Specialty Sports Bra Brand Lume Six Outpaces Leading Brands in Dry Time Test

May 9, 2023

FeatherAir material dries significantly faster, minimizing chafing and skin irritation

Santa Cruz, Calif. (May 9, 2023)/OUTDOOR SPORTSWIRE/ – Lume Six, the specialty sports bra brand designed by longtime outdoor industry professional and the first woman to climb a million feet on her bike in a year, Margaux Elliott, is proud to announce its industry-leading results from a dry time test conducted by Intertek, an internationally recognized assurance, inspection, product testing and certification company. Participating in a pool that included four globally-recognized athletic brands, Lume Six’s FeatherAir material dried 29% faster, the equivalent of two full minutes faster, than the next fastest-drying competitive brand and up to 80% faster than the slowest performing brand in the competitive set.

“The initial inspiration for launching Lume Six was to solve a gap in the sports bra market, where support and structure came at the expense of lightweight, highly breathable materials. After years in product development, I knew there was a better way,” said Margaux Elliott, Lume Six founder, and designer. “I felt confident our bras were outperforming some of the bigger known names in the sports bra space, but having a professionally administered test conducted was imperative to validate what we believed to be true based on user feedback. The outcome is a real accomplishment for our brand, but more importantly, represents a massive win for women everywhere who don’t have to sacrifice support for a quicker dry time.”

The test, administered in early 2022, aimed to objectively determine Lume Six’s quick-drying technology by comparing it to four of the most popular “quick-drying” bras from well-known athletic brands. The test itself is an internationally recognized testing standard that assesses drying rates of fabrics while in contact with a heated plate mimicking skin surface temperature when the human body starts to perspire. Outcomes of the test can be translated to understand overall comfort and the potential for certain fabrics to chafe and cause skin irritation.

Results were compelling, ranging from a dry time of 3.6 minutes for the Lume Six FeatherAir material to 17.49 minutes for another leading women’s brand, as well as the depth of evaluating which fabrics have the fastest dry times versus the number of layers in the garment itself. Supportive sports bras frequently require multiple layers of fabric to increase coverage and structure; therefore, adding dry time to the baseline window one layer garments take to dry.

Both Lume Six bras – the Alta Medium Impact bra and Cirra High Impact Bra – feature one layer of premium Italian woven fabric, constructed in a manner that allows it to provide consistent compression and support without impacting freedom of movement. The textured weave and single-layer offer the end user an unparalleled experience of incredibly lightweight, fast-drying support.

The key difference between the Alta and Cirra bras comes down to fabric technology – with the Alta featuring the fastest drying material, FeatherAir, and the Cirra utilizing Lume Six’s DreamSupport fabric, which ranked as the third most rapid drying material in the competitive set tested by Intertek.

The DreamSupport fabric clocked a dry time of 5.37 minutes, a scant .31 seconds slower than the second-fastest drying material, which came from a competitive brand. DreamSupport also outperformed the other three competitive brands, with a 69% faster dry time than the slowest drying competitive brand. Of the six total fabrics tested – two Lume Six fabrics and four fabrics from large, globally known brands – Lume Six snagged two of the top three fastest drying spots, carving out an important and statistically significant win for the specialty, woman-owned brand.

“Sports bras are an incredibly personal and important piece of gear for women,” Elliott went on to say. “I hope these results offer our consumers, especially those heading into the summer months of exercise and recreation, a trusted option to feel supported, comfortable, and dry in all their outdoor and active endeavors.”

For more information on Lume Six and its signature launch styles, please visit https://lumesix.com/

For media inquiries, please contact Jenny Davis at JennyDavis@jd-communications.com

About Lume Six

Lume Six, founded by Margaux Elliott in October 2021 and based in Santa Cruz, CA, is a specialty sports bra brand offering premium materials and unparalleled fit for every day, high-performance pursuits. A 1% For The Planet member, Lume Six strives to reduce its environmental impact by utilizing recycled materials and donating a portion of all sales to environmentally-focused nonprofits to help ensure a cleaner earth.

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