REI almost hits it out of the park with the Screeline Plaid button up shirt

Screeline Plaid

I like the Ex Officio Sol-Ti line for hot weather hiking – you can often find good prices on eBay.  I’ve also had good luck buying hot weather shirts at thrift stores such as Goodwill, etc.  I do a lot of off-trail hiking in the Superstition Mountains and clothing tends to get ripped up, so a $1 shirt is no loss.

Never knew hiking shirt technology could be so shmancy.. :O

Yeah, it’s just a shirt. But you’re a frugal dirt bag, and I’m just cheap. I don’t buy most of my hiking clothes, Santa brings them, which is a relief to my family because otherwise they wouldn’t know what to buy, although I tell them I really don’t want presents.

I get the majority of my clothes and gear either from thrift stores, used on BPL, ebay, etc, make it from near scratch or modify with sewing machine etc, and/or source at steep discounts/clearance. This new, 33 dollar shirt is a bit of a rare, luxury item and only purchased because of REI dividend and coupon were both available simultaneously.

In any case, as they say, the devil is in the details.  Occasionally a larger company does something right, and sometimes even semi brilliant, like Cap 4 hoody baselayer, and i give credit/kudos where it’s due.

Will this shirt perform say much better than say a 3 dollar 65% polyester 35% cotton blend thrift store shirt (of which i also have)?

Probably not “much better”, but because it’s majority nylon instead of majority polyester, it will be more durable/stronger, lighter, more cooling, and less stinky than the latter, and because it’s lyocell/tencel instead of cotton this will further increase those mentioned attributes (except cooling) over say the poly cotton shirt.

Whether it’s worth the 30 dollar difference–probably not for casual wear or weekend type trips.  It will make a difference on a multi week, thru hike as far as durability and odor.  I prefer not having to discard items, and gladly will pay more to not contribute as much to landfill, which is why i have become interested in more durable gear and clothing or ways to increase same.  When i can get those items at even lighter weight than their less durable counterparts, it’s a bonus in my book, but i will also go with slightly heavier stuff if it means longer term durability.

All nylon in some ways would be even better, but i don’t find such shirts as comfortable as a shirt with some absorbent fibers blended in–with the added tencel, you get better wicking, skin feel, better odor reduction, and a bit more cooling when wet.  It’s also a bit more breathable than the average button up all nylon shirt.

Hi Michael, thank you for the suggestion.  I try to avoid high polyester % when i can, as i find that it tends to get pretty stinky.  I do have a couple mostly poly things that have polygiene treatment and they’re ok stink wise.  I also find that nylon besides being tougher, lighter, and less stinky–it also feels a bit cooler, especially when a little absorbent cellulose type material is blended in.

In ridiculously hot and humid conditions, like tropical/jungle type, i do like the OR Echo shirt which is all polyester.  But i really try to avoid those places and conditions if i can (which is why, since i live in the southeast, i do most of my hiking from late fall through to early spring.  But ze spouse is a travel wh0re and so sometimes i get dragged to places like Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, etc).

I get the majority of my clothes and gear either from thrift stores, used on BPL, ebay, etc, make it from near scratch or modify with sewing machine etc, and/or source at steep discounts/clearance. This new, 33 dollar shirt is a bit of a rare, luxury item and only purchased because of REI dividend and coupon were both available simultaneously.

I know, just stirring the pot a little. I have a few expensive hot weather shirts from Rail Riders. They’re nice, but not substantially better than my re-purposed dress shirts or cheap T-shirts. Besides, sometimes it is good to splurge a little and reward ourselves.

Whether it’s worth the 30 dollar difference–probably not for casual wear or weekend type trips.  It will make a difference on a multi week, thru hike as far as durability and odor.

I most politely disagree with this assertion about durability and the difference of weekends vs thru-hikes.

I’ve worn the less expensive shirts on multi-month hikes and the shirts were structurally sound. Even the hospital scrub shirts. . The only reason I had to get rid of one shirt in particular is that it was very stained with dirt and the wife did not want to be seen with me in it.  Can’t say I blame here. :)  But, that would be any shirt after 4 months of hiking on the CDT I suspect.

Having said that, we all like our luxury items. Myself included.

I just beat the crap out of my outdoor gear that for certain items such as shirts, socks and thermals that will wear out, I can’t bring myself to spend the money when the functional difference is marginal at best (and, again, I actually prefer the less expensive shirts over the “real” hiking shirts as they feel more comfortable to me).  Mind you, I’ve used these types of shirts for a fair bit in varied conditions.

My luxury items (or where money is the least important factor versus fit, functionality, durability, etc.) are quilts, shelters, packs and similar. Items that will, hopefully, not directly suffer wear and tear. Exhibit A is my Feathered Friends Hummingbird bought in 1997 the equivalent of $500 in today’s money. And still very functional even after a fair amount of backpacking.

I do have some nice Royal Robins type technical button down shirts that I bought at REI at the end of one season. Oddly enough, I think they are TOO nice for backpacking.  I like to look nice when off the trail. I look at my outdoor clothing as work clothes.  Work clothes get the crap beaten out of them. I save the nice clothes for when I am with friends, the wife or social gatherings. (And, oddly enough, work!). My Dad and Grandfather never wore their work clothes around town, at dinner or with family. I am the same with my outdoor clothes. I prize functionality and value in work clothes. I enjoy some nice clothes when off-trail.

In any  case, just my usual beat that I drum: Wow…gear is needlessly complicated. :D

I had to wear a suit and tie for work, so nice lookin backpacking shirts served me no purpose, but coffee stained dress shirts made it to my gear closet.

Good news is I haven’t worn a suit in several months, a huge retirement benefit. Anyone want to buy a used Armani suit or a tuxedo?

One advantage of working in Colorado, in the tech field no less, is that a tie is reserved for funerals..and East Coast weddings.

(The first wedding I went to out here, being the good East Coast boy that I am, I wore a suit. I was the only one wearing a suit outside of the wedding party and the parents of the wedding couple!  10 years later, I wore sandals to my wedding. :) )

i just wear dead bird to weddings and funerals ….

as long as its black and its AZN events (dead bird sooo guuuud) … its A-OK

not joking

;)

I’m just going to put this out there…

I have NO IDEA what eric just said.

“I most politely disagree with this assertion about durability and the difference of weekends vs thru-hikes.

I’ve worn the less expensive shirts on multi-month hikes and the shirts were structurally sound”

I most mention that this may be a case of you say “Hey you Tamahta!” and I say “tomato”.  More of an opinion difference.  I live and work in a conservative area, at a conservative job–i probably would not be able to wear the average shirt after say my upcoming Colorado trip.

Besides, while i do pretty much agree with you in a general way and don’t doubt what you said, without detail, the above 2nd statement doesn’t mean much.  Exact fiber content, thickness/thinness, what kind of stitching, how old it is/isn’t before you bought it, etc are all major factors in durability and/or how much odor is or isn’t retained.  If i bought a used, thin wool shirt at the thrift store, i can almost guarantee you it will have holes in it even after only 4 weeks of constant hiking.

Also, i’m willing to bet that the thrift stores where you live in magical CO–land where almost everyone ski’s and backpacks, are probably a bit different and more hiker friendly as compared to the thrift stores where i live. And sure, i could wear the 65% polyester 35% cotton thrift store sourced dress shirt that i have on my coming CO trail, but i strongly suspect based on past experience that it will stink to high heaven when i’m done (though it’s better than my pure polyester shirts), and while i could bleach it a few times to get it out, then i run the risk of not being able to wear it to work where i spend the majority of my time.

In any case, you’re talking to the guy who for the last three years here, as consistently been saying things like, “Thrift store polyester wool blend pants are some of the best winter pants i’ve used”.  Hence, no real or practical reason to preach to the choir here.  It’s almost like one Christian telling another Christian, hey, you should believe in this Jesus guy.  Seems like a waste of time frankly.

I use what works, and whatever that is, i don’t care a whit about looks, brands, or what others think or don’t think about what i use or don’t use.  You ever wear a MYOG, non-rain kilt/skirt?  Or, i’ve bought and worn women’s clothing because it was cheaper at the time.  Our own Jen will attest to that, bought a pair of nylon pants off her here awhile back.

But, i also understand what works and why it works (or doesn’t), and am willing to outline the holistic logic (including the bigger picture and the details at the same time) for others so that they can also better understand, because i believe more in teaching people to fish than handing them fishes.

Can’t say that you’ve changed my mind on this, but thank you for trying.  I do understand the spirit and reasoning about not caring too much about gear, and i think that BPL in general is a little to over and consistently obsessed with that aspect, but when gear makes a hike more comfortable physically or is more durable, to me, it’s gear worth thinking and talking about.  Otherwise, we’d all still be wearing animal skins, grass skirts, etc if we were only ever content with the status quo.

Translation for Dean…

The Asian community where lower case eric lives venerates the outdoor industry’s urban wear, especially Arc’Teyrx.

so i bought my favorite climbing partner a dead bird softshell the other day …

she goes to a AZN restaurant with it on and the first thing the waitress says is

“OH … BELY BELY GUUD JACKET !!!! AHH-TEH-LIKS NUMBAH WON !!!!”

to AZNs dead bird is like MAH-SAY-DES (mercedes) or BEEE-MAH (BMW) ….

if you ever come to WON-GOH-WAH (vancouver) … the dead bird sales are not to be missed … there will be a line up of AZNs several blocks long …. the last major sale they had closed around 11 PM, but they were still processing AZNs till 2 AM

anyways … the point is that while dead bird might be $$$$ on paper (if you shop smartly youll find it for 40%+ off) it is the BEST VALUE out there as you can wear it to dim sum, to weddings, to funerals, to work, etc … its true multipurpose gear

and its something you will be PROUD to wear every day !!!

not to mention that AZNs might come up to you randomly and comment on that cool logo

;)

lest folks think im making this up …

2015 …

I was at the Arcteryx sample sale last night. An annual spring and winter event, it has become increasingly popular with wait times exceeding 3-4 hours just to get in.

This weekend is the first time it was held at the convention centre downtown. As an avid outdoor adventurer, I go to get deals on equipment that I’ll actually use.

I was disgusted at the whole event and will not be going to any future sales. Yes, the deals are great but I got there at 6pm, got in at 8:30, spent an hour shopping and 3 waiting in line. I arrived home at 1am! There were only 8 cashiers for thousands of people, but that was a small aspect of a massive scene of chaos and mayhem.

The attendance was an good representation of Vancouver’s population but there was a huge Asian cohort filling bags and boxes with thousands of dollars worth of jackets, travel packs and clothing. Just stuffing things into bags with looking at sizes or trying stuff on. What are they doing with this stuff? Is it all re-sale? Where does it all go? People were leaving with insane amounts of stuff- I know stores that don’t stock as much as some people were leaving with.

The Vancouver version of Walmart on Black Friday. I was embarrassed to be a part of it. :(

 

Arcteryx sample sale questions: People were buying $10,000 worth of clothing and equipment, just stuffing it into bags. What are they doing with it? from vancouver

2014 …

<span class=”Apple-style-span”>I’ve been a few times. We drove by late last night. The line was VERY long and every person in the line was Asian. I’m not sure what’s going on with that. Maybe the local Asians just love ArcTeryx or maybe it’s an iPhone situation where people are buying in bulk and then re-selling here or abroad. It did appear that people were buying large quantities. I’m not being racist and I don’t hold anything against folks for taking advantage of this great sale – I just don’t fully understand what’s happening. Does anyone know?</span>

Arcteryx factory sale. from vancouver

Holy crap is this thread getting de-railed in a major way.  The Asians and (the original) Latins have finally invaded–those conservative right wingers were right all along…  Quick, erect a BPL fire-wall to keep em out.

I suppose this is just karma biting me in me arse.

Also, i’m willing to bet that the thrift stores where you live in magical CO–land where almost everyone ski’s and backpacks,

…actually, I used my first poly-cotton shirts in the not-so-magical land of  Rhode Island [1]  (Well, procured them in RI and used in NH and VT initially) Where hardly anyone skis or backpacks [2] and is considered the poorest state in the Northeast  by many different measurements overall. (and usually around the bottom 10 in US by many measurements, too)  :)

[1] Amazing food culture however…

[2] There are activities that kept some of the locals busy for different reasons…

That Screeline looks like a decent shirt.  I agree with the OP they should have a long sleeve option.  My issue with hot weather is always how stiff my shirt gets from all the salt and dried sweat.  Usually anything with a high collar ends up chaffing the back of my neck.  I’ve tried a few expensive “hiking” shirts and have always gone back to either a white or black cotton t-shirt, of the Fruit of the Loom persuasion.  But if I could pick it up cheap, I’d try the Screeline.

This is one of the funnier threads I’ve read here in a while.  Hopefully it’s symptomatic of a recovering BPL and not a death rattle.

Thanks Justin for the review and thorough explanation of the fabric and its characteristics.  Seems like this would be a great shirt for traveling in.  I only brought two shirts on my India trip and washed one in the sink every night.  You touched on my only two complaints, no long sleeves and I’d prefer lighter colors.

You know, if I thought silk-hemp blends would make for good hiking fabric I would totally wear my wedding gown on the trail.

but hemp, though durable, is too absorbent.

Need to find someway to repurpose it – still has grass stains and is wadded up on the closet shelf underneath my quilts.

Need to find someway to repurpose it…

Can the hemp be made into cigarettes and smoked?

Hate to bear bad news, but REI Screeline seems more a loose category than a set fabric mix. In long sleeves, the current Screeline is 87% polyester and 13% spandex, … not nylon.

https://www.rei.com/product/892662/rei-screeline-shirt-mens

REI thinking may be to use this as a (slightly) less dorky line than their Sahara Tech.. maybe for “travel”.  I can see the pockets are less “safari”, but the basic features are very similar (mesh under the armpits, etc..).

Hemp makes a damn good wedding dress.

You don’t even care if it ends up a mess.

Roll in the grass, roll in the hay,

Then wad it up and save it for another day.

But what else can you do with it? I won’t hazard a guess.

But I do know it makes one damn fine wedding dress.

You know, if I thought silk-hemp blends would make for good hiking fabric I would totally wear my wedding gown on the trail.

Surf over here…