Long sleeve hiking shirts

My favorite long sleeve shirt for hot weather is my Ex Officio DryFlyLite shirt. It's got built in mesh for increased airflow, and is a super light, quick drying material.

Ex-officio makes some great hot weather synthetic button ups.

I've been happy with the Railriders Madison River shirt with baked-in InsectShield from the standpoint of bug control, though I'd only class the ventilation as "moderate." But it's fine for me because I frankly don't mind sweating like a pig. 256 grams.

Lanian, just curious…..why are you switching from the 140 gr wool t-shirt? Bug protection? Heat? Durability? Also, was your wool T-shirt short or long sleeve?

I have synthetic long sleeved shirts form REI (Sahara), Cabela's (Guidewear)
and Columbia (Titanium).

All are good shirts but I like Cabela's the best, REI second best.

BTW… I have a 5.11 nylon shirt made for law enforcement. It's heavier than my polyester shirts above and an excellent wind shirt IF you have a pack on to block wind from the back venting panel.
This shirt has large Velcro closing chest pockets behind the front patch pockets. This means even more wind protection – and weight, of course. But maps in Ziploc bags fit in these pockets nicely.

+1 for Railriders.

I just love their Versalite Line of shirts and pants for warm and hot weather backpacking, where I need to keep my legs and arms covered. Especially if I'm going to be off-trail below tree line.

the buttons can be a pain if they happen to be under the chest strap :(

billy

+1 on the Railriders Madison River shirt. That's my go to shirt when I need sun protection in the High Sierra.

Reason for the change is instead of taking a short sleeve AND a long sleeve, I'd rather have a long sleeve button up that I can unbutton and roll the sleeves up
the advantage of the s/s+l/s is layering, but my down jacket keeps me well enough warm when it gets cold out, and anything less is taken care of with a long sleeve

why take three pieces when I only need two?

So, overall, I'm sensing Railriders is a good go-to button up, but looking at their site they have a LOT of choices. Exofficio looks good too

What's the consensus on chest pockets? wouldn't that rub where your straps are?

My Work shirt (Outdoor Ed) is one of these

http://www.kathmandu.com.au/mens/tops/shirts/hauler-long-sleeve-hiking-shirt-v2-men-mid-blue.html?___SID=U

No problems with the Pockets or the Buttons, I wear in temps ranging from 40 to 100 degrees.

Max turned me onto the Kuhl Wunderer (all nylon button up) ls shirt. Cool, light weight, breathes fairly well, is ventilated, protects against bugs, wicks well, dries fast, and doesn't build up too much stink (since it's nylon vs polyester).

I got mine on sale a little while back, at Moosejaw i believe, for around 40 dollars.

Bought a women's WoolRich 53% nylon 47% tencel button up shirt at STP, and it is now my favorite hot weather shirt, though the fit is not ideal (a wee bit tight in the upper arm/chest area, with a slight flair towards the hips, but otherwise looks like a men's shirt). Super wicking, no odor, dries fast, very light weight, thin, breathable and cool. Unfortunately short sleeved, so i sewed some nylon tulle to the sleeves to add a little bug and sun protection. The top part of the arm is doubled tulle, and bottom is one layer of tulle. It won't provide much UV protection, but a little is better than none. It could catch on stuff though.

I really like the Prana Sutra shirt, 53% Hemp, 44% polyester, and 3% spandex. Originally tried to sell it because the color was too dark (cocoa brown), but i was able to finally lighten it up enough (and decided to keep it). Awesome, somewhat thin, fabric combo for especially hot and humid weather. A bit on the heavy side though at around 11 oz. If it was lighter weight, i would like it as much, and in fit more than, the nylon tencel blend shirt (which weighed around 4.7 oz before i added the nylon tulle sleeves, now weighs 5.3 oz).

Outdoor Research Echo ls shirt with polygiene is pretty good, but can't imagine it's too durable more long term, and can build up odor from non microbial causes (oil buildup).

65% poly 35% cotton thin button up shirts are ok and will work, but in humid weather build up significantly more odor than the above options (but better than 100% non treated polyester shirts).

All the above shirts are best for warmer weather activities, as they are not insulating, especially not when wet. They especially excel in more humid hot weather. All these will be MUCH more durable, and significantly cooler than the Merino, as well as provide more bug protection. With the exception of the poly-cotton shirt, they all have fair to good odor control, but not *excellent*, which Merino does.

Not sure if they even exist, but if you could find a thin 60%-70% nylon to 40%-30% merino intimate blend shirt, it would be pretty to fairly good in most areas if otherwise well constructed/higher quality.

RailRiders just announced on Facebook that the Sun Raptor shirt will be released in two weeks selling for $40.

"RR Fans, coming in 2 weeks. The NEW RailRiders SPF 50+ Sun-Rapter shirt. Super silky soft, great wicking, incredibly featherweight and fantastically sun blocking. White/White & White/Navy. Unisex sizing – Xsmall to XX-Large."

If this ends up being a nylon/spandex blend like the Duluth Trading Co. Buck Naked T shirt, I'll probably grab one. I suspect it's going to be some sort of poly blend and if so, I'll probably skip it.

.

Dang!

Too bad they plastered their name on the chest. A small logo at the bottom of the sleeve would have been sufficient. Seems no one can forgo the chance to market these days.

RR has always had such a classy look. I'm bummed and won't be trying this one out.

RailRiders just responded and apparently it'll be a polyester/lycra blend. And the search continues…

OP,

I think Justin explained it better than I can but from my experience, I tend to prefer either 100% Nylon or a Nylon/Spandex blend for my shirts. I wouldn't be opposed to a nylon/cotton blend; the old military BDUs were a 50/50 nylon/cotton blend for example and worked fine in a wide range of conditions. The largest issue I have with polyester shirts is that they tend to get funky.

The one exception I'll make to that is the Columbia PFG (performance fishing gear) shirts which are 100% polyester. For whatever reason, they don't smell like roadkill after a few days in the woods. I realize I will stink; I just don't want my shirt to smell worse than I do. There are a few variations of this shirt that use other fabric weights and blends so it's important to get the right one as the others look like they don't breathe as well.

I almost always wear a button down shirt and I've never had a problem with the buttons rubbing under a strap.

I wear a Columbia Tamiami II in the summer. It was cheap ($24) from Amazon. Weighs about 6.5oz. I think it's UPF 40. It's pretty okay. Waaaay too many pockets and a velcro strap thingy on the chest. Can't beat the price though.

Maybe a bit warmer than you're looking for but nearly indestructible shirt which I take on every trip.
http://www.backcountry.com/the-north-face-cool-horizon-woven-shirt-long-sleeve-mens?ti=UExQIENhdDpNZW5cJ3MgQnV0dG9uLURvd24gU2hpcnRzOjE6MTpiY3NDYXQxMTEwMDc2&skid=TNF003V-DNBE-S

Richard said, "+1 on the Railriders Madison River shirt. That's my go to shirt when I need sun protection in the High Sierra.

100% agree and for the same reason. Blocks the burn, good ventilation, decent bug protection. Pair it with their Eco-Mesh pants, and you're good to go!

I've been very happy with the REI Sahara Tech Long Sleeve Shirts. They're fully synthetic, have great ventilation, and the sleeves can be completely rolled up and buttoned if you want to turn them into short-sleeve shirts. http://www.rei.com/product/862927/rei-sahara-tech-long-sleeve-shirt-mens

but different. Is there a reason to not just go to a discount store and buy a casual button up shirt for $12-15? Some are cotton, some are semi-synthetic.

I use a Coolibar button up shirt with protected mesh panel on the back and a foldable tall collar for neck sun protection. 50 SPF. Weight is 10 oz.

Coolibar offers a number of button and no-button shirts, ranging in price from $40 to $80:

http://www.coolibar.com/category/Men/Shirts-Tees-Polos/pc/2146/2201.uts

It looks like some of their long-sleeve tee shirts are lighter.

"Is there a reason to not just go to a discount store and buy a casual button up shirt for $12-15? Some are cotton, some are semi-synthetic."

To answer your question, no and it's often recommended here to pick up a dress shirt from Goodwill et al to save money. 100% cotton is great in the desert where I live. In other climates, I'd stick to a blend (like 50/50 cotton/nylon) or other material.

I was in the same boat looking for all the same things and I get hot very quick. I'm used to wearing short sleeves but I should really start protecting my arms.

I tried a few different ones but I am extremely happy with my ExOfficio Reef Runner. I picked up another last week on sac and it literally just arrived at my door as I type this haha. Great shirt and I stay pretty darn cool. Just wore it yesterday in Coachella in 95deg weather and it was great.

"Why not buy a discount casual cotton shirt?". Cotton doesn't provide much sun protection. Also, my nylon weave sun shirt keeps mosquitoes from biting. Skeeters will bite right through cotton. Actually, mosquitoes will bite through capilene too, now that I think about it.

shirts with ventilation under the arms, rather than on the back, are good. A pack makes back vents useless.