The Smartwool Microweight Crew Doesn't Stink...

by Jeff Zuptich
(California)

SmartWool Microweight Crew Hiking Shirt

I've fallen completely in love with a Merino Wool t-shirt. I've worn it nearly every day since I bought it a month ago...

I hand wash it twice a week, once before going hiking, once before wearing it back to work. When I first got the hiking shirt I wore it without showering to see how long it would take for the thing to stink, because every time I buy something that's supposed to fight odor, I reek of B.O. after 5 minutes on the trail. This shirt made it 6 days, I smelled underneath the shirt, but there was only a hint of B.O. on the outside, and I had to hold the armpit up to my nose to smell it. They only come in black and gray so I only plan on getting one extra short sleeve, a long sleeve crew neck, and a mid-weight long sleeve. If Smartwool would make them with prints (and I could afford it) I'd replace all my t-shirts with them. Actually, I'd do it just if I could afford them, I'd just wear the black one.

The sizing seems to be pretty right on. I usually go for a Large when buying base layers so that they wick better, but I'm eternally trying to lose my beer gut, so I'll go XL to cover that up if I'm hiking in Yosemite... since it's like going to the mall for hikers. This shirt is a Large and it fits great.

So far I've worn it on a few hikes but I'm only going to tell you about the High Peaks Trail in Pinnacles National Monument, near Salinas CA, which was 6.9 miles of no shade, long climbs, dicey descents, and a chilly, wet cave at the end. I started out wearing just the shirt directly under my pack. It was about 60 degrees F and in the direct sun, gaining 1600. For the next 3 hours I didn't remove my pack and my back was soaked, partly because my backpack doesn't breath very well. The rest of me was pretty dry for as much as I was sweating, and when I'd stop or a breeze would kick up it would evaporate the moisture and feel darn good. I think that this would be a good product for the desert and dry mountains like the southern Sierra and Rockies.

I finally took my pack off to get out my headlamp for the 1/2 mile cave trail, I put a North Face 1/4 zip mid layer on and went in, the back of my Smartwool was still soaking, and now it was cold and being pressed into my back. Two minutes into the cave and it warmed up. The cave was cold, probably 45 degrees F, but even wet the shirt warmed up. Once back in the car I made my wife smell my pits. I hadn't worn deodorant that day for just this moment. I smelled of a gut wagon on the inside of the shirt, but my wife could smell nothing on the outside. I wore the shirt the whole way home, and that wouldn't have happened if I had stunk. The only problem I see is that the face material is looking a little worn, it's not smooth anymore, but it's not even that noticeable, especially after wearing it for a month, actually going on 6 weeks as I write this.