Mh Canyon Shirt VS RailRider Bone Flats?

[Scott Hayden]

Got trapped in REI today during a tornado warning. So was looking around for a good HOT weather summer shirt. How does the Mountain Hardwear Canyon shirt compare to RailRiders Bone Flats? I like that it has mesh down the side so at least it will vent with a pack on. Bone flats has the same but 25 bucks more. Still have some divided left so almost bought it. Of course the sirens stopped and rain let up. So I bailed back to work. Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Nathan Watts]

I own the bone flats and have zero knowledge of the MH, so can't really offer a comparison. But I think the RR is a decent hot weather shirt that has held up well to backpack straps etc. It dries super fast, but isn't the most breathable thing out there.

Another brand to consider:
I bought my wife some royal robbins shirts that are similar, yet I like the fabric of them much better than the RR. Feels softer on the skin. Anyway, maybe check out that brand. I wasn't a fan of the enormous pockets on the men's version though – so have been on the lookout for a different model.

[Kevin Schneringer]

The canyon is a great shirt for summer as long as it is the older model with zipper on breast pocket.
I sure love mine it is very comfy.

I like the tall collar and the snap sleeves so its a one handed( especially if your solo) job if you want sleeves up.

Great shirt IMHO

Either way you keep the sun at bay

[Scott Hayden]

The version I saw had two buttons on the sleeves. The buttons all around seemed kind of rubbery. They were a little hard to push through but I figured they would easy up after I got some use on it. I really want to try long sleeves this year and avoid ODing on sunscreen. I looked at the Motus but I don't have the correct shape to make that shirt work without scaring the natives. I am a bit too round lol. I will look at the Royal Robbins brand. I like that the Bone Flats has the high collar compared to the Ecomesh, but the price is steep.

[Dustin Short]

I just bought the MHW Canyon for the same reasons you're looking. Mine is the latest model and I think it will be ok for warm weather but not great. I'm already expecting it to max out around 90F for comfort (so that makes it a shoulder season shirt here in AZ haha!). If I hadn't found an amazing deal on the MHW for $15 I would have saved my money for the Ex-Officio Air Strip Lite.

It's ridiculously expensive but of the shirts I've been able to put my hands on it seems the bet designed for extreme hot weather.

I do have an Arc' Phase (trimmer cut than the motus) and I can attest that it is probably the best hot weather layer I've found to day. It provides excellent evaporative cooling and wicking. I've been using that for a few years in summer now and it's perfect, except that it snags easily on desert scrub. It actually sometimes works too well in the hot and dry desert, I've been known to get flash cooling and chilled when I stop moving and a wind is blowing!

The reason I want a stiffer long sleeve like the MHW though is to actually act as a wind shirt and to protect my phase shirt. I'm also experimenting with making a humid microclimate near my skin to balance cooling with dehydration…but that's a work in progress.

Anyway, depending on your climate the MHW may be decent for your purposes, but it looks like they've changed it for the worse this year. The older shirts were a lot nicer.

[Scott Hayden]

I saw the Air Strip Lites there, it was a long tornado warning lol, but they did not have the mesh all the way down the side. I also worried that piece of fabric that covers the side mesh seemed like it would catch. Just looked on amazon, blue ones are 50 bucks.

[John S.]

My air strip lites all fade badly in just a few months. Disappointed with them.

[Scott Hayden]

The colors faded? But did they breath well and hold up otherwise?

[jscott]

I have the MH canyon and like it. The mesh under the arms is great; most sun shirts have mesh on the back and that won't work if you wear a pack. It's very durable. The buttons are a chore but the upside is that this shirt is mosquito proof. The tight button up keeps the little buggers out; the nylon weave seems impermeable to their beaks.

I wear it as a base layer; nothing underneath. I thought that I'd be rolling in sweat; not so. It wears looser than a capilene base layer, maybe that helps.

It definitely works as a sun shirt.

There are other sun shirts at my local REI that seemed more breathable but less robust. None with the venting of the MH.

[Robin B]

I have the MH shirt and a RR ecomesh (not the bone flats). I like the MH much more for one big reason: the material is much softer and more comfortable against my skin. I also wear it as my only layer while hiking if I'm somewhere with a lot of exposure to the sun or with lots of bugs…or both. I'm not sure if the ecomesh fabric is the same as the bone flats, but I found it rougher and less breathable than the canyon shirt.

[Rob Lee]

I have the RR Bone Flats. The BF fabric is half the weight of the ecomesh (1.5oz/yd vs 3.0oz/yd IIRC)and it feels buttery.I prefer the BF button front and cuffs. I use it over 100F frequently. The zip chest pockets are busy inside but secure. Great stand up sun collar. Pricey, but get their newsletter, they always send coupons. usually a pretty good hit with shipping though. service is good with fast response to returns and defects.Dries insanely fast. Despite all the mesh ventilation, the main fabric breaths poorly. On me, a light sweat-er, the funk is obvious by lunch. Maybe I put too much stock in that, but i hate it on me more than on others. You can get some runs in the fabric (this is really light fabric)but nothing damaging, The sleeve mesh can run and pill in tumble dryers as hooks or Velcro will find it-still only cosmetic. No experience w/ MCS.

[Max Dilthey]

I've advocated it in the past and I'll advocate it again; the Arcteryx Motus is still the best synthetic hot-weather shirt I have tried. The ribbed design is subtle, but it makes the shirt feel like an air conditioner when you're moving in it or when there's a breeze. Easy to wear the long-sleeved version all year for sun protection.

And yet,

And yet,

This summer I will likely be wearing lightweight Merino Wool instead for the odor control. To each their own!

"Got trapped in REI today during a tornado warning."

If only my excuse were that good…

[John S.]

Scott, yes the shirts are lightweight, breath (as good as any fabric in the desert at 85 degrees) and held up fine. But they don't look good with fading ; ). Exofficio offered to take them back for exchange.

[Max Dilthey]

Funny, I spend whole summers trying to fade clothing just for the "I do stuff outside" look.

[Scott Hayden]

It is good to know that the shirts will fade. Also nice to see ExOfficio will exchange them. I usually look like melted pudding after a day on the trail anyway.

I like the Motus I just think with my shape I don't need a tight shirt. Too damn scary to think about. Not to mention no collar which will help when it is 98 degrees.

Tornadoes rolled through last night. Quite a bit of damage in some parts of St Louis. No good. But it is a good excuse to shop I guess.

So between the Canyon Shirt and Air Stripe?? Need a poll or something.

[Nick Gatel]

I have all these shirts and other brands too. A cotton/poly dress shirt will do as well, and can be found at a thrift store for under $10. My most used summer shirt is a Rail Riders Eco-Speed T. I see they now make a long sleeve version.

[Dustin Short]

I'd put a lot of stock into anything Nick says about desert gear (except his penchant for working on a tan)

[Steve K]

Last year I experimented with Polartec Power Dry shirts from REI and I was pretty happy. They were very durable and comfortable to wear all day even if I was soaking wet with sweat or rain.

This year they've changed the fabric and I'm curious to see how these work out. http://www.rei.com/product/842728/rei-lightweight-polartec-power-dry-crew-shirt-mens

The Motus shirts have also been very good for me, but as I only own them in dark colors I didn't dare wear them on the hottest days.

[Scott Hayden]

Seems my wife was looking over my shoulder when I was looking at the Air Strip shirts on Amazon. Told her I was gonna go check them out at REI on the way in to work. She said not to bother, she already ordered me one for my birthday lol. Also mentioned she got a blue instead of my usually tan or OD green. Said I needed more color in my wardrobe. Guess that is why I married her, she buys me things lol Thanks for all the info guys.

[Anonymous]

Since the OP lives in St. Louis, his summers are not going to be desert like, but more like the VA summers i'm use to, hot and often pretty humid too.

Something that works well in the desert may not work well in humid heat, and vice versa. While i don't mind my poly cotton and cotton-poly blends in the summer here, they are not ideal. My Terramar Dri Release 85% poly and 15% cotton is fairly nice and surprisingly odor resistant though (nothing close to Linen or Wool though in that area).

With that said, i've found nothing so far, that keeps me as cool, comfortable, good smelling, and which is as breathable as the 100% Linen shirts, some of which i have bought at thrift stores for a few bucks, in such a variety of hot conditions.

I've tried it in the desert and in fairly hot and dry conditions, and i wear it regularly in my VA Summer humid climate as well. It's odor reducing properties are as good as wool's, if not better, and it's much more durable than wool.

Literally nothing touches it, especially an oversized, loose, button up, thin collared shirt (or also Linen pants or shorts). But like Wool, and other natural fabrics (& to a lesser extent synthetics as well), not all Linen is created equal. Cheap Linen fabric starts off a bit rough, and can be a bit abrasive at first under pack straps. Good quality linen however tends to start off noticeably softer and more comfortable. Linen also generally softens with age, no matter the initial quality. So thrift store Linen is usually a great bargain no matter what!

It dries fast for a absorbing, natural fiber (noticeably more than cotton, rayon, etc), it's natural stiffness allows it to keep off the body part of the time to evaporate moisture faster increasing the cooling effect, and at the same time it's thermally conductive to a large degree (though not quite as much as cotton because unlike cotton which are solid, flat-ribbon shaped fibers, linen are hollow tubular fibers). It has naturally high U.V. resistance and blocking also (though the latter also depends on a lot on the weave). That combination makes it the almost perfect hot weather fabric, in dry or humid heat.

What i would really like to try though, but which i can never find, is a blend of Linen and Nylon. Something around 60 to 70% Linen, to 40 to 30% Nylon ration blend theoretically should be VERY nice in the hot, humid semi south Summers here.

I have not tried so much though, using Linen as a baselayer in colder temps wherein i layer over the Linen. I think Wool, Wool-Synthetic blends, and synthetics are better for that. Linen would be much better than cotton for such baselayers, but probably not as good as before mentioned ones.

Well, i could wax poetic for much of the day on the beauty and functionality of linen, but this post is too long as it is.

[Scott Hayden]

Linen is a great material. I have used that in reenactment garments extensively. There is nothing like a roomy pair of medieval braies to keep the nether regions cool. Gives me an idea for some sleep gear. Now I have to go weigh some fabric. I will be the only one hiking with a replica of the St Louis Shirt :)

[Anonymous]

Yup Scott, now translate that to a nice, cool, uber breathable and dry feeling shirt too ; )

My ode to ye ole sweet Linen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUiTQvT0W_0

: )

& to the naysayers (the ye ole term for "haters"), i say :P (and i bite my tongue at them as well)

(well, to be honest, it does have a downside though, unlike most synthetics and like most natural fabrics, it is relatively heavy BUT all you need is one Linen shirt if you're hiking in consistently warm to hot weather–just bring one uber light, synthetic as a backup and/or to wear when washing the linen one. Since it resists odor very powerfully, i've found i can wear it for days in a row without it smelling or looking gross. BPL you have dropped the ball on Linen, why no articles on same!?!?).

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