I don't know about ties-mine are just plain black goodie brand. But, I find my hair stays better when exercising when it's a tight bun. A pony just slips right out, but the bun is more twisted...? No idea, but it works.
Depending on how thick your hair is Goody makes two different kinds of bands that I like- one is just a regular THICK band with no metal, and it grips my thick mass of hair like whoa.
I use these ones as well. And they don't seem to stretch out (or...at least not for a long time). The thin ones stretch and have to be tossed after a few wears (in my experience).