I had an interesting conversation with a customer a few days ago. We were speaking about running clothes and he said " you know, the shirts I get here don't get funky smelling, but the ones I got at (insert the name of a big chain store with a big red bulls eye) started to stand by themselves after the first few uses." Hmmmm.   What my customer has discovered is that not all "technical" apparel is created equally. I should know, not because I have been educated in the nuances of true technical apparel, but because the first two years of my running career, I also wore apparel from the aforementioned chain store because I didn't know any better. Yes, at first glance, making the jump from cotton into a "wicking" polyester blend at a lower cost seems like a great deal, but in the long run (no pun intended), you get what you pay for. Here's why.   Funkabilty: Like my customer noticed, untreated and cheaper polyester tends to "hold the funk" even after repeated washings, sometimes you just can't get it out. When you start to notice your running partners sniffing the air when you show up, you'll be looking for new apparel sooner than later. Higher quality pieces are treated with anti microbial solutions, they may have silver threading stitched into high sweat areas to manage moisture better. Some tech pieces are "body-mapped" where they place more mesh in high sweat areas. New trends in apparel are now using bamboo and coconut fibers, which are naturally anti-microbial, greener and are excellent handling sweat. In general, higher quality pieces manage moisture and odor much better than their lesser counter parts.   Fabrication: High quality technical apparel applies great detail to stitching. Flat locked seams reduce friction. Seams in high traffic areas are eliminated. Seamless pieces require much more fabric to manufacture. In fact, Zoot's Ultra triathlon apparel cuts the pieces of the panels out of the fabric in different directions since a piece of material stretches in different directions. When they are stitched together, the various panel pieces are designed to move with you and support you in areas like your low back which fatigues over long distances.   Durability: Higher quality apparel just plain lasts longer. An investment in some key pieces will form the foundation for your running/triathlon wardrobe for years to come. I purchased three pairs of technical fitted running shorts over five years ago, and I still do the majority of my running in them.   At Tri & Run, we are dedicated not only to serving our customers in the traditional sense, but also, we're dedicated to providing our customers with the best and most technical equipment possible. We're cutting edge kind of people, and want to pass that passion along to our customers.