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what shirt to wear while walking

M

matt1234

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino de Santiago del Norte August, September 2015
After long days of walking in the August sun with a backpack on, I'm anticipating to have quite a sweaty back. I've read on these forums that a lot of people recommend wearing a long sleeve shirt, but no one seems to recommend wearing polyester t-shirt. These are light, quick drying and don't soak up as much liquid as cotton shirts.

I always wear them for cycling, anyone done the camino wearing them?
 
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I was able to purchase a merino wool t-shirt at Costco. This was a great choice for my Camino in September -Oct. Dries quickly, resists the dreaded stink, and is a broad purpose shirt. ( cool and warm days)
A worthwhile investment IMHO.
C
 
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My vote goes for merino wool as well. Remarkable stuff: keeps you warm in winter and hugely reduces sweating in summer. On hot days I wear a merino t-shirt for the first few hours, then as the sun gets up change to a long sleeved one to help protect my arms from burning.
 
The high tech synthetics are fantastic. But NEVER take cotton. Bulky, sloew drying. Merino is also a good choice, but all of mine are a bit itchy so I prefer synthetics.

Until my walk last month I had always walked in short sleeves, but this year got my first sunburn ( my fault, at the albergue I sat in the sun on purpose since it had been too chilly until that day to walk without my fleece and I was going to go back home white as a ghost) and wished I had a very light but long sleeved shirt to wear.
 
My favourite Camino shirt is the polyester Columbia brand 'Men's Tamiami ll long sleeved' in the shade 'Sail'.
It is not cheap (depends on the colours), is well made, has vents across the back, and is available with short sleeves, and in women's models.
Nothing but long sleeved Polyester!
Good Hunting!
Regds
Gerard
 
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I used synthetic shirts, but now it would be merino wool long sleeves. 150 light version Smart Wool. It is 100 degree temps here but they are cooler than Cotton & no stench dry very fast.
Only negative is the price difference. Yet old man smell I don't think others appreciate.
 
I also walk in a long-sleeved button-up Columbia Silver Ridge shirt with a collar. It's a very light synthetic that dries quickly. Collar turns up two times for sun protection and sleeves are cut to protect the back of your hands. When you want more air you just roll up the sleeves. But after wearing it for 33 days in a row, my pack did rub a hole in the back. Apart from that, I loved it.
 
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I have 3 long sleeve shirts.

Anthracite insulating zipped T for when it is cool and breezy.

Lightweight merino when warmer.

White linen for hot and sunny.

---

The white shirt is a repurposed dress shirt that sits well in public places.

The merino is the all-time favorite

The tech T is a welcome additional layer when the evening temperature drops below 10
 
Me too - merino fan. Take layers. I have merino singlet, short-sleeved and long sleeved. Beware of quality though. Not all ‘merino’ is ‘merino’. If it’s scratchy, likely is not 100% merino.
Cheers
 
2 points:

1st, another fan of Merino wool. Never cotton. Never-ever Polyester t-shirts, which, when mixed with perspiration = a nasty funk smell. But Merino does not. While sheep smell, their wool is virtually odor free, even when soaked in sweat.

FWIW 150 weight Merino wool is not SPF rated for sun protection.

2nd, back sweat from a back pack. Look for a pack with a mesh suspension system. Many light/small/quality packs have some sort of a mesh suspension backpanel that puts mesh against your back and then an airspace that is typically 1" or more between that mesh panel and the actual pack. The mesh suspension system was originally developed by the founder of Lowe Alpine packs 20+ years ago but the system is now fairly common from many companies.
 
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You'll get as many answers about shirts as you will about Footwear

It will depend a lot on the weather and if you tend to walk 'hot' or 'cold'.

I tend to walk 'hot'. I was unsure what would suit me so I took a selection. I tried these on my Camino (May this year, and it was warm most days).

  1. Polyester / Cotton mix. I only wore this at night, but it would have been OK walking.
  2. Merino. Only wore at night. for warmth. (Lightweight version) Far too hot to walk in.
  3. Tech Nylon. I walked in this.

Whatever you wear, if you tend to sweat a lot, make sure the shirt is loose fitting. Nothing worse than being hot and sweaty and having a shirt 'cling' to you.

I don't quite understand the huge support for Merino. But I suspect the people who like them are slim, not overweight and don't sweat much anyway But I would certainly use them in Winter / Cool weather. i.e. 10 degrees C and below.

If you want to use Merino..........please......please......try them out walking on a hot day. As you should 'test' all your gear of course

Oh, and I wore long sleeve at all times. As well as long pants. (and broad hat, gloves .....)

  1. Firstly for sun protection. saves having to use sun block all the time. And I saw lots of sunburn!
  2. For weather protection. Stops wind chill.
  3. And.....if you want to........you can roll up the sleeves
See the short video on this link called 'avoiding sunburn'. Third one down the page.
http://robscamino.com/7th-of-may-the-way-to-navarrete/
 
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On both my Caminos all I wore were polyester tech type shirts. I had short sleeved and long sleeved ones. They worked perfectly. Kept me cool and dry and were easy to wash and dried quick on the line. They were not that expensive, so if I lost one, no big deal.
I wear them everyday when I go running.
 
What kind of soap do you use to wash your merino wool shirts?
 
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Melensdad said:
The mesh suspension system was originally developed by the founder of Lowe Alpine packs 20+ years ago but the system is now fairly common from many companies.
Click to expand...
I think Deuter was the first to develop a mesh suspension system as we know it today. Greg Lowe (founder of Lowe Alpine and Lowepro) was the developer of the first internal frame backpack, not the mesh suspension system. Prior to that there had been a variety of external frame packs with mesh panels. I still have my old Berghaus Centurion from the late 1970s that had a mesh suspension on an external frame.
 
I use merino in all weathers,a quick overnight or even an hour's airing works wonders.Wash if you must en route but a cold water wash with soap or shampoo is fine-the essential thing to remember is rinse temperature needs to be same as wash temp so old sorts that
Merino in different weights works well for layering
 
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dougfitz said:
I think Deuter was the first to develop a mesh suspension system as we know it today. Greg Lowe (founder of Lowe Alpine and Lowepro) was the developer of the first internal frame backpack, not the mesh suspension system...
Click to expand...
Doug, I think you may be right. I stand corrected. My memory isn't what it used to be. Lowe was internal. Deuter was trampoline/mesh suspensions.



Robo said:
Whatever was available Often Shampoo.

Seriously, you'll get used to washing everything and yourself in the same product..... It's all Soap
Click to expand...
Yup. Merino shirts, washed & rinsed in the sink or even on the body while in the shower, then removed/rinsed and hung to dry.


Sue M 23 said:
I use merino in all weathers,a quick overnight or even an hour's airing works wonders.Wash if you must . . .
Click to expand...
This is an excellent point, somewhat glossed over.

But with Merino you don't have to wash it as often to remove odor. Obviously any shirt needs to be washed if it is dirty.

With technical nylon/poly/etc blends they tend to stink badly when they absorb perspiration. There are anti-microbial treatments that SOME synthetic shirts are treated with, but I find they only work for a while and they don't work all that well. I love the feel of some synthetics and like to use them as sun shirts and often wear synthetic tech shirts at pajama shirts to bed, but I hate the funk and stink that they garner when working, hiking, etc and collect a bit of perspiration.
 
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On day 6 of the Frances now, Torres de Rio. Always long sleeves, have used both 150 gm merino or patagonia's tropical hoody 2. Both working well. Love the thumb holes for more sun protection. Breeze penetrates the Patagonia easier, merino though is cooler in a different way in that polyester dries so quickly that it offers less of the evaporative cooling than merino, as it holds on to moisture a little longer (think swamp cooler)but still dries well when washed. I try to soak myself at fountains.
 
Sounds like your moving well
 
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If you can find a polyester long sleeve T-shirt, that would be great for walking during the day.
https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/ls-tech-tee-20/pcid1249033-600
 
MTtoCamino said:
Sounds like your moving well
Click to expand...

Yes, I did have a short day after an evening of gastronomic indulgence in Zubiri, I stopped at Zabaldika, a wonderful place for reelection and quiet ( almost a retreat from a retreat if that makes any sense) operated by nuns in the Society of the Sacred Heart.
 

actually the shirt must match the intensity of the activity. i'm a big merino fan, but 100% ibex is not the best for high intensity activities. for the camino (on track) my choice would be long sleeve good quality polyester t-shirt. for me an important factor is abrasiveness of the fabric, otherwise my nipples suffer too much, so i usually tape them ...
merino will have less odour at the end of day, but anyway, I think one has to do laundry every night, and there is less hassle with polyester.
for the off track camino activities take whatever you feel is the best for you.
 
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Icebreaker shirts always works for me on the camino. In case of a very long walk or just a rainy day and there is no time to get the laundry dry, you don't start smelling of old sweat after 1 day without washing with wool-shirts, like you will do with polyester-shirts.
 
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I haven't noticed anyone opting for a two-layer shirt system. I am walking the Frances in October-November and my shirts will be the same as I wear for summer in the Canadian Rockies: a light weight short-sleeved merino base layer under a long-sleeved Ex Officio shirt. The outer layer functions as a sun/wind shirt, is sturdy and a 55/45 cotton/polyester blend. It is extremely well vented, has multiple pockets and is super comfortable. I usually wear it open down the front unless it is very windy. See my avatar to the left at the top of a very windy pass last summer. I don't suppose that most people walking a summer camino would find this ideal, but it works very well for me. I have yet to discover whether it will be comfortable and practical for my camino this fall.
 
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Columbia's Tamiami. Hands down. And is usually on sale on Amazon. Long sleeve allows you to roll them up when needed and allows you to tie them around your waist and wear only an undershirt when you get warm.
 
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