Yarn ​ vs. Characteristics	Wool	Acrylic	Polycotton	​Stretch Nylon	Textured Polyester	Cotton
Warm when wet	Yes	Ok	No	No	No	No
Elastic Recovery	Medium good	Some	Poor	Best	Good	Poor
Washable​	Not unless shrink proofed	Yes	Yes	Yes	​Yes	Yes
Dry Clean Recommended	Yes	Ok	Ok	Ok	Ok	Ok
Yarn Strength	Medium	High	Medium	High	High	Lowest
Spun Yarn	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Filament Yarn	No	No	No	Yes	​Yes	No
Drys Fast	Medium​	Fast	Slow	Medium fast	Fast	Slow
Moisture Management	Damp, but warm	Damp	Wet, clammy	Damp	Damp	Wet, clammy
Blend with Spandex	Not normally needed	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fire Retardant	Best of non treated	No	No	No	No	No
Multiple Weight	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hand Soft	Only Merino	Yes	Medium	Yes	Poor	Medium good
Cost	$$$$	$	$$$	$$	$	$$
Value	​Wool	​Acrylic	​Polycotton	​Stretch Nylon	Textured Polyester	Cotton