What is the best wicking t-shirt?

I love Mountain Hardwear Wicked tee. Sort or long sleeves.

For $8 – $12 a shirt, I thought it was a good deal and worked great this weekend in the Trinity Alps.

I agree with Francois, that merino wool takes a long time to dry relative to synthetic fibers. I just returned from a trek to Everest Base camp (March) and I was so excited to have my icebreaker merino wool shirts with me, because I knew that they wouldn't smell for the 5 days I would wear each of them (and they truly remained odor-free). But even though the temperature was often in the 40s-50s during the day, I would inevitably get a sweaty lower back from carrying my backpack, and the shirt would take forever to dry despite the dryness of the air in the Himalayas. So even though I love merino wool for its feel and insulation, I do not think it is accurate to say that it is a good moisture-wicking material.(I had the icebreaker 200 long sleeved tee and 150 short sleeved tee).

I also agree with all the posts about capilene being stinky…so now will be looking for yet another hiking shirt.

Personally, I find it hard to hike all day in the hot summer with even the thinnest of wool shirts. I wear synthetic during the day (the thinner the better, for ventilation), and usually bring a long sleeve merino shirt for the evenings. My favorite hiking shirt is an old adidas sleeveless that was thin to begin with and even thinner after to about 6 years of wear.

I'll add a +1 for wool as the best of all worlds. Some weather conditions — very hot and very humid — are more comfortable in some synthetics, but in my experience, the smell factor overrides the extra comfort.

Thin wool — 140/150g fabrics — does very well. I've spent time in Texas and Hawaii, among other places, and done well in this in a broad range of temps.

In a perfect world, I'd recommend the Icebreaker Polos — Detour Polo is my favorite. Weighs 6.3oz in a medium, looks great out on the town and is comfy hiking in almost any temps. Expensive, though. I justified getting a pair of Icebreaker polos before my honeymoon to Hawaii last fall. Figured it made packing easy… two shirts that I wore 90% of the time there, and I could go from an 8-mile day hike to dinner at a fancy restaurant without changing shirts.

If all you want to do is athletic activities and be comfortable in the summer, then I'd recommend cacona synthetics — I've found them to have the best odor/comfort ratio of any of the synthetic fabrics. But when packing for a trip, they come in as runner-up to a good wool shirt.

Rail Riders Men's Eco-Speed-T. This is what I use in the desert once my summer tan is obtained.

It is a mesh-like material.

as others have said … whatever runners use … theres no way youll sweat more than them in a normal hike

i prefer nike dri fit myself … you can get cheap running stretch shirts at wallymart/target, etc …

one thing no one has mentioned … size it TIGHT

the more skin tight it is … the better it wicks … loosey goosey shirts only hinder wicking

im never afraid to show off my ginourmous belly in the name of performance

Been wearing them for 10 years or so (not continuously – I've taken them off occasionally for washing) and although some of them do pill the price can be very right. I bought a few for my wife recently at like $6 each.
Have fun,
Steve

My two favorites:

1) Mountain Hardwear Super Wicked Shirt (has zip and collar for sun)

2) Patagonia SS Puckerwear shirt (outstanding in the heat 65/35 poly/cotton blend)

> but it is lighter than the lightest merino that i've ever seen.

Capilene 2 and 3 are not particularly light. You can find wool garments that weigh the same as Capilene 1 garments.

+1 on the Walmart moisture wicking tees (brand is Starter DriStar). They're dirt cheap, light (4.7 ounces for a 2XL), and they wick moisture at least as well my (much more expensive) Brooks technical (running) shirts. Also, the material has a pretty good hand to it.