The Great Outdoors – July 2019

72 The Great Outdoors July 2019

Hiking shirts

Gear Editor Chris Townsend explains why a button-down shirt works for him in summer

I

In warm weather a hiking shirt (often called

a trekking or travel shirt) is often cooler,

comfier and more versatile than a wicking

base layer. Good ones can provide protection

against sunshine, biting insects and breezes.

The best materials are woven nylon and

polyester. Whilst they don’t transport

moisture quite as well as wicking base layers

these thin synthetic fabrics absorb very little

water and dry fast. I find a loose fit gives good

air flow and reduces dampness as well as

being cool and comfortable. Short sleeves are

airy and cool but useless against insects and

hot sunshine so I prefer long sleeves, which I

can roll up when I want cooler arms.

Hiking shirts are also surprisingly

effective worn under other layers, as I found

on the GR5 through the Alps last autumn

during cold, wet weather. You can wear a

wicking base layer under a hiking shirt if

necessary too.

While hiking shirts are ideal for hot-

weather walking abroad (as well as the GR5

in the Alps I’ve worn them on the Arizona

Trail, the High Sierra and Death Valley

to mention a few) I like them for British

summers too. I wore one on my Scottish

Watershed walk, which was more wet and

windy than warm, and it performed well.

I’ve also worn one on the TGO Challenge.

I find the best shirts are ones with large

pockets. Much of the year I wear a windproof

or waterproof jacket over a base layer and

carry small items in the jacket pockets.

Shirt pockets are great when it’s too warm

for such a jacket. As hiking shirts are also

somewhat wind-resistant I find them good

substitutes for a windshirt/base layer combo

when it’s too hot for the latter.

Although often made from high-tech

materials, hiking shirts are not very

technical garments and style is more

a matter of personal preference than

performance. I find loose-fitting shirts with

big pockets closed with Velcro or studs –

buttons can be fiddly – and long sleeves that

roll up easily the most versatile.

Hiking shirts are quite light and can

also be carried to wear in towns and when

travelling. Many are made from crease-

resistant fabrics and can lo okay surprisingly

presentable after days in a rucksack. I find

rolling the shirt rather than folding it is the

way to minimise creasing. Because they dry

so quickly, sweaty synthetic hiking shirts

rinsed out in camp will usually be wearable

the next morning.

Páramo

Katmai Light

£65 210g (men’s M)

silky fabric, roomy pockets,

wide cuffs, quite light

nothing

Fabric: Parameta A polyester

Front closure: buttons

Pockets: 2 Velcro-closed, 1 zipped

security, 1 zipped map

Cuffs: Velcro

Vent s: none

Sizes: men: S-X XL, women: XS-XL

(Socorro Shirt – no Velcro pockets)

paramo.co.uk

This shirt has been my favourite for over a

decade now, and my first one has worn out.

The latest version is exactly the same design

and fabric as the original, the only difference

being that it’s now available in a check

pattern as well as a plain colour.

The Katmai Light is made from Páramo’s

Parameta A polyester, a silky-feeling fabric

that draws perspiration away from the skin

and spreads it over a large area to provide

fast evaporation. In hot weather this helps

to keep you cool. In cold weather it helps

keep you warm by drying fast. The fabric

is wind-resistant and has an SPF of 50+

plus a dense weave that deters biting

insects. The shirt is very comfy to wear.

The design is excellent. The sleeves

have wide Velcro-closed cuffs without

the usual open slit so when closed,

biting insects are kept out. When

open there’s good ventilation and

the sleeves are easy to roll up.

The pockets are the best

on any shirt I’ve tried. There

are two roomy bellows

pockets on the chest

easily big enough for GPS,

smartphones, notebooks

and more. Velcro tabs make

these pockets easy to access

compared with ones with

buttons. There’s a zipped security

pocket inside one of them. There’s

also a big map-size pocket with a vertical

jetted zip that’s almost invisible.

The hem is straight cut and the shirt

is long enough to stay in trousers when

tucked in. The weight and packed bulk

are low, and the fabric resists creasing

extremely well. I can’t fault this shirt.

Gear comparative review

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5

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4

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