Echo ls/hoody for a sunshirt?

IMO the best. Most breathable,  comfortable and reasonable durable for it’s fabric weight. The only thing I wish is it had more UPF protection-but this would limit breathability. I own many of them, different colors, generations.

I’m on my second one. Really like the breathability, the feel, the quick drying, the light weight. I looked around pretty thoroughly at every shirt I could find when my first one started to grow holes, and ended up getting the second one. Color choices currently are not as bright as I prefer but I’m coping.

for many it’s great.  it’s my wife’s favorite sun shirt after trying a number of other options.  I don’t use it because it’s not protective enough for me.  All day in high alpine summer sunlight I reddened through it. I have enough basal cell carcinomas without encouraging more. I use more protective sun shirts.  my current favorite is the arcteryx cormac.

Bugs can and will bite through it. Mine gets spotted with blood from deer fly if I don’t treat it.  So I use permethrin on it.  For me worth it over 10 to 15c for it’s very fast dry times and breathability.  Below that I trend to a warmer button front sun shirt as it provides some wind blocking while still being ventible.  But it dries slowly so doesn’t get used in summer, where the echo shines.  I’m Mediterranean skin so the echo low upf isn’t a problem for me

I have good luck in low to moderate bug pressure with a fresh treatment of Sawyer permetherin.

Hi, Brett. I haven’t found any other shirt to be more comfortable in warm weather. Echo is great for that.

It’s “only” UPF 15, which is the low end for sun-protective garments. That means it lets 1/15th the amount of UV through, which is often phrased as “you get as much sun in 15 hours with the shirt as you would get in one hour without it”. That’s quite a bit of protection.

In the East, our humid air is never bright and clear enough all day to be a concern while wearing an Echo. It might be more of a concern in places where the air is clear and the radiation strong all day long, like deserts and some mountains.

It isn’t crazy to own two sunshirts: one for most ordinary days and another for brutal sun-baking. Which you carry on any particular trip depends on where you’re going.

Just want to point out that the colored Echo’s are UPF 20. White ones are 15. I use one on all my warmer weather hikes, but don’t typically hike all day at high altitude. I wondered at what point more UPF would be needed.

Because flies are attracted to blue and mosquitos to bright orange, and flies and mosquitos can be brutal out here during echo season, and dark colours are hotter, I use the lower upf light coloured ones.   That seems to help.

All my backpacking clothes are white, beige or light grey.  On trail in BC last year I was nicknamed “white shirt guy” & sometimes get asked if I’m going to a formal dinner when wearing the bright white buttoned silver ridge light shirt.  First time was a misunderstanding on my part:

Backpacker: “You’re so WHITE”….Me: “Hey, it’s only May, I don’t have a tan yet!”

I’ve moved away from the OR Echo after using it for some years. It tended to get saturated with sweat and dump heat all at once in wind (e.g. above the treeline). My current favorite is the Rabbit Running UPF Deflector 2.0. It does tend to show dirt more (I got the light gray), but it seems to have better breathability, etc. I treat it with Permethrin and that seems to really help with mosquitoes. I think it’s slightly heavier. ;-)

@Paul that Rabbit Running shirt looks interesting. Better breathability than the Echo? Seems like the RR has tighter weave fabric. I do like the watch cut out and longer sleeves.

Check out the KETL NoFry sun hoodie. I have not tried it, but just ordered one after a pretty exhaustive search of current options. It seems to strike a great balance of features, sun protection, and light weight. It probably trades a bit of breathability for the higher UPF rating (30+) vs. the OR Echo, but has the half button down to make up for it with mechanical venting.

Echo is about as light and breathable as you will find. I think the hood is subpar. Does not provide suffient coverage compared to other sun hoodies. Durability is obviously going to be lower than others if you are bushwacking.

@baja bob  I agree about the hood. I have thought about making a hybrid-remove the hood from the Echo and sew on a more substantial hood from an old Patogonia or Columbia sun hoody that is higher upf and more coverage. Problem is I can’t sew.

. BEST SUN HOODIES FOR HIKING & BACKPACKING 2026 .

@Brad – Indeed heavier weave. It just feels better when damp and the wind is blowing. Another nice feature is that it has perforated pits.