Buy it for Life

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A place to share practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last, with an emphasis on upcycled and sustainable products!

Guidelines:

Things that are well-made and durable (even if they won't last a lifetime) are A-Okay!

Unlike that other BIFL place, Home-made and DIY items are encouraged here, as long as some form of instruction is included in the body of the post.

Videos links are not allowed as post titles, but you may use them in a text post.

A limited amount of self-promotion is accepted, IF the item you are selling aligns with this criteria:

The item must be made with sustainable or recycled materials.
If electronic in some way, the item must be open-source.
The item must be user-serviceable (if applicable).
You cannot be a large corporation.
The post must be clearly marked with a [Self Promotion] tag in your title.

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Why you should spend more money on underwear (wapo.st)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The answer is nearly always Natural Fibres for two reasons:

environmental - synthetic products do not degrade. Why wear something that literally microplastics everywhere you go and then gets thrown in a landfill at end of its use.
comfort - breathability is the key criteria for clothing. Polyester and synthetic fabrics are nearly all terrible at this compared to natural fibres.

Merino wool is one of the best products, especially for warmth. You don't have to pay Ice Breaker money, although it is becoming harder to find at affordable prices.

Linen is also a great fabric for warmer climates. Couldn't imagine a polyester t-shirt, let alone underwear, if I lived somewhere hot.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

breathability is the key criteria for clothing. Polyester and synthetic fabrics are nearly all terrible at this compared to natural fibres.

Natural fibers cannot be grouped together in this way because there is a huge variation.

This is where cotton fails and synthetic microfibers come out ahead. Cotton retains water, swells when wet, and suffocates as water tension spans the threads that are thickened by the swelling. Synthetic microfibers wick moisture away, and do not swell when wet, which gives excellent breathability. Cotton is fine as long as you don’t sweat. Or exceptionally, if it’s extremely hot in some windy situations the water retention can be a plus. I used to don cotton and hose myself down before getting on a motorcycle on a hot dry day. The evaporative cooling effect worked wonders with the high relative wind. But outside of that niche, such as sports, microfibers are king which is why sporting goods shops fetch high prices for high tech synthetics. As someone who sweats profusely more than normal, cotton is a non-starter in warm climates. Evaporation from soggy cotton simply cannot keep up with the rate that I add sweat. So a cotton t-shirt gets soaked in sweat and remains wet the whole workout session, and for days thereafter.

I used to wear tighty whities which made my gear sweat. Switched to Pategonia boxers and wow what a difference in breathability.

Wool and synthetics are similar w.r.t. comfort hence the term “smart wool”. But indeed natural wool is pricey and non-vegan.