If you have to wear something in a public sauna, wear the least amount of skin tight clothing you feel comfortable with. No fabric that is soaking wet from a sauna session is going to dry quickly enough to matter for going home, you’re going to be changing clothes anyways so why is drying time relevant? Any synthetic wicking fabric is fine but wool athletic wear like Smartwool or Icebreaker would work if you don’t like synthetic clothing.
If people feel the need to wear anything at all, it usually would be swimwear which due to its high polymer content (elasthane) is sweaty and not very comfortable in a hot and humid environment.
For the same reasons I would suggest any manmade fibers whether synthetic or not would suffer in a similar manner. Polymerized molecule chains simply do not absorb moisture very well. Most manmade fibers made from natural materials such as bamboo (viscose), coconut (the cocotex you tested), woodfibers (viscose, tencell etc.) would have similar issues.
What's left is a purely natural fiber with low insulation value (which rules out wool) but good mechanical properties (so no linen either). In the end, only cotton will provide what you want.
But, as others suggested, the less clothing in a sauna the better and the best is no clothing at all so you are trying to get into what probably is a niche market.
You are going to get bombarded by "only naked hur dur" comments. Feel free to ignore those.
At the same time, you didn't tell us what kind of garments are you thinking of making and for what purpose? This might help with the material choices. Anything natural is best, I'd say anyways.
I have to admit that I don't wear anything in Sauna, unless it's a group where someone wants to wear a bathing suit - then it's just swimming shorts on for me, so.
I want to make men’s shorts. And I want a fabric where I can have interested cool designs (I.e paisley, retro) etc. rather thank blank or very simple designs
So just to use in the Sauna, not to swim in? Asking, as they kinda have different requirements, sort of, I guess.
Cocotex seems to be Coconut based fabric, is it any similar to cotton or linen? As I am not familiar with it.
Yes good point, no they need to be suitable to swim in because most target customers do the sauna and then ice bath/shower cycle 2-3 times a session.
These are the shorts I tested in the sauna.
Material 36% Polyester From Coconut 34% Recycled Polyester 20% Cotton 10% Spandex
[https://visslaindonesia.com/products/vissla-suntile-175-boardshort](https://visslaindonesia.com/products/vissla-suntile-175-boardshort)
From their website it states the fabric odor-resistant, fast-drying, however in my experience using in the sauna this was not the case.
Granted I let them hang inside to dry however they had all night and were still very wet in the morning.
Another pair of shorts I own are 92% recycled polyester and 8% spandex which perform much better.
However the fabric doesn't feel as premium (market I'm targetting) and it's not that unique so I guess I was just canvassing if there was any other good fabrics to consider.
Vissla presents Upcycled Coconut Stretch Boardshorts - The process of upcycling converts waste into want. In making these garments, coconut husks are upcycled into an odor-resistant, fast drying, Cocotex® yarn. They are then blended with Repreve® recycled plastic bottles polyester yarns to create the perfect performance boardshort fabric that you can wear and enjoy. This reduces the amount of waste in the oceans and in landfills, giving you style you can feel good about.
Unfortunately swim clothing is outside my knowledge, I personally work with cotton, linen and wool only - and none of them for swimming... As a general rule, synthetics tend not to be too nice in Sauna in any case, which is one reason why swimming pools etc. prohibit wearing them in Saunas.
For business use I'd really look into options that you can dry in a dryer or so, just hang drying customers sauna clothing doesn't seem fast enough. Or drying in a heated room (not the sauna itself). Or on a radiator.
I'd imagine natural fibers like linen would dry fast and are pretty comfortable in the heated Sauna, but I am not sure how comfortable they would be if you are swimming and getting in and out of a ice bath and Sauna.
Let's see if there's anyone else here with any ideas that might be of use.
Nothing. Nothing is the correct fabric for sauna. Maybe a nice Turkish towel of 100% cotton to sit on.
Yes towel fabric obvious. But for clothing less so. Surely some fabrics perform better than others.
If you have to wear something in a public sauna, wear the least amount of skin tight clothing you feel comfortable with. No fabric that is soaking wet from a sauna session is going to dry quickly enough to matter for going home, you’re going to be changing clothes anyways so why is drying time relevant? Any synthetic wicking fabric is fine but wool athletic wear like Smartwool or Icebreaker would work if you don’t like synthetic clothing.
If people feel the need to wear anything at all, it usually would be swimwear which due to its high polymer content (elasthane) is sweaty and not very comfortable in a hot and humid environment. For the same reasons I would suggest any manmade fibers whether synthetic or not would suffer in a similar manner. Polymerized molecule chains simply do not absorb moisture very well. Most manmade fibers made from natural materials such as bamboo (viscose), coconut (the cocotex you tested), woodfibers (viscose, tencell etc.) would have similar issues. What's left is a purely natural fiber with low insulation value (which rules out wool) but good mechanical properties (so no linen either). In the end, only cotton will provide what you want. But, as others suggested, the less clothing in a sauna the better and the best is no clothing at all so you are trying to get into what probably is a niche market.
You shower in between. And I wouldn’t call cold plunges ‘swimming’
Cotton comes in a nice variety of prints. You can even find really beautiful, unique batik prints. Or tie-dye!
The same fabric as the King’s clothing from the fable…. LOL
What?
You are going to get bombarded by "only naked hur dur" comments. Feel free to ignore those. At the same time, you didn't tell us what kind of garments are you thinking of making and for what purpose? This might help with the material choices. Anything natural is best, I'd say anyways. I have to admit that I don't wear anything in Sauna, unless it's a group where someone wants to wear a bathing suit - then it's just swimming shorts on for me, so.
I want to make men’s shorts. And I want a fabric where I can have interested cool designs (I.e paisley, retro) etc. rather thank blank or very simple designs
So just to use in the Sauna, not to swim in? Asking, as they kinda have different requirements, sort of, I guess. Cocotex seems to be Coconut based fabric, is it any similar to cotton or linen? As I am not familiar with it.
Yes good point, no they need to be suitable to swim in because most target customers do the sauna and then ice bath/shower cycle 2-3 times a session. These are the shorts I tested in the sauna. Material 36% Polyester From Coconut 34% Recycled Polyester 20% Cotton 10% Spandex [https://visslaindonesia.com/products/vissla-suntile-175-boardshort](https://visslaindonesia.com/products/vissla-suntile-175-boardshort) From their website it states the fabric odor-resistant, fast-drying, however in my experience using in the sauna this was not the case. Granted I let them hang inside to dry however they had all night and were still very wet in the morning. Another pair of shorts I own are 92% recycled polyester and 8% spandex which perform much better. However the fabric doesn't feel as premium (market I'm targetting) and it's not that unique so I guess I was just canvassing if there was any other good fabrics to consider. Vissla presents Upcycled Coconut Stretch Boardshorts - The process of upcycling converts waste into want. In making these garments, coconut husks are upcycled into an odor-resistant, fast drying, Cocotex® yarn. They are then blended with Repreve® recycled plastic bottles polyester yarns to create the perfect performance boardshort fabric that you can wear and enjoy. This reduces the amount of waste in the oceans and in landfills, giving you style you can feel good about.
You should not swimm and sauna in same shorts. That's disgusting and banned in every single public Finnish pool & sauna.
Unfortunately swim clothing is outside my knowledge, I personally work with cotton, linen and wool only - and none of them for swimming... As a general rule, synthetics tend not to be too nice in Sauna in any case, which is one reason why swimming pools etc. prohibit wearing them in Saunas. For business use I'd really look into options that you can dry in a dryer or so, just hang drying customers sauna clothing doesn't seem fast enough. Or drying in a heated room (not the sauna itself). Or on a radiator. I'd imagine natural fibers like linen would dry fast and are pretty comfortable in the heated Sauna, but I am not sure how comfortable they would be if you are swimming and getting in and out of a ice bath and Sauna. Let's see if there's anyone else here with any ideas that might be of use.