Since the early days of man/womankind, when we strolled the earth, we have made use of “stuff” to clothe ourselves and make life that little more comfortable.

Natural materials and fibres were the only things available on the whole even up to when  I was young. Okay there were clothes made from oil and plastics but they felt artificial and yucky.

Remember those polyester shirts, and plastic macks? The nylon Blazers and crympoleen trousers? Yes all vile and very disgusting. And in my mind ill-fitting and dull.

Stuff in great need of upgrading and having a touch of technology incorporated.

My first encounter was being introduced to a new product called “fleece” and it was fantastic. It boasted to be better than wool and more hardwearing. That was the first sign of science and technology creating something truely amazing to wear.

Fleece jackets and tops were very expensive to start with and only true adventurers and mountainy-outdoor types could and wanted to afford it.

It gave one flexability in movement and freedom, through lightweight design, to do more.  It was also shower resistant and snag resistant which was something that wool found hard to compete with. Wool is still brilliant and hhard to beat  but it falls down when wet as it gets so heavy, it snags and pulls strands and can stretch and warp out of shape easily and shrinking whilst washing has proven disasterous.

Fleece doesn’t seem bound by these constraints and was a world-changing discovery all those years ago.

Today we see all kinds of man made materials which are taken for granted but way out perform their natural counterparts or can be used in contention with.

Take for example folk who like walking, jogging and cycling (indoors or out). One used to have to  put up with cotton or wool. The cotton would get wet with perspiration, then cling to the body and cause rubbing and severe cooling. Wool would make one itchy and overrheated and when wet would seem like one was carrying the sheep itself with you.

Let me introduce you to Lycra, Smartwool, the new fleece, modern polyester and microfibre.

These are all lightweight, breathable, stretchy and hardwearing materials that work together with the body to create and more pleasant and chaffing free experience.

I don’t want flappy cotton trousers, shorts and shirts when cycling or walking as in the former it slows one down and gets caught in chains and wheels.

Lycra clad men may look wierd and unflattering but beleive you me after ten miles or so they will be happy they took advantage of these revolutionary designs. I mean you wouldn’t go swimming in a blowler hat and three piece suit now would you?

Smartwool? Yes a wool with lycra interwoven to make a strong, flexable and warm/cool garment. It also has an antibacterial “thing” in it to stop one from smelling to high heaven after that exerting walk.

Nano technology is also now becoming part of the norm allowing garments like shits and trousers to look like normal everyday wear but be waterproof. So on warm summer days you don’t have to struggle with pack-a-macks or overjackets as you’ll stay dry in your summer clothes ( oh and when you do don your mack or overjacket you become just as wet through sweating like an amozonian rainforest due to being overheated).

Mackintoshes and waterproof clothing doesn’t have to be stiff, heavy and bulky. Today we have things like Gortex, Sympatex ( no not the bomb making material), Nano sprays and all kinds of texes that getting wet whilst out and about is a thing of the past.  Well nearly. And its relatively cheap too.

For example a Goretex jacket 30 years ago would have been about £200 (£4-£500 today) but can be bought for £50. Even the fleeces I mentioned earlier were £100 for a reasonable one but now are around the same price but better quality. Yes you can buy a fleece for a tenner but hey you gets what you pay for.

There are even jackets, trousers, gloves, shoes and hats that have climate control features to keep one at a nice temperature whatever the weather. Built in heaters.

You can even plug your phone into your jacket to take advantage of built in speakers. Whatever next?

So Technology and Clothing? You bet. Its probably the most advanced area of design and research in our midst and can reuse waste plastics and materials to produce high performance kit.

We can be warmer, cooler, more comfortable, go further and be far greater in efficiency thanks to the advancement in the technolgy that has been placed in the stuff we wear.

Just try going back to the pre 80s era and see how you get on. Good luck with that.

I for one will not as I love modern fabrics and not being covered in rashes, heat bumps, chaffing marks and welts from garments just not up to the job.

So I bid you a good morning as I head of for a bike ride dressed in my new tech. Solong folks, solong.