My favorite shirt

By Joel Schopp Ranked #1139 - Men's Shirts July 16, 2009

First, if you've never owned a smartwool product here is the lowdown. It never stinks, I mean seriously climbing all day, day after day smell fine doesn't stink. It's way less itchy than normal wool, I can't wear normal wool sweaters, but I wear smartwool shirts as a base layer and it feels soft and wonderful. Some people have complained that they are still sensitive, and I notice that if I throw on a shirt right after getting out of a shower it's mildly itchy. Oh, and unlike a lot of other wool products you can throw this one in the dryer, just put it on low heat (and to be fair mine has been thrown in on high heat accidently on more than one occasion and doesn't seem worse for it). My wife accidentally threw her non-smartwool merino sweater in the dryer one time and it now fits my daugher's dolls.

So, about the weight on smartwool fabric. The microweight is semi-transparent it is so thin and is really for hot weather (I've worn in in 105 F) or just having a breathable base under your real clothing in other weather. The lightweight is to the point that it starts to provide some insulation on cold nights, especially the long sleeve, but can still be worn comfortably in fairly warm weather (under 90 degrees F for the short sleeve, under 80 F for the long sleeve in my experience). The midweight is a winter only unless you live way up in the mountains or only wear it at night. Durability seems good, I wear it every chance I get and it holds up well against everything I've thrown at it including rock climbing. After many years of abuse I took a lightweight T caving with me (not the best idea in retrospect) and after sliding around on my back and belly quite awhile it managed to get a few holes, but I love it so much I still keep it around as a work shirt.

On the sizing and fit I have a 30-32 inch waist and the small fits me well and the medium hangs loose on me. Smartwool's cut is a bit of a compromise between athletic and casual. The zip-T zipper works well, zipped up it comes most of the way up my neck, and unzipped a bit the collar lays pretty flat so you could pass as trendy back in town.

View Details: SmartWool Lightweight Zip T-Shirt - Long-Sleeve - Men's

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