Under Armor ColdBlack

I love CrossFit. I'm there five days a week with the rest of the noon crew taking on some of the toughest workouts around. Thanks to CrossFitMN, I'm 20 pounds lighter and a helluva lot stronger than when I first walked through their door three years ago. You can check them out here: http://crossfitmn.com

One thing that happens at CrossFit is that you sweat. A ton. During the heat of last July, you could easily lose 5 pounds or more of water weight in a single workout. You start sweating the minute you walk through the door and don't stop until about an hour after the workout.

First, there's a warm-up that could pass for a full workout at a big box gym. Then there's a strength component, which usually involves heavy Olympic lifting. This is followed by the WOD (Workout Of the Day), which is typically a very intense metabolic conditioning regimen.

There's no air conditioning at CrossFitMN, so moisture management is a necessity. The last thing you want to wear is a cotton t-shirt. You need a synthetic fabric that will wick away the moisture and stay dry next to your skin. So this summer, I decided to pit two industry leaders in head-to-head competition for moisture management: Nike Dri-Fit and Under Armor ColdBlack.

As you probably surmised by the title of this blog, Under Armor ColdBlack was my hands down favorite. Yes, the shirt is more expensive, $34.99 compared to $24.99 for the Nike Dri-Fit, but you feel the difference immediately in the fabric. The ColdBlack fabric feels much more expensive. It's feels like a fine-knit cotton and wears like one, too. See how nicely it drapes in the photo above.

The Nike Dri-Fit feels like a synthetic fabric. It's rough to the touch and does not hang as nice as the Under Armor. While they both are on equal ground when it comes to moisture wicking abilities, the Under Armor wins because it just feels better. It feels softer and lighter in weight.

There's also an added bonus for the Under Armor product. It uses the patented ColdBlack technology on the fabric. Fabric that has been treated with ColdBlack reflects infrared and heat rays. So when you wear a black t-shirt that has been treated with ColdBlack in the sun...it feels like you are wearing a white shirt. It's really remarkable stuff.

After wearing both shirts extensively this summer, I have become a huge UnderArmor ColdBlack fan. In fact, I just ordered up four more shirts. They come in a huge variety of colors. Check them out here: http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/mens-coldblack-shortsleeve-tshirt/pid1231685-600