世論 What Japan Thinks

With all the cold weather recently, this survey from DIMSDRIVE Reseach may help you choose what kind of thermal underwear is best.

Demographics

Between the 1st and 16th of December 2010 5,915 members of the DIMSDRIVE monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 54.2% of the sample were male, 0.7% in their teens, 9.8% in their twenties, 30.2% in their thirties, 33.3% in their forties, 16.3% in their fifties, and 9.7% aged sixty or older.

When I was a kid the only thermal underwear was Damart, which still look as naff as I remember from then! Now, however, new materials such as UniQlo’s Heattech mean that clothes can be both fashionable and warm. My wife has a good number of their turtleneck tops, but all I have are two cheap-and-nasty last-generation U-neck inners. Note that this survey is only concerned with these new kinds of material.

Research results

Q1: Which of these functional heat-generating, heat-retaining brands do you know of? (Sample size=5,915, multiple answer)

UniQlo Heat Tech	89.1%
Aeon TopValu Heat Fact	42.9%
Shimamura Fibre Heat	20.9%
Wacoal Sugo-i	16.6%
g.u. Attaka Inner	15.4%
Mizuno Breath Thermo	15.0%
Seven and I Body Heater (Power Warm, etc)	14.2%
Muji Ryohin Nukumori Inner	12.0%
Gunze Hot Magic	8.7%
Seiyu Eco Heat	6.8%
Yuni Heat On	6.4%
Triumph Maji Kara Hot	3.7%
Rite-On Extra Thermo	3.2%
Other	0.7%
None of them	8.2%

Q2: Which of these functional heat-generating, heat-retaining brands have you bought for your own use? (Sample size=5,915, multiple answer)

UniQlo Heat Tech	44.9%
Aeon TopValu Heat Fact	10.7%
Shimamura Fibre Heat	5.0%
Mizuno Breath Thermo	3.9%
g.u. Attaka Inner	2.5%
Seven and I Body Heater (Power Warm, etc)	2.5%
Gunze Hot Magic	2.0%
Wacoal Sugo-i	1.9%
Muji Ryohin Nukumori Inner	1.8%
Yuni Heat On	1.0%
Seiyu Eco Heat	0.9%
Triumph Maji Kara Hot	0.6%
Rite-On Extra Thermo	0.4%
Other	0.5%
Not bought any (to end of survey)	46.4%

Curiously enough, the lowest percentage of purchasers was in Hokkaido, the coldest area of Japan. Just under half of all men had bought them, but almost two-thirds of all women.

Q3: When do you wear those functional heat-generating, heat-retaining clothes? (Sample size=3,170, multiple answer)

Usually, all the time	64.3%
When working outside	24.1%
When working inside	13.2%
When doing winter sports	12.2%
When out for a walk	11.9%
When riding a bicycle	10.1%
When sleeping	6.4%
When riding a motorcycle	4.1%
When fishing	3.1%
When mountaineering	2.8%
When doing other leisure activities	13.8%
When doing other sports	6.1%
Other	3.2%

Q4: Which styles of functional heat-generating, heat-retaining clothes have you bought? (Sample size=3,170, multiple answer)

Camisole, tanktop	18.1%
Half-sleeved inner	31.4%
70%, 80%-lengthed-sleeved inner	31.3%
V, U-neck long-sleeved inner	37.2%
Turtleneck long-sleeved inner	29.5%
Long-johns, leggings	20.5%
Tights, stockings	20.1%
Socks	20.1%
Leg-warmer	4.6%
Stomach belt	4.9%
Underwear	9.7%
Other	0.9%

About one in four people who had bought each type had bought just one, and just over one in two had bought two or three. Socks and underwear were not surprisingly bought a bit more often. Over half the people wore each type at least two days a week, with the most frequently-worn being socks, stomach belts and underwear, with about two in five wearing them daily.

Q5: Which brand of functional heat-generating, heat-retaining clothes do you wear the most? (Sample size=3,139)

UniQlo Heat Tech	73.3%
Aeon TopValu Heat Fact	9.3%
Shimamura Fibre Heat	4.5%
Mizuno Breath Thermo	3.7%
Seven and I Body Heater (Power Warm, etc)	1.9%
Wacoal Sugo-i	1.5%
Gunze Hot Magic	1.5%
g.u. Attaka Inner	1.3%
Muji Ryohin Nukumori Inner	1.0%
Yuni Heat On	0.6%
Seiyu Eco Heat	0.5%
Triumph Maji Kara Hot	0.2%
Rite-On Extra Thermo	0.2%
Other	0.5%

Q6: What aspects of those functional heat-generating, heat-retaining clothes are you satisfied with? (Sample size=3,139, multiple answer)

Warm	70.0%
Thin	55.8%
Good elasticity	40.2%
Reasonable price	34.4%
Soft	30.4%
Feels good on the skin	27.4%
Cheap	24.6%
Easy to move in	21.2%
Quick-drying	11.0%
Rich colour variation	9.1%
Tough	8.6%
Favoured colours	7.6%
Favoured shape	5.8%
Long length	5.0%
Anti-static effect	3.9%
Anti-bacterial effect	3.2%
Rich variation in shapes	2.8%
Sports-oriented	2.6%
Non-deforming function	2.2%
Other	0.6%
Nothing in particular	6.1%

Q7: Do you feel warmer when you wear those functional heat-generating, heat-retaining clothes? (Sample size=3,139)

Warmer	41.4%
A little warmer	48.7%
Not really much warmer	8.8%
Not warmer	1.1%