Sport-Tek LST480 Women's Stretch Woven Jacket, 3.5 oz

The Sport-Tek LST480 Women's Stretch-Woven Jacket is Sport-Tek's answer to the lightweight women's athletic jacket category, and in our opinion, it's a genuinely useful piece that most wholesale catalogs don't have a good equivalent for. Think of it as a training or warmup layer, not a rain shell and not a jersey. At 3.5 ounces of 90/10 polyester/spandex in a stretch-woven construction, it's the kind of jacket a woman actually reaches for on a cool morning run, a walk from the parking lot to the studio, or a warmup before practice. Real stretch, real snag resistance, mesh-lined pockets, and the small construction details (an adjustable toggle at the hem, semi-auto lock zipper pulls, a locker loop) that separate a purpose-built athletic jacket from a generic promotional windbreaker. For a boutique fitness studio, a women's running club, a corporate wellness team, or a retail athletic brand doing wholesale merch, this is the layer that reads as real activewear rather than a promotional freebie.

What "stretch-woven" actually means, because it's not what most wholesale jackets are

This is the single most important thing to understand about the LST480, and it's the framing that sets it apart from every other lightweight jacket in the wholesale market. Most wholesale athletic tops and jackets are knits: jersey, fleece, interlock, terry. A knit is made by looping yarn back on itself, which gives you natural stretch but a softer, less structured hand. A woven is made by crossing yarn over and under at right angles, like a shirt fabric, which gives you a smoother, more structured surface. Traditional woven fabrics don't stretch at all, which is why athletic wovens are usually reserved for rain shells and outerwear where stretch matters less than weatherproofing. What Sport-Tek does with the LST480 is take a woven construction and add 10% spandex to the polyester, so you get the smooth structured surface of a woven (packable, cleaner-looking, more athletic-jacket-appropriate than a fleece knit) with the stretch of a knit (real range of motion for actual athletic use). It's the fabric technology used in premium training jackets from Nike, Lululemon, and Athleta at retail. Sport-Tek is bringing it into a wholesale price tier.

What 3.5 ounces of stretch-woven gets you in practice

At 3.5 oz/yd², this is genuinely light. For reference: the Sport-Wick Stretch women's jerseys (LST850, LST852, LST853, LST856) run 6.8 oz, nearly twice the weight. The Circuit Hooded Full-Zip (LST870) runs 7.8 oz. The LST480 is a fundamentally different category piece. What that lightness produces is packability (it stuffs into its own pocket or a small bag), breathability (real airflow during warm-weather use), and a jacket-over-a-tee comfort that a heavier layer just can't match on a warm morning. The tradeoff is that it doesn't add much warmth on its own; this is a warm-weather-to-cool-weather piece (spring and fall, cool summer mornings, indoor gym overlayer), not a winter layer. For a colder-weather women's athletic jacket, the Sport-Wick Stretch line is the heavier alternative.

The construction details that make it real

The LST480 carries the small features that separate purpose-built athletic outerwear from a promotional jacket. The stretch-woven fabric is moisture-wicking (moves sweat toward the outer surface where it evaporates faster than an untreated fabric would) and snag-resistant (the woven yarns don't pull loose from friction against gym equipment, bags, or seat backs, which is a real durability issue on lightweight athletic pieces). The pockets are mesh-lined, which does two things: it lets pocket vents provide extra airflow during a workout, and it keeps small items from settling awkwardly against the outer shell. The semi-auto lock zipper pulls at the pockets stay closed during movement, so your phone and keys don't jangle out during a run or shift around in a gym bag. The sleeve panel has partial elastic at the cuff, which keeps the sleeve close to the wrist without full compression. The adjustable toggle at the hem lets you cinch the bottom for a tighter fit or leave it open for airflow. The locker loop at the collar is for hanging the jacket to dry after a workout (a real detail on a moisture-wicking piece; storing it damp affects the fabric over time). And the small color coordination on the zipper pulls (dyed-to-match on White, black on other colors) is the kind of detail Sport-Tek's design team clearly thought about.

Who this is actually for

The LST480 sits in a specific slot that's worth naming out loud: it's the women's lightweight athletic jacket that reads as genuine activewear at a wholesale price. For a boutique fitness studio (yoga, pilates, spin, HIIT) that wants a branded jacket their members will actually wear outside class, it's a legitimate answer. For a women's running club or a corporate wellness team ordering coordinated pieces, it's a real lightweight layer that gets used, not just handed out. For a retail athletic brand or a lifestyle apparel brand doing wholesale merch, the LST480 sits in the tier that competes credibly with retail brands' entry-level athletic jackets. And for a mixed athletic team where the women want a jacket cut for a woman rather than a scaled-down unisex piece, this is the pick. What it isn't is a rain shell (no waterproof rating, no seam sealing, so if serious weather is the use case, look at the Mercer+Mettle MM7001 category instead) or a warm winter layer (at 3.5 oz, it's not built for cold).

Sport-Tek's women's jacket ladder

The LST480 sits at the light end of Sport-Tek's women's jacket lineup, and it's worth putting it in context against the heavier siblings. The LST850 Women's Sport-Wick Stretch 1/4-Zip Pullover is the heavier jersey-knit alternative at 6.8 oz, with a soft-brushed backing and thumbholes for cooler-weather layering. The LST852 Women's Sport-Wick Stretch Full-Zip Jacket is the same 6.8 oz jersey in a full-zip silhouette with a cowl collar. And for a genuinely warm women's athletic layer, the LST870 Women's Circuit Hooded Full-Zip at 7.8 oz 78/22 poly/spandex adds a hood and more structure for cold-weather use. The LST480 is the piece to reach for when the buyer wants light, packable, warm-weather-to-cool-weather; the LST850 series when they want a mid-weight everyday layer; and the LST870 when they need real warmth.

Decoration

The smooth woven face is a genuinely strong decoration substrate, and it's worth mentioning that woven fabrics take embroidery and heat-applied transfers differently from knits. Embroidery works cleanly on the left-chest and sleeve placements thanks to the stable woven surface (no distortion the way a stretchy knit can push stitches), and it's the strongest all-around pick for a premium athletic jacket. Heat-applied transfers (TPU, TPL, DTF) hold sharp edges on the polyester surface for logos and lettering. Screen printing is possible but less common on this fabric weight and construction; the smooth woven face doesn't absorb ink the way a fleece would, so cured ink can feel more sitting-on-top than integrated. For most orders, embroidery is the decoration method that produces the most premium, retail-quality result on the LST480. (Want us to handle decoration? Send your logo for custom embroidery, screen printing, or DTF transfers.)

Questions buyers ask

Is the LST480 waterproof or water-resistant?

Neither, technically. The stretch-woven fabric is snag-resistant and moisture-wicking (it moves sweat from the inside out), but it isn't treated for waterproofing or water resistance. For light drizzle, the polyester construction will shed some water before saturating; for genuine rain, the LST480 isn't the right piece. If waterproofing is the use case, the Mercer+Mettle MM7001 Waterproof Rain Shell is the properly-built alternative in a women's cut, though it's a heavier and more serious piece.

How does this compare to the Sport-Wick Stretch line?

Different fabric family, different use case. The Sport-Wick Stretch line (LST850, LST852, LST853, LST856) is 6.8 oz 90/10 poly/spandex jersey knit with a soft-brushed backing. That means it's warmer, softer, and more like a lightweight fleece in feel; it's the mid-weight layer for cool weather. The LST480 is 3.5 oz stretch-woven, which is a woven construction (not a knit), and it's built for lighter warm-weather use where packability and breathability matter more than warmth. If the buyer wants a "throw on a jacket" piece for a cool morning, LST480. If the buyer wants a "wear it as the outer layer in cool weather" piece, Sport-Wick Stretch.

What's the difference between "woven" and "knit" fabric?

Structural. Woven fabrics are made by crossing yarn over and under at right angles (like a shirt fabric or a windbreaker). Knits are made by looping yarn back on itself (like a t-shirt or fleece). Wovens are smoother, more structured, more packable, and more resistant to snagging. Knits are stretchier, softer, warmer, and more forgiving. Sport-Tek's Sport-Wick Stretch line is all knits; the LST480 breaks into the woven category with spandex added for stretch, which is a fabric technology used in higher-end retail athletic jackets.

Will it work as a running jacket?

Yes, and it's arguably one of its best use cases. At 3.5 oz with real stretch, moisture-wicking, snag resistance, and semi-auto lock zipper pulls that keep the pockets closed during movement, it has the feature set of a lightweight training jacket. Runners specifically often want this weight class because heavier jackets get too hot after the first mile. For truly serious weather protection during runs, layer it over a proper shell; for spring, fall, and cool summer runs, the LST480 is a legitimate standalone piece.

Does the sizing run true to a women's cut, or should I size up?

The LST480 is cut on a women's-specific pattern with shaping at the waist and shoulder rather than a scaled-down unisex piece. For a fitted athletic look (which is the design intent), true-to-size works. For a more relaxed layer over a hoodie or warmer top, sizing up one is worth considering. Adult women's XS through 4XL covers the standard adult women's size range.

Order the Sport-Tek LST480 Women's Stretch-Woven Jacket blank or fully custom decorated, with automatic bulk discounts at checkout, 1 to 3 day shipping, and free returns. Browse the full Sport-Tek collection, the women's wholesale apparel collection, or all wholesale jackets and outerwear.