October: Three things that make our textiles awesome.
I often hear the question “why so expensive?” when it comes to our products. The two factors that go into price are labor and materials. We manufacture in California where we are proud to say we know the factory, we’ve been there many times, and the employees have weekends and fresh air, just like we do. When it comes to materials, I searched high and low for just the right black spandex. It’s amazing how much variety there is, even when you narrow it down to two fibers, nylon and spandex. How could there be so much variation in the way similar fabrics look, feel, and perform?
Most of us don’t realize how many hands touch a finished product. The textiles themselves have a life the predates their exit out of the mill. Even raw materials are made from other raw materials. Our fabric vendors source the fibers and then weave them into the magic that they are. Raw materials plus manufacturing practices are what set our textiles apart. It’s a difference that might be subtle at first glance, but you’ll notice after a few rides.
1. Lycra. What we all generally call “spandex” is the stretchy elastane fiber that allows our clothes to move with us. The actual fibers that provide that elasticity matter. There’s good spandex and better spandex. Our fabrics are constructed with Lycra, which is a proprietary, branded name for their elastane fibers. Lycra is the best in the business and the quality shows. The fabrics that we use stretch as needed, but they also retain their elasticity, recovering from their stretched state.
2. Dyeing technology. Like everything, there’s a fast n’ cheap way to do things, and there’s a more labor intensive way to do things. Our textiles are dyed using technology that makes the color last, and appear as if the fibers themselves were made that way. Cheap dyeing techniques result in color not being uniform, or seeming to sit on top of the fabric, with a shiny painted-on looking finish. Fast n’ cheap also results in colors bleeding in to one another, and fading over time.
3. Knitting technology. The knitting construction is key: our fabrics are much more compact than normal knits, yet they are still lightweight. Thanks to this, our fabrics are lighter but not transparent, with better coverage, better recovery and long lasting elasticity even after many washes.
