Wicking - The Science of Staying Dry with Layers of Clothing

The Wicking Process

The term wicking refers to the ability of a fabric to pull moisture away from your skin and toward the outer layers of clothing. The more effective a layer’s wicking power, the better it pulls sweat away from your body, keeping you dry.

How Heat Travels Through Layers

Your body generates heat that moves outward from your skin to cooler areas outside. This transfer from warmer to cooler areas is called a temperature gradient. Heat always flows toward cooler areas, traveling from your skin to the next cooler layer of clothing. Layers allow you to control warmth by creating a gradual, controlled loss of heat, with each layer cooling off a bit more as heat moves through it, eventually reaching the outside.

How Heat Movement Helps with Moisture Control

As heat travels outward, it also carries moisture, or sweat, away from your skin. The sweat turns into water vapor and moves with the heat through each layer until it reaches the outside. This process keeps you dry by drawing moisture out through the layers instead of trapping it on your skin.

Why Wicking Matters

Activities like exercise generate a lot of body heat, which in turn produces sweat. Wicking keeps you dry by allowing sweat to evaporate from the outer layer rather than accumulating on your clothing. This process is the science of evaporation and heat moving from warmer to cooler areas, keeping you comfortable and dry.