H&M sportswear

I’ve been struggling to find a brand of sports shirt that I like for some time now. I’m not particularly picky, but my two requirements are that shirts are sleeveless (because I tend to overheat quickly), and that they’re a reasonable compromise between breathability, quality, fit, and price. Underarmor shirts are good quality, but too tight. Repurposed T-shirts from conferences and tech events are cheap, but not breathable.

A few years back I settled on a line that I liked from Uniqlo that was light and very well-priced. As soon as I decided that I liked it, Uniqlo promptly discontinued the line.

More recently, I’ve been using Nike “Dri Fit” shirts that have a great cut, have great breathability, and dry very quickly as advertised (pictured below).

The trouble with the Nike shirts is that they can be difficult to get (even on Amazon, they’re available only sporadically in random combinations of colors and sizes), and aren’t particularly cheap, ranging from $27 to $35 depending on some formula only Nike can understand.

Then, the other day I realized that H&M sells sportswear. Their product looks very similar to Nike’s and is functionally identical. Even better, it has H&M’s signature minimalism, and doesn’t come with the equivalent of twenty Nike swooshes tattooed all over it.

But the best part? It’s priced at $12.99, $15+ or more cheaper compared to its Nike alternative. Considering that both shirts are manufactured in developing countries (Nike in Mexico, and H&M in China), that should give you a pretty good idea of what part of the Nike price tag is spent on advertising compared to the cost of the shirt itself.

And so H&M continues to allow people to dress well on a budget, even for sports.