I have cotton or mostly cotton plain cheap tee shirts for summer work wear. They feel awful and when soaking wet with sweat… dry very slowly, and stick to me so much so I can’t get them off without help after just a little yard work.

There has to be something better…

Back in my construction days I had button up uniform style shirts like Dickies. It was a long time ago but I don’t remember them as being that uncomfortable… but i was younger and thinner then.

I’m ready to experiment with something thinner and more breathable to work in.

Funny you should post this. I've been a big fan of Kirkland's T-shirts for their thick cotton construction. But recent weather had me wanting something much lighter (and frankly in white as opposed to my usual black) and I ended up acquiring several Gildan Men's Crew T-Shirts. Much thinner but apparently of good quality. I say apparently as I've only had them in hand for a couple days.

Added to add that the Gilden Tshirts have moisture wicking technology they call Coolspire

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bald1,

Duluth has something called Armachillo, and hubby has a few of them, he says they work pretty well. He also has some under armor shirts, those from Amazon, that he also likes. Sorry, don’t know how to post a link to either. They both are supposed to wick away moisture and keep you cooler.

Recently (the past few years, that's recent for an old guy like me), I've been migrating to the "performance" Ts at Walmart, Target, etc. The thinner, synthetic ones that wick well and dry quickly. I've been relatively satisfied with those, and I don't have to spend an arm and a leg. The "technology" has filtered down from the Helly Hansens, Patagonias and other performance brands.

Thin, breathable, moisture-wicking polyester blend fabrics have come a long way, and are almost always a better option than 100% cotton on those really sweaty days.

Nearly any sportswear company will offer shirts like this, with Under Armour being one of the originators and biggest names, but they're not the only game in town any more. Nike, Adidas, Reebok, etc. all offer similar. Along with outdoor companies like Columbia and 5.11. And workwear companies like Carhart and Duluth Trading. And a whole slew of smaller companies.

quote:

Originally posted by m1009:
Duluth has something called Armachillo, and hubby has a few of them, he says they work pretty well. He also has some under armor shirts, those from Amazon, that he also likes. Sorry, don’t know how to post a link to either. They both are supposed to wick away moisture and keep you cooler.

I love mine, the underwear works great too!

I like Under Armour when I know I'm going to be sweating, especially under a heavy vest, but haven't tried anything else that's similar.

quote:

Armachillo

I have one pAir of the briefs but didn’t think enough of them to buy anymore.

A search for men’s V-neck performance tee returns over 1000 results at walmart.

Thanks guys I’ve got some shopping to do.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Thin, breathable, moisture-wicking polyester blend fabrics have come a long way, and are almost always a better option than 100% cotton on those really sweaty days.

I like the wicking tees, but for some reason they seem to hold a static charge something fierce, even in the summer. I feel like my shirt is sticking to me all the time.

Look for some kind of outdoors or sport type tee with polyester. I like Under Armor when I can find them of sale but I also have them from a few companies.

I also like wool for multi day hiking trips and travel when it’s hot and I only take a few shirts. Wool is naturally anti microbial and doesn’t smell like polyester type shirts. Wool doesn’t dry and wick as well the other shirts I wear.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
I like Under Armour when I know I'm going to be sweating, especially under a heavy vest, but haven't tried anything else that's similar.

I have. I don't know what UA is doing right, but, IME, UA gear has inevitably out-performed the competition.

That being said: I mistakenly kinda wrecked a couple of my UA tees doing certain manual labor wearing them. So now, if I know I might get something on the shirt that won't come off, I tend to don one of the 32 Degrees tees I bought at Costco.

One more vote for a performance fabric unless you are working with a high risk of fire. It doesn't need to be Under Armor or other high end brands. I have worn Champion for years and they've held up great. All my cotton t-shirts have been turned into rags.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I don't know what UA is doing right, but, IME, UA gear has inevitably out-performed the competition.

Agreed. I tried various less expensive alternative brands of moisture wicking compression undershirts over the years, hoping to find something that fits, performs, and lasts as well as genuine Under Armour, or at least good enough to justify the cost savings. But so far, I've struck out.

So I buy Under Armour stuff through their online store and online outlet, typically stacking both sales as well as their generous LE/Mil discount, and I keep an eye on eBay for lightly used Under Armor stuff at a good price.

I suppose any fabric can be said to “wick” when soaked. Anything other than all cotton feels like wearing Saran Wrap to me.

Maybe areas with low humidity are better. I have lived most of my life in high humidity and heat. 100% cotton wasn’t as hot and didn’t stink after a few hours. I moved away from the Houston Galveston area to the Texas Hill country where the humidity is much lower but still uncomfortable for blends.

I always thought the “wicking fabric” promotion was a scam dreamed up by MBA marketing folks to condition the public to accept blends in reaction to higher cotton prices and to enhance profits.

I have a few colored T’s that are blends. I only wear them in cooler weather.

Different folks have their own preferences, sure. And each type of fabric has its pros and cons, with situations where one works better than another.

But "moisture absorbing" isn't anywhere near the same thing as "moisture wicking".

Cotton is quick to soak up sweat and other water, and slower to evaporate it. You very shortly end up with a totally soaked shirt that clings to you and stays damp for a long time.

Whereas these performance fabrics facilitate the rapid evaporation of water. They don't stay soaked, and help move moisture away from your skin, rather than trapping it against your skin like cotton. This not only helps keep you cooler and drier when sweating heavily, it also makes them ideal choices for things like boating/swimming/fishing where you may be getting splashed/drenched by other water and want to dry quickly.

And because they wick moisture and dry quickly, they also make a noticeable difference in avoiding heat+moisture-related issues like heat rash or jock itch. That's actually what caused me to switch to performance fabric undershirts in the first place, after a nasty bout of heat rash on my torso early in my career from sweating heavily onto my cotton t-shirts under my armor and staying wet practically all day as a result.

Performance fabrics also tend to be thinner and lighter than cotton too.

So I use cotton for casual wear around the house or out around town. But I use performance fabrics when I'm going to be doing manual labor or yard work, going to the gym, or otherwise know I'm definitely going to be sweating, as well as wearing performance fabric undershirts under my uniform.

And no, it has nothing to do with being in a low humidity area and therefore not sweating... I lived in hot and humid Texas for almost 2 decades, and have now lived in hot and humid Arkansas for over 2 decades. And I stand by my opinion that performance fabrics make for better workwear than cotton in these kind of hot and humid climates.


Also, you're not the first person who has complained on the forum about performance fabrics being "stinky", but that hasn't been my experience at all... Perhaps that was an early generation issue, back in the day? Or maybe it's a problem for cheaply made performance fabric items?

In fact, I'd posit that having your sweat rapidly evaporate from a quick-drying shirt should lead to you being noticeably less stinky than sitting in a drenched cotton shirt with sweaty fabric stuck all over your skin for an extended period.

I use these to play tennis...

Amazon Link

Recommend ordering a size up.

The under armor shirts wear like iron, I bought my first one while deployed in Iraq in 2004, and it is still functional and I wear it frequently.
The Army did tell us not to wear them outside the wire though, as the synthetic fabric would melt and cause nasty burns if you were in an IED explosion

Based on the “hot weather” posts, I’m not sure how many people this would apply to ( ), but I wear Under Armour tee shirts as the innermost layer in cold weather as well if there’s any chance of breaking a sweat due to exertion. There’s an expression, “cotton kills,” in cold weather not just because it’s not a good insulator but primarily once it gets wet, it says wet with just enough evaporation to turn cold quickly after we stop exercising even briefly. Because it’s cold and wet, it works well to suck one’s body heat away.

I prefer cotton tees for normal wear when none of that matters, but when it matters, it matters.

Do NOT use any type of fabric softener with performance fabrics. Blocks the wicking feature.
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