[pct-l] Pct-L Digest, Vol 34, Issue 74

[greg mushial]

> Message: 6
> Date: Sat, 23 Oct 2010 22:19:39 -0500
> From: Albach <ralbach at austin.rr.com>
> Subject: [pct-l] hiking shirts
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Message-ID: <4CC3A5CB.8040207 at austin.rr.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Hello,
>
> I'm thinking of investing in a hiking shirt but thought to seek out some
> suggestions. I've done sections A through C (May-June) in a combination
> of white long sleeve nike and rei shirts - breathable synthetics - one
> with a  partial zipper/ collar - the other without zipper /collar.
>
> I'm thinking of getting a looser shirt with side vents, back vents, and
> possibly vents under the front pockets. I'd like the sleeves to roll up
> if desired and front buttons the entire length. My wife and kids have
> these equivalents but am having trouble finding exactly this for a male.
>
> I've seen the REI Sahara Tech Shirt and it looks promising BUT review
> suggests it fits small. I'm a 33 arm length 16 inch neck w a 45 in chest
> and really get tired of busting buttons or having the sleeves extending
> inches past my wrists.
>
> The Rail Rider looks good but expensive as well. Patagonia's stuff
> didn't really fit the check list.
>
> Anybody else have a favorite suggestion?
>
> Thanks,
>
> -Robert

Robert -

I'm up here in the Redding area - an area known for its "moderate" summers - 
this last summer as the coolest we've had since I've been here (since '96) - 
we topped out at 109F. Most summers are equally "moderate' - the summer 
before the high was 118F, the summer before that 119F. So dealing with the 
heat is very real (otherwise, one lives in their a/c'd holes and doesn't 
have a life for 5 months a year). Likewise, I spend way too much time in 
front of a keyboard, as such need to get outside, if for no other reason 
than as an antidote. My antidote for computeritise is to tend a 1/2ac garden 
(mostly melons, but also all the rest of the kitchen crops) - that takes 
hours. Since we're 40deg north, the sun isn't that intense, as such, the 
simplest way to deal with the heat is to wear as little as possile - 
marathon running shorts and flipflops, that's it. Unfortunately dressing as 
such doesn't scale well to carrying a backpack, likewise, when having to go 
into town. For those occasions, one has to find a viable mode of dress. Most 
people here have tried most of the synthetic fabrics (and find them 
lacking), some simply go back to a simple light weave cotton. But what I've 
found that works best is: a short sleeve buttons down the front linen shirt. 
Clearly for areas where hypotherma is possible (in talking about 
backpacking) this is not an appropriate choice. But for my hiking outside of 
those situations, I now have a single linen shirt which has covered probably 
near a 1000 miles. Being button down the front, and seemingly to mostly a 
NoBo hiker, being able to unbutton it all the way provides excellent 
cooling. The linen itself, never seens to get that saturated soggy feeling 
that cotton does. I've woren the same shirt on trips for 10 days, 2 weeks 
without washing, and it seems to wick as well at the end as at the beginning 
of a trip. In terms of cost - this was/is the real winner - unlike the $40 
or $50 "scientifically engineered" shirts - these I found on 
SierraTradingPost for $4 each. I bought 4 of them, and when the one that 
I've been wearing for a half-dozen plus years wears out (no sign of that 
yet) I still have 3 more to turn to.  So...  something you might consider. 
BTW: eBay seems to be likewise a source of 99 cent shirts.

TheDuck