Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Rail Riders Eco Mesh Shirt









This is another great item from Rail Riders. The Eco Mesh shirt is a great summer time shirt. Even being long sleeved this shirt is made for warm weather. One idea behind using a light weight long sleeve shirt in the warmer weather is protection from the sun. This shirt does that well with a UPF of 30+.

When you pick this shirt up you you'll notice that it weighs practically nothing in your hand... in fact they call this 2 ply 3 oz. Duralite material "featherweight nylon". The light weight material, along with the loose fit and side mesh panels make this shirt very breezy. The side mesh panels (made from Coolmax) run up from the waist through the arm pits and all the way to the wrists. There is also a mesh vent about 1/3 of the way down the back.

The neck opening runs low in a V-neck and can be held closed via a velcro tab. There is also a small strip of loop velcro on the inside of the shirt on the side with the velcro tab so the tab can be folded in when you don't want to use it.

The sleeves utilize a strong elastic at the wrists.

On the left chest is what Rail Rider's calls a guide pocket. This pocket runs horizontal and uses 2 velcro tabs for a closure. This pocket is easy to get into and is allows better access when wearing a pack. To keep the weight low and add in ventilation the inner material of the pocket is coolmax mesh as well.

As for sizing. I normally wear a medium t-shirt, so that's what I ordered for this shirt. Being only 5'5" tall the sleeves hung a little low at the wrists. The shirt is a little baggier than I would like, but this is mostly by design to allow air flow through the shirt.

Another aspect of the material this shirt is made of is that it's wicking and fast drying, which make it great for summer wear and wear around water. The material is also very wrinkle and odor-resistant. This wrinkle resistance and the light weight make it great for packing.

I haven't gotten a ton of use out of this shirt yet, but it does seem to be just as durable as the other Rail Rider's clothing I've used....which for those that haven't used their gear it's very durable. I have been getting more use out of this shirt this summer and expect to get more use out of it in the next months. I will update this review as necessary, but I expect great things from all of Rail Rider's gear.

100% Nylon
Coolmax mesh

Total weight: 6.8 oz.

Colors: White, Birch, Coastal Blue, glacier, honeydew, pale yellow.
Sizes: Sm-XXL

MSRP $58.00


Walking the Erie Canal Trail

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