Bamboo Underwear vs. Cotton Underwear

Short answer: Bamboo underwear beats cotton underwear on moisture transport, softness and odour control, while cotton is usually the cheaper and more familiar choice. If you sweat, or sit for a long time in the day's clothes, you notice the difference most clearly at the end of the day.

Moisture is the most important difference

Cotton can absorb a lot of moisture but holds on to it, so the fabric turns heavy and clammy over the day. Bamboo viscose carries the moisture away from the skin and out into the fabric where it can evaporate. In underwear, which lies close to the skin all day, that property matters most.

Odour follows the moisture

Odour does not come from the sweat itself but from the bacteria that live on it in a damp environment. The longer the fabric holds the moisture, the better the conditions for the bacteria. That is why a cotton item smells earlier in the day than a bamboo one, even though both are washed equally often and worn by the same person.

Softness against the skin

Cotton fibres are short and have stiff ends that stick out of the thread, which is felt as a slight roughness. The bamboo viscose thread is smooth all the way along. In an area where the skin is thin and there is movement at every step, that difference is larger than it sounds, and it is still there after many washes.

Where cotton is still good enough

Cotton is cheaper, tolerates higher wash temperatures and is easier to find. On a cool day with little activity it does no harm. The problem only arises when you sit in the same clothes for eight hours or sweat, and those are exactly the two situations most people are in on an ordinary day.

Blends and what the percentages mean

Most items are blends, and a bamboo item almost always contains a few per cent elastane to hold its shape. An item that is mainly cotton with a little bamboo behaves like cotton. Read the percentages in the description, because the first figure decides how the item performs, not the name of the product.

Washing is not quite the same

Both are washed at 30 to 40 degrees without fabric softener. Cotton tolerates warmer washing and tumbling better, while bamboo viscose is weaker when wet and should be hung to dry. In return, cotton needs washing warmer to get clean, because it holds on to skin oils more firmly.

What you should choose

Choose bamboo for the days when you wear the clothes for a long time, when you sweat, or when you sit down. Choose cotton if price is decisive, or if you need to wash at sixty degrees. Most people end up with bamboo for everyday wear. See bamboo underwear for men. See also bamboo and temperature regulation and bamboo T-shirt vs. cotton T-shirt.