A nonwoven material has a plurality of randomly oriented and bulked crimped filaments, a plurality of point bonds interconnecting said crimped filaments into a fixed, 3-dimensional structure, and either a surface portion of said fixed, 3-dimensional structure having a greater density than an inner portion of said 3-dimensional structure or an external surface of said fixed, 3-dimensional structure being substantially free of any protruding filaments. The nonwoven material is made by: bulking a filament tow, fixing the bulked tow into a 3-dimensional structure, and calendering the 3-dimensional structure.