Two complaints account for nearly every sweatband abandoned in a kit bag. Both are knit decisions.

Sliding is relaxed elastane

Bands lose elastic recovery with washing, and the band that no longer recovers no longer stays.

Specifying recovery after washing is the fix; specifying stretch when new is not.

Not absorbing is not enough loop

A thin flat knit has very little terry in it, whatever the label says.

Loop density and pile height are the only honest predictors.

And saturation is real

Every band has a finite capacity; a soaked band does nothing.

That is why players carry spares, and why programmes should budget them.

The buyer’s checklist

Loop density? Pile height? Recovery after washing? Knitted-in mark?

Four questions, answered in samples rather than adjectives.