Fast drying shirt – Do not spoil your trip

Have you ever been hiking without proper clothes ?

That feeling after you finished your trail, you want to sit down and enjoy the view can be spoiled once a small wind starts to waking up. It is better to start moving again and trying not to cool down to avoid the possible cold you might get. Or you can just be prepared from the very beginning by wearing a proper shirt, or t-shirt. The best would be something like fast drying shirt right?

I will break down the subject a bit from my point of view.

By the time my girlfriend and me started hiking on more regular basis I have already a good shirt which dries quickly. I got to know such material by accident when I was at summer job in USA in 2001. I was in MA working in construction company and had a very good wage so I decided to buy something fancy. One Saturday we went to shopping mall and suddenly there it was hanging in the window of store. A men Nike dry fit shirt. The touch of the material was just perfect to me, yet I did not know the purpose of it. It cost 25 bucks. Of course since then I found the functionality of such material and since then my collection got bigger by one Columbia hiking shirt few years later.

So whenever I go hiking or just walk in the woods I do wear one of these shirts and always appreciate the dry material on my skin, even though I was sweating few minutes ago.

What would be the best fast drying shirts for hiking? Or what is this fast drying material in the first place?

First of all let me say few words regarding history of outdoor clothing.

Short history – What Kind of Materials Had Been Used Before And Technology.

Before 1970`s the common material for hiking was cotton, wool, leather – all natural textiles. These materials have their disadvantages, though. On one hand for example the cotton is very good at taking the moisture out of the skin. As well as wool absorbs humidity very efficiently. On the other hand the cotton does not dry quickly. If you wear it as a first layer, you can easily suffer from discomfort. The wool can be also itchy. Leather, as you can imagine, is heavy and not breathable at all.

The new era started in late 1960` or in the early 1970s when Bill and his son Robert W. Gore invented a Gore-Tex.

(Note: In New Zealand in 1966 John W. Cropper developed different form of stretched PTFE shortly before Gore-Tex.)

Basically this material is about a heated Polytetrafluoroethylene rods, which by sudden stretching can expand up to 800%, forming very small solids that containing interconnected pores – structure that is about 70% air.

In other words, it is a Teflon plastic which is extended in such manner that millions of tiny pores are created. They are so tiny that the water from outside which is in liquid state (for example rain) can hardly penetrate in. From the other side of the layer is coming the sweat. The sweat leaving the skin is converting into a vapor as soon as it hits the air. Molecules, in water vapor are much smaller than molecules of water in liquid state and therefore they can easily get through the clothing.

Therefore, we can have a clothing which is waterproof and breathable at the same time.

Nowadays Materials – Mostly Artificial

In 1997 when the main patent from Gore`s expired, dozens of clothing firms started to produce alternatives, including Gore-Tex of new generation. All the new generation shirts are better than the original back in the 1970s. No one will give a straight answer to question which one is the best. Some of them are more waterproof, some of them are more breathable and waterproof, with different quality and of course price.

Many fast drying t-shirts these days are made of polyester. The general advantage are already obvious. Besides, it keeps you dry eve though you are wearing it is also durable, does not wrinkle that much, does not fade and it is lightweight.

However, there is also option to go for a mixture of both, cotton and polyester. Qualities of these 2 fabrics get to together and you have a great result.

To mention some shirts there are for example brands like New Balance, Patagonia Capilene, Salomon Fast wing Tee, North Face kilowatt shirt, UA Tech™ (Under Armour) etc. Also the prices vary from 20USD to 70USD. Which ones would suit to the best, it is up to you.

I forgot to mention one downside regarding the polyester shirts. It might stink, depending on your level of sweating, it might stink a bit even after you wash it. There is an option, if you prefer the odor resistant fabric. In my experience the Columbia shirts do have the odor resistance one and therefore I was always wondering why my friend does not prefer these fast drying shirts.

To him, it can be used once only. – And I really use it 4 or 5 times without washing (ladies, please will excuse me I hope 🙂 )

Natural Options in Fast Drying Materials

Very good option to polyester is natural material made of Merino wool. Merino is breed of sheep domesticated in New Zealand. Thanks to its wool it can survive in extreme weather – from freezing temperatures to very hot conditions. Merino breed is also considered as having one of the softest and finest wool of any other breed. To give a perspective, fibre from merino wool is very thin. The thickest ones are about 23µm, the ultra fine are about 12µm. (Avarage men hair is aprroximately 40-80µm).

It is not as fast drying material as polyester but it brings you more comfort and it does not stink if used for more than a day. Also, once you are on more than a day trip you most likely have a backpack, which makes you to sweat even more so you want to feel comfy.

If you are planning longer hiking tour for 2 days more, you should go for merino wool shirts.

More Layers Principle

When it comes to hiking in changing weather conditions you should keep in mind your comfort during the entire trip.
Therefore, it is always good principle to use 3 layers.

– 1st and basic layer (closest to skin) should stay dry all the time. In other words, this layer should regulate the body temperature (merino wool is does it better, comparing to polyester) For that reason you should be wearing some quick dying material, either polyester shirt, or already mentioned merino wool. I do personally prefer long sleeves shirt as my forearms have still high level of sweating.

– Purpose of 2nd layer is to keep the warm air close to the skin. Only briefly, that can be secured by fleece for example.

– Finally, the outer 3rd layer should be windproof and waterproof. You should be also checking a breathability which should be at least 10,000 grams or more.

To Sum Up

Hopefully I have touched the subject in way that you gain an overview and you will not suffer from the wrong hiking garment. Obviously each subject can be analyzed much deeply, but that was not intention for this time.

It all goes down to your type of activity and weather conditions.

For short hiking or running I would go for polymer.

In case of longer hiking, merino wool is the option. Same in less active sports, or in backpacking where the importance of quick drying material plays a role.

In summer dry heat conditions, you want to grab for cotton shirt, especially in short term, like running or few hours hiking. The property of long drying time may be in dry hot weather very refreshing. Sometimes I put the cotton shirt in the water before I go under the summer sun so I can last longer without overheating my body temperature.