After commuting 140 miles round trip/day for the last 5 years, I just took a new job with the local county highway department. It's a rural Wisconsin county, so I'll be doing everything from plowing in the winter to ditch mowing in a tractor, culvert work, flagging traffic, and some seal coating etc in the other months. The job that I'm leaving had me outside in all weather, but I had a lot of windshield time in an air conditioned truck between stops, so I didn't worry too much about my clothes not being the best for outdoor work wear. That changes in 2 weeks. I'm good for winter wear, but haven't spent all day every day doing physical work outside in awhile.

I've read good reviews about Under Armor Heat Gear shirts, but that stuff is way too pricey for me to stock up on. I've seen some talk about Champion C9 stuff available from Target, but have no experience with it. I've also seen some people recommend a loose fitting light/light colored long sleeve shirt to keep the sun off. That would help with skeeters and other bugs too, I guess, but seems counterintuitive in a humid environment.

I know for pants that jeans are rugged and affordable, but also heavy/dark cotton, so that can be problematic when it's muggy and hot. Duluth Trading Co. has some breathable outdoor work pants, but at $70/pr, it ain't gonna happen right now. I might check Goodwill and St. Vinnies for light khaki colored denim if there's nothing else going for work pants designed for hot weather besides the Duluth jobbies.

I've got a decent full brimmed Aussie Breezer style hat to keep my ugly mug and noggin from turning red, but would sure appreciate any ideas from you folks on the other stuff! Thanks!

In Texas in reality, t-shirt & shorts work well here with a minimum expenditure.

I am a fan of the cheap synthetic beathable shirts. I bought some for Academy for like $6 ea. free shipping last year. They have held up well and are my go to knock around shirts in the summer. I also have a couple of hiviz Carharts that are pretty good too, not as cheap and are no better than the cheap ones. Everybody sells them now.

I also like a lightweight pant. Bought some at costco that have held up surprising well and are cool in hot weather.

I am all about trying to survive this horrible hot weather.

Good luck.

I have some really good columbia and patagonia gear I wear hiking and camping in the summer. If you have an REI near you, their employees (at least at mine) are very knowledgeable and know a lot about the merch they sell

I've become a firm believer that anything cotton in the warm weather sucks! I wear 100% polyester
T-Shirts from Russell Athletic, 5.11 Taclite Shorts and Pants. I have a mix of wickable underwear, bought from Amazon.

All of the above dry fast so you're not sweaty all day. Not inexpensive/cheap but bought on sale not too bad.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&th=1

Go to East Bay and pick up some of their house brand shirts. They've every bit as good as the UA stuff at a huge discount.

[thread drift]

I know you ask about clothing, but don't forget about hydration. Drink plenty of water and avoid caffeine and sugars. If you are outside all day you should be consuming a gallon or more of water a day (4 cups (8 oinces) per hour). If you are thirsty, it's too late.

Learn the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and exposure. Serious stuff.

[/thread drift]

I love the heat, especially with it being 110 with the heat index here in Richmond for the next few days.

I used to wear under armor spandex religiously but since they are expensive and don't last as long (cheaper made) I have started wearing Starter from walmart.

There are a lot of good recommendations here, but I want to throw out the Soffee brand. It has held up extremely well for me in LE, training and during my deployment to AFG.

quote:

Originally posted by SigM4:
Go to East Bay and pick up some of their house brand shirts. They've every bit as good as the UA stuff at a huge discount.

^^^This. I coached baseball for years in the Florida heat and wore these a lot. I ccould usually get four or five Eastbay shirts for the price of one UA shirt.

quote:

Originally posted by Outnumbered:
I've read good reviews about Under Armor Heat Gear shirts, but that stuff is way too pricey for me to stock up on.

Wal-Mart sells moisture-wicking shirts under the "Starter" brand that are similar to Under Armour. Not as durable in my experience, but much cheaper.

Columbia also offers reasonably-priced vented and moisture-wicking shirts in their "Performance Fishing Gear" line. These are available at some department stores and sporting goods stores.

Duluth Trading their Armachillo line of clothes is all you need to know.

Adidas climalite. Use it every day in the TX heat for lifting weights, MTB, working in the yard. Also use Under armor.

From the bottom up, I go with Red Wing 953 boots every day (what passes for "every day", since I'm never working 40 hrs/wk) - I've got two pair and alternate.

Hanes Ultimate™ X-Temp® Men's Crew Socks (free shipping right now on the Hanes web site; just ordered two 6-packs for my brother's b.d. in September).

When a deal comes up on cotton knee length cargo shorts, I'll buy a few pairs. Use them first for non-work and they'll make the cross-over after getting a few spots. Very handy, having extra pockets. Not to cram full of stuff, but to keep items separate according to purpose and frequency of use.

Then the shirts. The long tees from Duluth. With pocket is helpful. My last five I bought off eBay as closeouts or clearance, but right from the Duluth site, the price is nearly identical, plus you get the exact color/style you want.

Great start (thanks!), and keep 'em coming!

I just ordered 2 of the East Bay Evapor shirts @ 2 for $19.99 w/ free shipping. They even have Hi-Viz yellow, so maybe I can forego the worker vests when on roadside duty.

I have one of the Adidas shirts mentioned above, but it's black. Even so, it's surprisingly cool, even in the sun. It's held up really well, to boot.

10-4 on the hydration! I had a kidney stone 5 years ago, and have been waterboarding myself ever since; thankfully no repeats! I've weaned myself way down on black coffee, and can get by on 8oz first thing in the morning to get my brain out of "Park". Have mostly given up sugars and soda, so that's good.

I'll check out the Duluth stuff again, maybe I can score some deals on returned items at the nearby outlet store.

Agreed on the quality boots! I've got a couple pair of Red Wings and some Danners, thanks to my current employer having a generous PPE program. I rotate when I can, and use a PEET Boot Dryer after work. Got that idea from another thread here, this place is great!

Thanks again!
-Chris

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
Duluth Trading their Armachillo line of clothes is all you need to know.

Great stuff, but if he thinks Under Armour is too pricey, I don't think Duluth will fit his budget.

Their stuff is pricey, but well worth the money.

Try Campmor. They have hot weather stuff very similar to Columbia and its pretty good. Often on sale too.

Exofficio. Not cheap, but worth every penny.

Eddie Bauer has some good stuff for hot weather. They always seem to be having sales too.


I recommend not wearing kevlar, dark blue long pants, and 30 pounds of equipment; )

I have purchased my last 30 Carthart items from blain's farm and fleet, all were on sale

I consider them to be a very good choice.
but I wait for the sales

https://www.farmandfleet.com/stores/

18 stores in WI

if you visit them and they don't have what you need, in stock , you can pay for the Items and they will mail them to you w/o postage charge

just about everybody makes breathable, synthetic fabric t-shirts nowadays. columbia, nike drifit, UA, redhead (bass pro), russell athletic, champion (c9), jockey, REI, etc.

I used to wear champion loose dark blue or black tee's and then some kevlar and to top that, some dark blue polyester in the summer....boots with thorlos uniform socks (they really wick sweat off your feet)

Initially (1999) I used a black cotton hanes tee, then I heard of the Under Armour (really expensive and replaced them with champion -get them at Target)

I got the thorlos as a gift and I swear by them if you are wearing boots....I still have ten pair of new ones in a drawer somewhere..

Stay hydrated my friend!!!!!