Thought pretty hard about this subject during some very wet adventures over the summer ! Initial conclusions :
- Cotton T shirts and Shirts are only OK when it is hot and going to stay hot (having said that the Norgee manages quite well because of the loop-stitch interior, until it wets out)
- If the weather is changeable or you will be exerting yourself hard in a cold climate, then merino or synthetic T-shirts are the way to go or you will end up shivering.
- Especially don't wear a cotton shirt mid-layer in a clothing system or it will end up like a wet sponge and be wet long after your body heat has dried everything else out
- Merino is great and odour free but if you are working out hard it wets out and stays wet a long time compared to good synthetics.
Therefore, after a few shivers in this Scottish summer, I now go for a synthetic base layer T-shirt ( and I find Lowe Alpine ones are my favorite), over that a light fleece (any) or Ullefrotte rather than a cotton shirt, and over that a Swanni or heavy fleece.
When the weather really suits, I have a heavy cotton Craghoppers shirt that I really like, but in Scotland that's a pretty rare event.
Just my opinions
NS
