Rash Guards

Rash guards are athletic shirts made with spandex and polyester or nylon. The combination of these fabrics produces garments with many beneficial qualities for vigorous exercise or activity, including flexibility, durability, water wicking, quick drying, and natural antibacterial properties. The shirts, also known as ‘rashies’, are used as a lightweight covering in warm or extremely hot temperatures when participating in water sports such as windsurfing, body surfing, surfing, snorkeling, and kayaking.

Rash guard shirts are often worn when swimming outdoors for extra protection from the sun or because of a preference for wearing a shirt. Other sports including water polo, baseball, football, and even mixed martial arts use forms of the shirt. In surfing, rashies are worn either when it’s too warm for wearing wetsuits or under the wetsuit to prevent chafing from the wetsuit. The shirts also help avoid chafing from rubbing against the surfboard and can cut down on skin tenderness caused by hard impact with waves, too. Additionally, the shirts offer UV protection.

The construction of a rash guard shirt makes it versatile and useful in water sports. Important elements include flatlock stitching and a six-panel structure. Flatlock stitching is a sewing technique that makes a seam where the seam edges lie flat against the garment rather than hanging away from it. This sort of stitching increases garment strength and durability for more intense use during vigorous activities. The six-panel design instead of the traditional four-panel form found in t-shirts makes the rash guard shirt easier in which to exercise; even when the shirt is wet, mobility is unhindered.

Swim shirts are a popular form of rash guards. People usually wear these looser fitting shirts more casually, sometimes using them as a substitute for sunscreen. Generally, swim shirts have a UPF rating of 50+, meaning that they effectively block 98% of the sun’s rays. Sometimes, people use swim shirts because of sensitivities to chemicals in sunscreens. People also use swim shirts in activities besides water sports, including golfing, gardening, tennis, snow-skiing, and sledding, or other water-related entertainment such as running through sprinklers, beach or pool fun, water parks, boating, and water-skiing.

Rash guards, then, are made not only for serious sport performance and heavy athletic use, but also for casual activity and everyday wear. There are rash guard shirts for men, women, and children, even babies. Many styles and designs exist from which to choose, as well.