High-Tech Clothing Roundup: Fall 2023
Buy Better. Own Less.
Most people don’t think of clothing as “high-tech” products. RainyDayMagazine has been trying for many a year to change that perception. We have talked about “just-in-time” manufacturing processes, the use of advanced natural and synthetic materials, and designs that endure in both looks and wear.
Why is “high-tech” clothing worth considering? For us, it is about owning less but owning better and finding clothing companies who believe in that idea.
In this High-Tech Clothing Roundup, we are highlighting two companies with products we have personally worn and vetted over the years, and introducing a new company with gear we think worthy of checking out:
- Graphene-X: Graphene-infused clothing
- Wool & Prince: Merino wool
- Mott & Bow: Denim Science
Graphene-X
“…we noted…that we had too much stuff, especially clothes. Why do we need so many clothes?”
Mission: Develop unparalleled all-round apparel sustained by materials science.
Very nice shirts indeed.
Our FirstLook at Graphene-X was in 2021. For the past two years, we have worn both the short- and long-sleeved Layer-x t-shirts in all kinds of outings and they have performed spectacularly. Two of the more notable qualities are:
- Amazing temperature regulation, and
- Very tough fabric.
We really liked Graphene-X’s Polo shirts as well, but wished they had a long-sleeved version…which they now offer!
Admit it, you want a “graphene integrated shirt,” too.
Another thing we like about Graphene-X is that they are deliberate in making additions to their line. New offerings are well-considered, like their ultra-lightweight, high performance All Rounder Shorts.
A really cool pair of shorts.
- The shorts’ graphene-integrated fabric consists of:
- A T800 twisted 105 gsm polyester yarn offering comfort and freedom of movement, and
- The graphene-integrated weft yarn can endure heavy use, wear, and abuse.
- The shorts are also bacteriostatic (“…a biological/chemical agent that stops bacteria from reproducing”) and offers UPF50+ protection.
Magnetic snaps and high-tech velcro closures – we told you these were cool shorts!
The shorts are:
- Lightweight, packable, have 4-way stretch and a non-slip waist
- Quick dry, No iron
- 6 pockets (one waterproof):
- classic front pockets
- two invisible zippered rear pockets
- waterproof (10k) lateral pocket protected with a magnetic storm flap
- invisible side pocket
- a media safe pocket – can safely store a phone, even a really big one 🙂
Pretty much whatever you have, it’ll fit in one of these pockets.
Wool&Prince
“…wool (offers really good) odor resistance, but the benefits don’t stop there. It’s also wrinkle resistant and climate controlling…referred to as the original performance material.”
The benefits of wool are well-known: it is…
- a renewable resource,
- biodegradable, and
- requires less processing than man-made fibers.
Mission: Own less, own better, and get to the things you love doing.
A wooly prince? Some princely wool? Yes to both, we say!
Wool & Prince brings those benefits to the clothing people wear everyday (they recently launched a woman’s line). From polos and tees to the button-downs that made them famous, they have shown that there are plenty of folks who want to “own less. own better.”
One terrific polo shirt.
We support the “owning less” goal and are continuing our effort to cull and let go of stuff. We have started with our large collection of cotton tees, and plan on replacing them with a few durable, high-quality, replacements…
My fingers have just sent back the following signal to my brain: “This feels really nice…”
Mott & Bow
“…make premium clothing you’ll reach for every time”
Mission: Turn the price-to-quality paradigm upside down and deliver premium jeans at a fair price.
These denim jeans can absolutely take a bow (geddit?).
The folks at Mott & Bow have decades of denim expertise, which they apply to every pair of their handcrafted jeans. Having a vertically integrated manufacturing process means better quality, less waste, and being able to give customers higher quality-to-price products.
Many styles to choose from.
Mott & Bow offer a few different cuts in a lot of different size and wash combinations. We are traditionalists when it comes to jeans (blue, not faded, etc). But, since we are trying new brands for our reviews, we got two pairs of the same size in “Straight” and “Slim” to get a feel for the different cut and fit….AND in non-blue colors!!!
Our denim jeans have ALWAYS been from Levi’s and we know how exactly their different styles will fit. So when we ordered from Mott & Bow, the first thing we did when they arrived was to compare them with the same size (33×30) Levi’s that we already own.
This, that, and the other thing.
Mott & Bow’s Straight cut is wider than the Levi’s 501 and its Slim cut is narrower. Compared to each other, the Straight cut is about an inch wider than the Slim. The weight of the Mott & Bow pants felt to be lighter, and the craftsmanship, details, and finish appear to be excellent!!!
Very nice indeedy.
Final Thoughts:
We are excited to bring to our RainyDayMagazine readers’ attention the offerings from three vendors (Graphene-x, Wool & Prince, Mott & Bow) we think offer both a better clothing experience and a new take on our relationship to “owning stuff.”
We’ll have more comments on the new gear once we have put in the work testing them to within an inch of their lives 🙂
Links to items mentioned:
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