I have just started sea kayaking in southern Florida and am interested in finding a long sleeved shirt that will be nearly as cool as a short sleeved t-shirt and will provide sun burn protection for a long day on the water. I want to move from SPF 45+ smear-ons to a cool, breathable, fast drying (I’ve rolled alot lately) shirt. Suggestions?
Kokatat
Check the Destination Paddling Shirt from Kokatat, made for warm weather paddling
I have two
One from Rai Riders and one from Solumbra. The Solumbra is better-sewn, but more expensive than the Rail Riders. Both are white, microfiber nylon, with a healthy protection rating. Both continue to work when wet, as opposed to cotton. Both dry relatively quickly. Both are well-ventilated, but nor a cool as a short-sleeved shirt. Another option is some of the shirts found at sporting goods stores such as Dicks that are marketed as “fishing shirts”.
http://www.sunprecautions.com
http://www.railriders.com/
Jim
Waterproof Clothes
Has anyone compared these 3 products? Also looking for the same in pants, gloves, hats, and socks.
Rather be protected with clothes than oil everywhere. Need to be cool for the South.
Cotton Shirts
My “normal” paddle wear clothing is all synthetic. I have two white North Face LS shirts, that feel like cotton and dry very quickly. However, for Florida and south Texas, I wear cotton. Picked up some Columbia “fly fishing” shirts at Beals, in Crystal River, for about 50% off. Far too many usless pockets, but a comfortable and cool sun shirt.
My hat is a white (well, it used to be) duck Tilly. Even in 100 degree+ sun, the top feels cool (reflects the sun very well). Keeps the sun off my face, and is relatively waterproof. Doubles as my hiking hat and works just fine in the desert SW as well as Pac NW.
Chuck
RailRiders
I just talked to the folks at RailRiders and put in an order for shirt, pants, and hat. Fantastic customer service:
http://www.railriders.com/
RailRiders
Did they recommend the Eco-mesh or Adventure Top?
Which shirt did you buy?
Eco-Mesh
It depends on style and preference. I bought the Eco-Mesh shirt and pants.
I have used a
poly blend Underarmor lite shirt. Seems to work well and dries quickly. Similar to rsh guard or other lite materials.
Big thread on this a few weeks ago
seems that bass pro shops had the lead in supples shirts as far as the low end value goes.
I use a supplex shirt and have for years, like it a lot. Wears like iron.
supplex or microfiber nylon is worth the money. It is inherently sun protective, and never clammy.
My 2 cents
peter k, is right; supplex shirts
are the way to go, and k-mart has a knockoff columbia shirt thats 20 bucks instead of 60. that other fancy stuff is for tilley afficianados. and blood washes out of supplex if rinsed while still wet.
Sun shirts…
I’ve been using Bass Pro Shops own brand, World Wide Sportsman Pro IV. It has a vented back and sides which keeps me very cool. It’s made of Supplex and has a sun protection factor of UBF 40. I also have the same type shirts from Columbia and Ex Officio. I like the feel of the Ex Officio nylon/polyester blend, it’s very soft and not as noisy as the Supplex. But at half the price, the Bass Pro Shops works just fine:
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=53000&hvarDept=600&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=4&hvarSubCode=3&hvarTarget=browse
If what kmart has is supplex
I’m going tomorrow and buying 5. Thanks
Sun Precautions
I received this email. It seems Sun Precations is not the way to go unless one is looking for warmth.
Thank you for contacting Sun Precautions.
Solumbra is a nylon based material and can be worn wet or dry and will
still maintain a 30+ SPF. We also have garments that are made out of
lycra and designed specifically for water wear. However, they are to
be only worn in the water. If you wear them when you are out of the
water, you may get too warm. We currently offer the Solumbra Surf Shirt
(1640K04) the Zip Water Shirt (1620K04) and the Water Legs (2600K04).
To view these items online, you can enter the style number into the
Search field and be directed to the page.
Check out
www.solarveil.com They make shirts,hats,and pants. It is a see through material that the wind blows through,but it really works.You stay cool,and protected from the sun.
Dave
Let’s seeabout Solarveil
a single layer blocks 70 % of UV. a massive protection factor of three. compared to 30 from the bassmasters shirts.
Solarveil claims no UPF (ultraviolet protection factor), always talking about percentages of uv rays blocked.
I counsel caution!