Many moons ago on a whim, I bought some bamboo socks from my local health food store. Everyone in the shop was raving about them, I thought they must have dull lives or were on commission or something, but I bought them anyway to use for working out. It may sound daft, but it took a really long time for me to realise how good they are. When my feet are comfortable, I don’t notice them. One day I went to the gym and had forgotten my bamboo socks, when I came out my feet felt awful, puffy, sticky, saw and I had blisters. Then I realised.
With new found respect for my bamboo socks I checked out where they came from. A great little, planet supporting, carbon positive company called Bam and to my delight I discovered they do Bamboo sports clothing as well. As my old kit was starting to look like pyjamas I purchased a couple of tops and some shorts. They arrived the next day, informing me that they have planted trees in my name as a result of my purchase.
I put my new bamboo outfit to the test. One outfit, one week, 5 sessions, 1.5 hours per session, high intensity (lots of sweating). The results are impressive. To sum it up, comfortable, cool and fragrant free! Bamboo is 3-4 times more absorbent than cotton, so if those kitchen rolls have the power of 1 elephant in a sheet then my bamboo outfit definitely ropes in its family and mates as well. All the moisture is absorbed away from the skin, keeping it comfortable, the absorbed moisture in the material seems to work in a cooling effect so by the end of my work out I am not left feeling hot and sticky. Finally, at the end of the week my gear was surprisingly whiff free, there was a slight odour under one of the under arm areas! This is due to the anti bacterial properties of the bamboo which does not support the growth of bacteria, so no smell!
Check out Bam's full range of clothing here. Reading through their website alone gave me a giggle!
Lydia Vine
