Buying Second-Hand Training Kit: What to Check

A second-hand jumper is easy to judge. A second-hand pair of compression shorts is not, because the thing that wears out does not look worn out.

Most clothing fails visibly: it thins, tears or stains. Training kit fails by losing recovery in the elastane, and a garment with dead elastic can look immaculate in a photograph.

1. Stretch the waistband and release. It should snap back fully.
2. Stretch the fabric over the seat and hold it to the light.
3. Check the cuffs and collar for the same recovery.
4. Smell the underarm. Odour that survived washing is permanent.
5. Turn it inside out and check the inner-thigh seam.

The first test takes two seconds and rules out most of what is worth avoiding. Why elastane fails, and why it cannot be restored, is in our guide to rescuing damaged kit.

The pattern is straightforward: the more a garment depends on elastic to do its job, the less sense it makes to buy with an unknown history.

Online you cannot handle the garment, so the listing has to do the work. There are specific things worth asking for.

• Ask how many times it was worn, and whether it was tumble dried.
• Ask for a photo of the care label — fibre content and condition.
• Ask for a stretched photo of the waistband or seat.
• Check the seller’s other listings; a clear-out beats a reseller.
• Be wary of ‘worn once’ on anything several seasons old.

Tumble drying is the question that matters most, because it is the single largest cause of elastane failure and most sellers will answer honestly.

Nominal sizes vary enormously between makers, and a used garment may also have relaxed or shrunk from its original dimensions.

Compare those against a garment you already own rather than against a size chart. How to take your own measurements is in our size guide.

Non-negotiable, and worth doing properly rather than running it through a normal cycle.

1. Soak in cool water with white vinegar for thirty minutes.
2. Wash cool, inside out, with an enzyme detergent.
3. No fabric softener, which would seal in anything remaining.
4. Air dry fully before wearing.
5. If odour returns when warm, it will not come out.

The mechanism behind set-in odour, and why it is permanent once established, is in our gym clothes care guide.

Some second-hand activewear is priced at close to retail, particularly from brands with strong resale demand. That changes the calculation.

What price buys in a new garment, and where it stops mattering, is in our guide to what price actually buys.

The same logic in reverse, and being honest about condition is genuinely in your interest as well as the buyer’s.

• State how it was washed — cool and air dried is a selling point.
• Photograph the care label and any wear.
• Give flat measurements rather than the size alone.
• Do not sell dead elastic; it will come back.
• Wash it first, obviously.

Buying used avoids new production entirely, which is the largest single lever available in clothing. That is a genuine argument rather than a marketing one.

It also keeps a garment out of the waste stream for longer, which matters particularly for activewear because blends are effectively unrecyclable. Guidance on textile waste from a public agency is published by CalRecycle, and the full picture is in our end-of-life guide.

1. Stretch the waistband first. It rules out most bad buys.
2. Buy tees, tanks and hoodies used without hesitation.
3. Do not buy compression, bras, socks or underwear used.
4. Ask whether it was tumble dried. That one answer tells you a lot.
5. Wash it properly before wearing, every time.