Thriv Has Done It Again!

Have you ever been on a long run where everything is going great physically? Legs feeling good. Breathing is in sync. Feeling strong. Only thing bothering you is that your shorts are giving you a mega-wedgie or your singlet is chaffing the smithereens out of your nips? Running apparel can make or break a good run. You can slather on all the anti-chaffing cream, powder, and ointment you want, but if the clothes are an irritation, you'll probably never wear them again.

Enter Thriv to the rescue! Never heard of them? I hadn't either until several months ago when Thriv asked if I'd be willing to test out one of their new shirts. Well, you see, I'm a bit of a running clothes hog. I love trying out new running clothes and running gear. The reason I'm constantly on the search for running shorts and tops is that I'm a sweater. No, not the snuggley kind your grandmother knits. Rather, the sweaty pig type. (Yes, I know pigs don't sweat, but you get the idea). In the summer I usually run shirtless, because, no matter what I wear, it just seems to get drenched during my run. I look more like I've been swimming instead of running.

One of the things that also intrigued me about Thriv was that their garments are made from bamboo. Yep, Bamboo. Thriv has developed a unique yarn process and fabric finishing process that blends cotton, bamboo, and elastane creating a fabric that provides moisture-wicking, anti-odor, UV protection, and thermal regulation.

Sound too good to be true? I thought so too, until I tried out the first shirt I received several months ago. The shirt was extremely soft and light weight. I wore the shirt during an intense workout at the gym one day and (then after a washing) I tested it out on a few rather sweaty runs. In all cases, the shirt worked amazingly well. During my gym workout, the shirt stretched with me and was not binding. It also was breathable and wore great. On the runs, I had similar results. The shirt did become damp (as expected), but it was not saturated. The material was breathable and did allow most of my perspiration to evaporate. The fabric is surprisingly soft.

Thriv has recently extended their line of great performance clothing and I recently tested their new Air Sleeveless top. The summer months here in North Carolina are hot and muggy. Very humid. So, if something tests well here, it should work just about anywhere. I've worn the Air Sleeveless on four 90°+ runs and the shirt has performed great for me. I've come to realize that I sweat so much that nothing is going to keep me completely dry, but the Air Sleeveless comes close. The fabric is so soft and lightweight that it feels almost like running shirtless. Also, the sweat seems to penetrate the fabric from the back to the top of the fabric where it quickly evaporates. So, I actually do stay pretty dry. I wasn't able to wring out buckets of water from the fabric like I usually do after a run with other shirts.

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Currently Thrive makes their clothing in men's sizes Medium through XX-Large. I'm a little guy, so when they start making a Small, I'll really be a happy camper. But until then, the medium works pretty well for me. Ladies, no worries, Thriv has some great apparel items for you too!

The clothing is also affordable. Another key factor in whether I like it or not. Most of their shirts are priced in the $25-$35 range. Their shorts are priced in the $35-$40 range. Pretty competitive with most of the other sports performance apparel companies.

The other thing I like about this company is that they truly believe in and back their product. Their mission is to make athletes as comfortable as they can be during their grueling events or just a regular workout.

Thriv did provide the clothing for my review, but I was not paid for the review nor was I encouraged to do a positive review. My review is based purely on my experience with the product. Honestly, I'd have to say that Thriv is a great find and probably my new favorite line of running apparel. It definitley gets 5 Dudes out of 5 Dudes on the RunnerDude's Rating Scale!! Be sure to check out the new line at their website.

Thanks Triv!!

Move Over Performance Synthetics!

If you've been running as long as I have, you'll remember a time when all there was to run in was 100% cotton—shorts, T-shirts, oh and lets not forget the tube socks! The term "moisture-wicking" had not yet been created. Oh the lovely memories of shirts that felt like they weighed 5lbs heavier and stretched down to your knees from all the water the shirt retained after a run on a hot summer day. Not to mention the chafed nipples! OUCH!!! Oh and don't forget that your shoes felt a few pounds heavier (each foot) from all the sweat your cotton socks had collected.

The dawn of synthetic performance apparel was a godsend. But, nothing's perfect. Ever had a running shirt that after a season of running could stand on it's own from the reeking odor? PEE-YEW! No matter how many times you wash it, that odor just doesn't go away. There are new detergents that help kill the sports-related odor, but that's just an additional purchase and not a cheap one at that.

I've always read never to buy sports/performance clothing that's not made of synthetic materials such as polyester. So, I was a little skeptical when I came upon thriv—a new line of non-synthetic performance clothing.

Driven by the negative experiences of wearing traditional polyester-based athletic apparel (skin irritation, odor), the Andrews family decided it was time for a new fabric. Al Andrews, former Tulane student–athlete (All SEC '65 & '66) and apparel industry veteran charged his son Todd with finding a solution. He wanted the fabric to include the following properties: moisture wicking, anti–microbial, thermal regulation, UV protection, and comfort—a pretty tall order.

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Ultimately, after two years of R&D and many trials, Todd learned that the only fiber that fit his dad's criteria for success was bamboo. Use of bamboo in apparel is not an entirely new concept; however its true potential had never been fully realized. With the help of textile engineers, a lot of passion, and a little luck they developed their own yarn process and fabric finishing on a unique blend of bamboo, organic cotton, and elastane.

Still skeptical, thriv sent me a shirt to submit to some RunnerDude testing. I wasn't sure what to expect and I had a lot of questions. Bamboo? Was it going to be stiff? Breathable? What would happened when RunnerDude (the Super-Sweater) wore it? Would it retain water?

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Well, I'm happy to announce that it passed RunnerDude's testing. I wore the shirt during an intense workout at the gym one day and (then after a washing) I tested it out on a few rather sweaty runs. In all cases, the shirt worked amazingly well. During my gym workout, the shirt stretched with me and was not binding. It also was breathable and wore great. On the runs, I had similar results. The shirt did become damp (as expected), but it was not saturated. The material was breathable and did allow most of my perspiration to evaporate. The fabric is surprisingly soft. To avoid chafing, I usually either run shirtless or wear a fitted shirt so that the fabric doesn't rub my chest. This shirt was a looser fit so I was a little worried, but I didn't experience any chafing. YEAH!

To test the anti-microbial factors, I let the shirt sit out for 2 days after my last run. YIKES! Um...well, the word "RANK" comes to mind. I washed the shirt using regular laundry detergent and, voilà! The shirt came out smelling like a rose. Okay, it smelled like Tide, but you get the point.

Independent performance testing shows that thriv's unique fabric does equally well if not better in all testing categories—wicking, drying rate, UV-A, and UV-B radiation protection.

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Thriv performance apparel gets 5 Dudes on RunnerDude's Rating scale. This is a great product and a wonderful, environment-friendly alternative to synthetic petroleum-base performance fabrics. Currently thriv apparel can be purchased at select Sports Authority stores as well as online at SportsAuthoritycom. Give it a try. You'll be pleasantly surprised!