Jolly Gear Triple Crown Button Down Long Sleeve Shirt

My lifelong search for the perfect hiking shirt may have come to an end.

The Jolly Gear Triple Crown Button-Down checks (almost) every box for what I want in a hiking shirt:

• Breathable – the fabric is not quite as breathable as other shirts I have owned, but being able to unbutton the front goes a long way to providing ventilation on hot days
• Durable – I’ve been on many bushwhacks with this shirt and it remains free of holes and tears
• Hood for sun and wind – also adds another layer of head warmth for quilt users. Has a cinch cord and a ponytail vent (for those who still have a full head of hair).
• Thumb loops – allow me to cover my hands up to the knuckles for sun and wind protection
• Comfortable – lightweight (8 oz) soft and stretchy weave
• Pockets – accessible with pack on, sized to hold a phone or maps
• Low odor – at least relative to other polyester shirts. Can’t expect miracles here.

The only real knock I have is that the shirt does not dry especially quickly, relative to other shirts (eg ExOfficio) I have used. That’s the only thing keeping it from a 10/10 rating.

It’s obvious this shirt was designed by a hiker. I can personally verify this as I leapfrogged with Jolly for a couple of days on the PCT near Mt Adams last summer. He is a good guy making a great product and I really respect that.

The shirt works for fishing too. Indian Peaks Wilderness Aug 2024.
PCO Dan Schneider.

Button down shirt which can go from trail to city with ease.  UPF 30, reasonable air permeability, with thumb loops and a hide-away hood makes it a versatile shirt, Has two breast pockets that are large enough for a cell phone that have zipper closure on the side which are accessible with when wearing pack. Hide-able hood and thumb loops, UPF 30, moderately stink resistant (it’s polyester), and moderately fast drying. The fabric color/pattern is a  flashback to the 1970s. A bit much for me, but my wife loves it and I regularly get compliments from people when I wear it. The pattern is printed on the outside, so when you roll up the sleeves plain fabric is revealed.  I prefer my OR Astroman Button up  (though my first shirt has problems with pilling under the shoulder straps) and ArcTeryx Cormac Hoody which have higher UPF, drys faster, and feels a bit cooler in hot conditions.

The wacky colors of the original shirt was a little too much for me, but when Jolly released the evergreen solid color a few years ago, I bit the bullet, and have been pleasantly surprised since. I’m now on my second one (the red one in the photo), and it’s now an insect- and sun-season staple for me.

In the photo above, I’m wearing it over a base layer, and the shirt is effectively behaving as a very breathable hooded wind shirt – a very nice option for above-the-treeline use in alpine environments. I wrote a little bit about how I use it in The Dirt Catwalk.

The body fabric of the Triple Crown Button Down is pretty unique – it has a very porous construction that transcends the boundary between “tightly woven” and “mesh”. The larger pores make this more air permeable and breathable than other woven trekking shirts (and surprisingly, more breathable than many knits). Here are some microscopy images that I talked about in the Outdoor Fabric Technologies webinar:

Lab testing (internal data, not published) suggests an air permeability rating of about 130 CFM/ft2 (compared to about 50 for a Patagonia Sun Stretch hoody). This is likely because of the porosity of the fabric.

I wouldn’t use this in “Arctic-grade” mosquito country because they’ll be able to shove those little probisci right through those holes. But I’ve worn it (treated w/permithrin) in “peak mosquito season” in the lower-48 in WY and CO with no issues. This is the only reason I downgrade its field performance. But then again, you can’t have air permeability this high AND bugproof fabric, so make your trades accordingly.

My favorite features: buttons instead of a zip, stretch fabrics that retain a woven structure, all those little holes for airflow, a comfortable/stretchy hood, and thumbloop cuffs.

Disclosure details: I’ve owned two of these; one I received for free from Jolly, and the other I purchased myself.