RailRiders Eco-Mesh shirt…

I have been using a couple of the Eco Speed Ts (the short-sleved version of the Eco Mesh shirt) for about a year now and they are my favorite hiking shirts. They are far more cool than any of the solid wicking Ts I have tried.

That comforts me and my pocketbook greatly. The 2-layer supplex nylon means that mosqitos can't bite through right?

I don't think it claims to be mosquito proof.

The mesh panels definetly are not.

Treat with permithrin. It really keeps the mosquitoes/ticks away.

Ryan, I have several years of experience with the RR shirts. I prefer the Adventure shirt over the Eco-Mesh as I find it more comfortable to have button cuffs rather than elastic.

I have found the Eco-Mesh and Adventure shirt both comfortable in high heat environments like the Grand Canyon.

I also wore the Adventure shirt 3 weeks ago on a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters. It did reasonably well with short excursions at night with intense mosquitoes. Our weather in MN was sunny and mostly hot. It was an ideal shirt for me in that environment. In addition to sun protection the polyester fabric dries quickly and provides great evaporative cooling.

As an aside, we used tents with full bug netting for this trip. As it got dark around 9:30PM we could hear a steady crescendo as the mosquitoes emerged from the woods. Within a few minutes they were all over the tent. Mosquitoes have a keen attraction to us humans. I would avoid drinking water after about 7PM as I didn't want to get up at night!

I offered this review on the RR Adventure shirt — http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/reviews/display_reviews?forum_thread_id=7124&cat=Clothing%20%2D%20Baselayer%20%26%20Fleece%20%2D%20SYNTHETIC&cid=50

yeah. treat it. big time. and on a longer trip, give 'er a spritz-a-roo every few days. that'll keep the little suckers out of the vents. my MH canyonland shirts have vents, and i have yet to get stabbed thru them, but i spritz …
supplex should be nearly proof on it's own, but if it's wet, or strecthed over an elbow or shoulder, they'll bore thru.
almost any kind of T-shirt, even short sleeve, underneath it will prevent the vast majority of bites.
if the bugs get exceptional, you may want to sew up such cuffs as they might have, and any sort of back vent. side vents should present no issue. but of course, you'll then run hotter.

Ryan,
I've been using the Eco-mesh shirt for 4 years now in the southern Sierra doing east side approaches, where the temperatures can, and do, regularly get into the low 90's up to about 8000' by mid afternoon. It is a great shirt for the kind of weather you are likely to encounter in Utah. The only downside I can think of, besides the price, is that it doesn't make a very good base layer. I suppose you could make it work, but I have always ended up using an Ibex Woolie instead and adding a silk turtleneck in the fall. Extra weight, but worth it to me in terms of comfort and warmth. But for summer desert hiking, I don't think you can go wrong. It has a lot of fans among the desert endurance racing crowd, by the way. If you are likely to encounter bugs, you might want to consider spraying it with permethrin and letting it dry for 24 hours before setting off. REI sells it under the brand name "Sawyer" and I suppose it is available elsewhere as well. Best of luck.

Does anyone know if permithrin either a) can ruin or deteriorate fabrics or b) diminish breathability?

Also – anyone else who has tried the Eco-Mesh shirt vs. the Adventure shirt let me know. I'd be half tempted to exchange the Eco-Mesh for an Adventure if people have found the button cuffs to be more versatile.

Ryan, I've been using Adventure shirts since around 2000. That's me wearing one in my avatar photo. They are great for warm to hot, sunny weather. They also do a great job of keeping the bugs off. Feel free to treat with permethrin. I've been doing so with my Adventure shirts for the past several years and have noticed no undesirable effects.

Being a Velcro hater, I better stay out of the Eco-mesh vs. Adventure shirt discussion. ;-)

Ooookay. I'll jump in where Dondo fears to tread. I've got both the Eco-mesh and the Adventure shirts and, so far, the Adventure has remained a backup. I am partial to velcro because it is infinitely adjustable and I don't have to worry about losing a button and having to sew on a trip, which I hate. When the velcro wears out, and it's a long way from that at this point, it'll be a snap to sew another small tab on. Other than that, same shirt. Only reason I bought the Adventure was for foreign travel; it looks a bit more respectable. AND, it was on sale. As for permethrin, no noticeable effects, either on breathability, fabric integrity, or color, although I confess to not giving a hoot about messing up the color(mine is Birch) when I'm in the backcountry.

Tom, I was a bit concerned about the buttons when I first got the Adventure shirt, but in seven years or so of hard use, I've yet to have a button come off or even come loose.

Dondo,
I gotta admit the concern is strictly hypothetical for me at this point. I guess I'm just prone to anticipating potential problems, a hangover from my professional days as a systems programmer on IBM mainframes. We spent a lot of time cleaning up the results of not anticipating and I developed a certain attitude. Bottom line: They're both great shirts, and when my Eco-mesh finally goes the way of all gear, I'll transition to my Adventure without so much as a tear.

Does anyone know if permithrin either a) can ruin or deteriorate fabrics or b) diminish breathability?

if you use it on your tent fly, it will leak soon afterwards. after a season or two, it can pretty much rain right thru it.
this all based on doing it only on one pair of tents. so, i could be wrong.
but i used to slather the stuff all over my pack and everything .. i don;t do that anymore. cloths, inner tent, and packstraps only now.
cheers
peter v.

Great information, peter. I was going to treat the edges of my poncho/tarp for an upcoming trip. Based on your experience, I think I'll leave it alone.

> Does anyone know if permithrin either a) can ruin or deteriorate fabrics or b) diminish breathability?

Ryan, I've used the spray application Permethrin for several years. I've not found it to harm any of the nylon, polyester, or other synthetic fabrics that I use. It doesn't seem to harm wool either. Permethrin helps preserve my sanity in bug infested areas. It repels mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, and all their cousins very well.

funny..military pushes us to use and treat our clothing with a liguid soak containing permethrin. Had a bad experince with it and ever since then ive avoided using it at all. Cant stand the stuff

Curious what your bad experience was… allergic reaction?

Sounds like too much of a good thing. Or maybe they thought a mega dose would repel Iraqis??

My Eco-mesh shirt came today. It's quite scratchy against the skin. Is that just what you deal with? Or does it wash out or get better with wear?

Ryan,
I've never experienced that feeling but it could well be a difference in skin sensitivity. Maybe run it through the washer a couple of times and, if it still feels that way, send it back. They're pretty good about refunds, although they take their own sweet time about actually crediting your account. Usually at least 3 weeks, and then only if you harass them. Good luck!