I'm looking for a shirt to wear for my GC hike coming up in June. Its going to get pretty hot during the day, although we will be hiking in morning/evening. Even then it will be anywhere from 70-90 F. I'd prefer a long sleeve to limit the amount of Sunblock I have to carry, but I question whether that is even an option at those temps. I run hot(hi metabolism) and am a heavy sweater.

I was looking at Smartwool as they have a Microweight short sleeve and I hear that Merino really fights off the stink. But I have always thought of that as long underwear. Not really knowledgeable about clothes or materials,so any help is appreciated.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=31818

At those temps I'd go with a very light synthetic, like a capilene 1. Yeah, more likely to stink after a few days if you don't wash it, but cooler. Of course, at those temps there is little reason to not give it a rinse. You might take a long sleeve for the sun protection, but roll up the sleeves if you are too hot.

The other thing is to take a hat with a wide brim. It's amazing how much cooler you feel if you are carrying a bit of shade for your neck and shoulders.

Edited by naphas13 on 04/28/2010 22:41:27 MDT.

I have a super light patagonia shirt i got last year thats about 70-30 merino/poly. I think its a good mix of both..

+1 on the Capilene 1. It is what I always wear on those 70+ degree days. If fact I had one on today during 80 degrees. It also as 15spf protection.

I am not sure that I would go with smartwool during the hotter temps, for summer wear I would recommend syntheics over wool; they wick better, dry faster and can weigh less. The obvious problem is body-oder, but it is summer, we all stink anyway.

Depends on whether you need protection from UL (sun burns), or just keep cool. I usually wear a Rail Riders Eco-Speed-T shirt. I have a dark complexion and rarely need to worry about sun burns, but for extended periods above 100F, I wear a long sleeve... either a Rail Riders Eco-Mesh or Adventure Top. If I expect wide variation is temperatures (e.g. lows @40F and highs @ or below 100F, then I skip the t-shirt. I only take one shirt and sleep in it.

When temps get colder, then I have a different set up.

Wool at 90 F? You might regret that!

Long-sleeved light Taslan.

Cheers

Rail Riders Eco Mesh Shirt?

I wore a long sleeve Columbia fishing shirt in the GC in late June, with temps at about 105 at Roaring Spring (and about 35-F at the parking area on the North Rim. I prefer a loose fitting l/s shirt with the sun and high temps. I also wore light zip off pants, but quickly removed the bottoms.

The wide brimmed hat made a HUGE difference. I used a hemp hat from Tilley, so I could wet it and get a cooling effect for 30 minutes or so. My wife's nylon hat wasn't as good at this effect.

Thanks for the info. Looks like I can go check out the Patagonia stuff at the Ducksback store here in AZ. No Rail Rider dealers though. Also, the wide brimmed hat is a great idea, I'll look into that.

Thanks for the help.

The Railriders EcoMesh shirt (especially in white) is very good for bright sun. Dries well, breathes well (lots of mesh). No collar, though, so IMO it'll be better with a wide-brim hat like a Tilley or Sunday Afternoon hat.

Hi Brian,

My favorite hot weather shirt is the Patagonia Arius. I have them in both short and long-sleeve (zip-T) versions. It's the fastest drying shirt I've ever owned.

Cheers,

Rick

At the risk of sounding like a BPL fanboy, I actually like the Thorofare shirt. Not so much the pants, but the shirt seems to perform as advertized. Basically, I think of it as sunblock. (I'm one of those believers in long pants and long sleeves, even in hot weather, for various reasons.) I have a few other "normal" looking long-sleeved hiking shirts, but none as light and wispy as the Thorofare.

Rick,

What temps are you using the Arius in? Here it's not uncommon for it to be 80s or 90s for weeks.

Hi Jon,

In the mountains it seldom gets hotter than the mid 80s but at home here in the lowlands we're typically in the 90s and low 100s for months.

"But it's a dry heat."*

Cheers,

Rick

*Chamber of Commerce pays me a nickel every time I say that.

The Golite 'Wildwood Trail' shortsleeve run top seems like a good choice. It's quite light (80g) and so it should be extremely quick drying and cool. It's probably the next best thing to Golite's now dead DriMove Silk line, which was polyester (not silk) and under 2oz for a medium short sleeve tee. These shirts dry nearly instantly so you when you get stinky you can just stop at a creek, give it a quick wash, wring it out and toss it back on. No need for a second shirt.

The 'Wildwood Trail' is UPF 50.
http://www.golite.com/Product/ProdDetail.aspx?p=105001110&mc=195&t=&lat=

Edited by dandydan on 04/29/2010 17:17:40 MDT.

There's nothing that keeps me "comfortable" when it's 70-100F. Your best shot at comfort is a featherweight base (maybe will give your 15-30 SPF which doesn't wear out after a few hours like suntan lotion does). There are lots of brands which are good. I like the pioneer fabric used by Terramar

If you burn really easily, then I would go with the better sun protection from something like the Rail Rider Eco Mesh in white. I would say away from the BPL Thorefare material. It is not air permeable enough for summer use.

More thoughts on my recommended base layers.

--mark

With highs near 100 and night temps above 75 I still like a white cotton T-shirt. Yea, I'll speak the heresy. Being wet feels better than a nice oven hot dry synthetic. Sweat and enjoy it.

Don't hike in temps above 95 F if you can help it. My experience is that I burn through .7-1.0 L water / hr in those temps.

acronym 5/1/2010 11:49 PM

I live in Arizona and I often backpack in 70 to 100 degree weather. You want a light colored shirt (white) to reflect the sun. Also you want a shirt that breathes. Make sure it is 100% cotton. Synthetics are great for wet weather, but are terrible in the dry heat. I wear cotton durring our 300 days of sunshine, and synthetcis the other 60 rainy days. Also, avoid Smartwool at that temperature range because you will bake.

Hmm... george makes a good point. I forgot that this was a GC trip by the time I had read all the responses. Many places the humidity + sweat makes synthetic superior to cotton... but my experience is that in the summer months the GC is sufficiently low humidity that a light cotton shirt might be a good option.

--mark