Sweatpants are a casual variety of soft trousers intended for comfort or athletic purposes. In Britain, Australia and New Zealand they are known as "jogging bottoms" or "track pants".
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Sweatpants are usually made from cotton, and the chief characteristic distinguishing them from other athletic pants is the elastic band located around the waist. Sweatpants are traditionally ash gray in color but are now available in essentially any color. They are usually quite "baggy" and loose, which makes them easy to slip into (and out of) and allows a great deal of flexibility and comfort. In addition, this design traps less heat than most conventional trousers, which may be a disadvantage in some contexts (such as cold temperatures) and an advantage in others (such as body heat-increasing aerobic activities). The sweatpant variations listed below are made from different materials. Sweatpants are widely used in schools, sports, etc. because they are comfortable and keep the cold out while they also don't get too hot in warmer temperatures.
There are many variations on the sweatpant design that have evolved to define their own categories of athletic pants. These variations include fashion pants, windpants, tearaway pants, and muscle pants.
Fashion pants typically refers to "fashion conscious" sportswear, such as the pants produced by Juicy Couture. The distinguishing characteristic is that fashion pants lack the elastic band at the ankles.
Very similar to, but not to be confused with sweatpants are windpants, also known as windbreakers, which are lighter and serve to shield the wearer from cold wind rather than insulate. Windpants are almost always made out of polyester or nylon. Some have polyester tricot. Some types of windpants have a separate inner liner made of cotton. Because of this, undergarments are not required while wearing windpants. Due to the substance's natural friction against both itself and human legs, nylon makes "swooshing" sounds during walking. Windpants often have zippers on each ankle, allowing athletes to unzip the end of each leg to pull the pants over their footwear. Some windpants have zippers that run the full length so the pants can be simply unzipped entirely; in this case, shorts are normally worn underneath.
Tearaway pants, also known as breakaway pants, rip-off pants, or (in the UK) popper pants, are another variation of sweatpants, and are closely related to windpants. Tearaway pants are windpants with metal snaps running the length of both legs. Some tearaway pants have snaps on only part of the legs, but normally the snaps run the entire length. Some tearaway pants are reversible. Some do not have pockets but since shorts are usually worn underneath tearaway pants, many people open the top snaps to gain access to pockets in their shorts.
Sometimes, there are buttons above each set of snaps to add more closure. The buttons and snaps allow athletes to remove their tearaway pants in a timely manner to compete in some sports. Basketball and track and field are the two sports most commonly associated with tearaway pants and windpants.
Adidas is the largest manufacturer of tearaway pants, followed by Nike, Inc. Other manufacturers are Spalding, Russell Athletic, Teamwork Athletic Apparel, Wilson Sporting Goods, And 1, Reebok, Champion, Polo Ralph Lauren, Converse, Old Navy, Foot Locker, Tommy Hilfiger, Fila, and numerous other brands.
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