closely at the relationship between performance textiles and the human body.

The importance of maintaining a constant body temperature

The human body is constantly generating heat and tries to regulate its core temperature between 36.5 – 37.5°C . To cool down, the body sweats which then evaporates from the skin, taking heat away and therefore cools our body.

Efficient drying in our performance textiles relates closely to our health. The better the garment is at sweat-wicking and drying, the more stable the body’s surface temperature. Effective thermoregulation here provides both comfort and safety, as our garments and footwear can dry out before the liquid moisture has time to drop in temperature and cause what is known as post exercise chill sensation.