I’ll admit it—I’m not always the pickiest when it comes to running shirts. For years, I was “that guy” you’d see out on the trail grinding out miles in a sweaty, oversized cotton tee. Was it misery-inducing? Yes. But I pressed on under the assumption that moisture-wicking shirts were unflattering (as though my ancient Foo Fighters ’97 Tour shirt was a good look), and at worst, uncomfortable. When I finally came around to the idea, however, I never looked back. I still kept my keen fashion sensibilities, however, taking a strange pride in keeping the oldest race-swag tech shirts in my rotation. Looking for the ever-elusive TGL Classic Four Miler 2009 moisture wicking tee? Venture no further than my local gym during pre-run warm-ups. Much to the chagrin of my friends, I’m still not one to splurge on good running gear sometimes.
That is, until I tried on the most comfortable shirt I’ve ever run in.
The AYG 365 men’s tech silk performance tee is soft, wicks moisture incredibly well, and manages to come in a fair number of fashionable colors as well—something that can be hard to come by with running clothes. The shirt held up remarkably well during a mid-day run on a July afternoon in New York City, a trifecta of conditions that don’t typically make for comfortable clothing. I was thoroughly impressed with what they had done with the shirt, and found it to be uniquely light despite wicking away more sweat than I should probably state on the Internet. If pressed for a critique, the only element I found bothersome was the somewhat-large collar of the shirt—the length of which went higher on my neck than I am accustomed to. Outside of this small element, I realized I found a shirt that made me realize it might be alright to spend a bit of cash on running gear. Thankfully, at $24.95 MSRP, I wouldn’t even be breaking the bank to get one.
In addition, AYG 365 makes a comfortable and breathable line of performance boxers and tees from their XTRdry performance cotton—a mix of 96% cotton and 4% spandex. The shirt was lightweight and withstood one of the four heat waves we experienced here in the Northeast United States with aplomb. The color and fit was nice enough for wear on a casual basis as well as during a workout. While not a huge wearer of boxer briefs, I found both models to be comfortable, breathable, and not prone to riding in all the wrong spots. Though my heart was stolen by their tech tee, I found their entire line of products to be well constructed and great for the price.
I may not have the keen sartorial sensibilities of other runners in Manhattan, but I’m getting there. With a new option for running gear open to me, I can continue to make baby steps toward retiring my old, worn-out race giveaway tees. One step at a time.