Help Me Find a Tee for Travels

Benjamin,
I've had my best luck with SmartWool shirts. They handle enormous amounts of sweat/water, dry reasonably well, stay warm and dry-feeling. I have used them doing trail work in the Texas heat and humidity with astonishing comfort. They have taken that and days in cold rain. I'm sold on them.

Ben,
I recently bought a few of these on SAC. They are merino blend. I love the fit and feel of the material, they dry quickly, are loose around the shoulders for freedom of movement. Gave a too-large one to a friend an he liked it too. I am 5`9" and wear an M.
I am keeping my eyes peeled for a long-sleeve version on SAC.
These look good enough to hang out in the noodle shop at the end of the trail, and don't stink like 100% plastic shirts..
Even on my last winter hike I wore this as my base layer so I can strip down to it on hot crowded train rides when its 85' and 80% humidity inside the car.
Sorry, no blue as far as I know..

My best hiking shirts in this category are my running shirts. They are Coolmax shirts mady by Brooks. The grey ones seem to be the best. The blue and white ones aren't just a different color… they seem to be a different material… I kid you not. The grey ones are the best shirts I ever bought. The two I have are shirts I have run and hiked in for like 6 years with frequent washings. They still wick and are very lightweight. The white ones pilled. I think the blue one did as well. They grey one for sure did NOT.

There is no logo on the outside of the shirt. It's just a grey t-shirt. Very comfortable in the summer or as a base layer in colder weather.

If you get them on sale the price is fair.

Anyway, check out runners clothes at sporting good stores. The Coolmax stuff in general is pretty good.

I picked up a running shirt at nike outlet last time I visited. $15 and it should work great. It does have a nice big fat logo on the shoulder however…

Now if I were looking for something that wicked like dawg lickey I'd be looking for something with cocona fabric in it.
Reread Ryan's piece on the summer outdoor retail show on apparel, scroll on down to the cocona fabric where I think it sez Golite and Marmot are making clothing with it.
I have a Cannondale jersey made out of it and I am by legal definition a sweat rodent, this stuff works preetty well…but the jersey is not blue, short sleeve, nor dull of sheen. Just a thought.

Might look at Ibex Qu T for a s/s. Ibex website describes it as a 17.5 micron New Zealand merino wool s/s T-shirt, but may be out of the question at $85 retail. Might save a chunk of money on this shirt if/when Ibex puts it on sale. But then, why not just pay full price since Ibex praises the Qu T as not only good for "everyday wear" but also "as a decadent active top." Haven't tried this T out myself, so don't know what a "decadent" top might achieve. Ibex quality is excellent, though, at least based on my own personal experience, like with the l/s shirt below:

For the same retail price of the "decadent" Qu T, there's Ibex L/S Outback (with 18.5 micron NZ merino wool) which (in my experience) has been extremely comfortable under a wide range of conditions, alone or as a base layer. Very durable, machine washable, fast drying, no-smell, and on and on. I have several Outbacks, wear them all the time, & will buy more when they go on sale again.

Ibex describes the "average weight" for both of these shirts at <7 oz, which seems a fair "average" since my three Outbacks (all XL) range between 8.1 and 8.8 oz.

Both are available in a blue — that's "Kingfisher" blue for the Outback, and "Sea Cave" blue for the Qu T.

JRS

i bought one of the OR shirts brett mentioned and i found it to run a little large. also, that collar ring looked a bit goofy on me…

i really like the patagonia capilene 2 stuff. it's light as hell, but not shiny or transparent in any way. antimicrobial and fits like a dream. a really nice, stylish cut to it. has a tiny "patagonia" print on the chest and that's it. might even score you some looks from the ladies. comes in long and short sleeve for $38 and $34 respectively. i have a navy blue long sleeve and i absolutely love it. i've worn it days on end for a couple of months and it looks brand new. the new capilene designs are exponentially better than last year's stuff.

Caleb,

How well does the Gladiodor antimicrobal treatment work?

acording to patagonia it a linked chain of amino acids woven into the fabric that prevents bacterial growth. it's more environmentally friendly than the silver treatments most are using.

as far as it's effectiveness,i've worn it next to skin for about three days at a time and it stayed relatively odor free. i have yet to use it in a heavy activity over extended time. i did climb at the rock gym with it for an evening and was able to go to the bar after w/out offending anyone…

my guess is it's a solid performer in the stink arena, but i'm sure it's no merino wool. synthetics seem to have a ways to go to match wool.

the best test would be to try the patagonia active boxer briefs with the same treatment for a few days. give 'em a sniff and see how it does…

Thanks, everyone.

Since my travels may include hot-and-humid tropics, I think I will avoid wool and concentrate on the cooler blends of synthetics. I'll look into running tees and Patagonia crews.

I've got an REI Tech T with about a dozen washes on it and no pilling. Still looks pretty good.

On the other hand, I've got a Smartwool merino polo that I love. That's my go-to warm weather shirt. I wore it in the Grand Canyon in 110 degree heat and didn't regret it. Don't count out merino!

Speaking of hot and humid, I just got back from three weeks in Thailand using lightweight Patagonia capilene and various lightweight synthetics (Under Armour, Sugoi, others)…totally sufficed, although the capilene absolutely dried quicker than anything else.

However, I also found that ultra-thin longsleeve cotton (bought locally) worked extremely well in those conditions and alleviated the need for scads of sunblock. Took me a while to get used to seeing myself in white clothing. ;-) Living somewhat near the Sierra Nevadas and backpacking there a lot, those cotton shirts won't see much (any?) use for backpacking now that I'm home.

Hey Ben – I have an ultra dry performance tee from cabelas and really like it. It might fit the bill.

The other option I like are the Essential Body Sensors from Terramar. Thinner than the tee above with a different cut. Comfy shirt.

I also like the exofficio exo dri tees. The new capilene stuff from patagonia is also very effective against odour.

Aaron