Hi everyone,

I'm planning a trip around the Tahoe Rim Trail this summer and decided I should probably have some decent sun protection. I want to find a long sleeve shirt that breathes well for hiking in the warm weather over summer. It will probably be a 10 day trip so I'd prefer to have something that fights off the stink some. Does anyone have any experience with the lighter wool long sleeve options from Smartwool, Ibex, or Icebreaker? I like the 1/4 zip features on some to air out the shirt even more...

Thanks!

I haven't tried the wool items, but I wanted to mention some sun hoodies. I picked up an EB solarfoil hoody (sizing on these ran extremely large), and it looks like Patagonia also has something similar.

They're loose fitting tops with floppy hoods and often have thumb holes in the sleeves (I found this useful for keeping the backs of my hands from getting sunburnt).

Having been afflicted with the Curse of the Gingers at birth I too am often searching for long sleeve protection from the sun, especially for summertime adventures. I can only speak to two things I've tried, and one thing I'm going to try...

1. Under Armour Heat Gear (in white, slim-ish fit): Light. Airy. Super easy to stain with dirt that never washed out after one use. Smelled so bad after a weekend trip with some humidity I thought I would pass out, which is saying something because, as a friend once said, "everyone loves their own brand." It was that bad; trashed.

2. Arcteryx Motus LS (in silver, purchased 60% off at REI): Expensive before discount. Totally made of some sort of unicorn hair spun into a magical garment that works great as a base layer, but more apropos to this discussion, is really amazingly nice in warm conditions. Better yet? Zero stink after 4 straight days of wear 24/7. Unicorn hair I tell ya!

3. Railriders Eco-Mesh Shirt (someone will mention it, but I haven't tried it): Looks promising with it's mesh panels albeit it a little at the expense of wearing mesh and sending the woodland creatures the wrong idea. I may never try it because it has a nehru collar and if I ever caught myself wearing a nehru collar I'd be forced to kick my own @ss for talking about adjusting my chi (what happens after everyone wears a nehru collared anything).

I have some 150 and 100wt merino tops with half zip (Stoic) that I snagged as they were discontinued a few months ago, that I'm going to try out this spring/summer. My big worry there isn't that they'll be too warm due to their fiber, but due to their fairly dark colors. Granted, I picked up a medium blue, but I'd still much rather have a light gray, unbleached cottony color, or white.

But we'll see how it goes.

I started to use an umbrella for UV protection last spring. Best self made shade I ever had, great against light to medium rain too. I now always take my Euroschirm SwingLiteflex silver with me (212 grams / 7.5oz), to me it's worth the extra weight.

I started to use an umbrella for UV protection last spring. Best self made shade I ever had, great against light to medium rain too. I now always take my Euroschirm SwingLiteflex silver with me (212 grams / 7.5oz), to me it's worth the extra weight.

I would not recommend Patagonia's sun hoodies for hot conditions. I have a couple and they're awesome for around the house wear, but they're too thick and hot to use hiking in hot conditions.

I use a Sol Cool long sleeve by Exofficio. Feels really nice against the skin, relatively cool, and dries quickly. Won't solve the multi-day stink issue, but I usually soak it in a brook and wring it out at night. Like I said, it dries quickly.

I've got a fly fishing shirt (bone flats shirt) from railriders with mesh sides and venting pockets. Works pretty well and dries quick. Collar is designed to flip up in back for neck coverage too.

Also have used the motus long sleeves by arcteryx that someone else mentioned. Really great at wicking sweat and very thin. I sometimes get chafing from this fabric on long runs, so I stick to the exofficio shirt instead. But I'm guessing it might be a fit issue with me as my wife never has issues with the shirts when she uses them.

I sometimes use a Patagonia Lightweight sun hoody when hiking at elevation (2500m+) in summer and think it is an EXCELLENT piece. Even Mike Clelland likes it. You can read his review here on BPL

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/reviews/display_reviews?forum_thread_id=12594&cat=Clothing%20%2D%20Baselayer%20%26%20Fleece%20%2D%20SYNTHETIC&cid=50

and see him wearing it in his various videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_J4D3AHzlxQ

The Patagonia Merino 1 tops also work well for me at elevation while I found the Smartwool LS Lightweight 150 fabric too hot. The gotcha is Merino's durability under a pack over time.

Can't imagine summer alpine hiking without washing my top and undies at least every other day or so though. If washing forces me to carry alot more water, then will just carry an extra shirt.

Edited by rmjapan on 12/29/2012 07:29:25 MST.

Call me a cheapskate (as many people do), but I've never had a problem with long sleeve/breathable workout shirts from Target-- less than $10 on the clearance rack.

I use the Railriders Madison River fishing shirt for my long sleeve sun protection. Breathes well, dries fast and it has two small pockets that can hold misc small stuff (like my camera).

+1 for Railriders shirts. The new Bone Flats shirt is kinda pricey but made for use in the sun.

Thanks guys, look like I may try to find a deal on one of these shirts. They are pricey!

Sun hoodie looks like it may be a little much for what I'm looking for

I like polyester over wool. In general, those fabrics that have a more open "meshier" weave, like Cap2 vs slicker tighter weaves like Cap1. Add light colors and a loose fit.

Odd how some types pick up stink so quick (and strong). I have one North Face shirt that is terrible that way.

One you step outside the hiking brands box, there are all sorts of sports and running shirts that work well and can be found in big box stores and the discount liquidators like Ross and Marshall's.

If you are on a really tight budget, you can go to thrift stores buy the give-away promo shirts from marathons and chartity runs for a couple dollars. You might be a walking billboard, but you can scoff at ember holes and snags.

I like Ex Officio Airstrip Lite shirts--- until I put a pack on, with shoulder straps mashing the pockets and the pack negating the ventilation features in general. I've found a simple long sleeve polyester tee to be lighter, cooler, better to layer, less expensive and easier to launder.

Add some simple runner's shorts and a light shady hat like a Sunday Afteroon Adventurer hat for a light and simply hot weather combo.

When I did the High Sierra Trail and John Muir Trail, I hiked in an UnderArmor heat gear shirt. I coupled it with sun gloves which meant I only needed a little bit of sunblock each day for my face (I didn't trust my hat to keep me shaded, but it did a good job). It's basically like going shirtless, so I packed a light capilene layer to go on top when it got below 70 degrees or so.

I use a Mountain Hardwear long sleeved sun shirt for backpacking. I had my doubts at first--it's mostly nylon; I thought that it would be too hot for my typical trips in the Sierra during summer. Now I swear by it. 30 spf, but better than that. Better still, it's mosquito proof. I wear nothing underneath it; this may pose a problem for those who are sensitive to nylon fabrics. Yes, it's a tad more hot than a capilene base; but the sun and bug protection are worth it, imo. REI and others make a good sun-shirt as well.

I have the Colombia Titanium series long sleeve shirt. Not only is it it VERY lighgt but also very quick drying and also has a VERY high UV protection built into the fabric. Very happy with it.

I wore a long sleeve Golite base layer, I think it was a bl1. Combined with long pants, bandana and visor and sun gloves I only had to wear sunscreen in the snow on my face. I wore this setup the whole way through SoCal and would likely do it again if hiking the PCT again. Here's a picture

http://Postholer.Com/journal/viewJournal.php?sid=0baa4b20725b7d24df10351245b2aedf&jtype=photo&entry_id=25879&photo_id=33071

For me a loose fitting thin long sleeved nylon shirt is great sun protection and wears a lot cooler and more comfortably for summer Sierra hiking than a wool shirt.

The ex officio airstrip lite is tried and true, has been around for years. Pricey but you can often find last years colors on sale for much less at places like Sierra Trading Post.

Thanks guys, problem I've had with under armour or similar shirts is that they stink fast and if I'm going to be wearing the shirt for around 10 days I'd like to make sure that it fits the odors off!

Good luck with that. I'd just wear Exofficio and rinse it out every few days while wearing my windshirt, IF I was hiking maybe with a supermodel...lol.