Staying dry (shirts)

[Offbeat]

Merino wool yes!

I have base layers which are made from 100% Merino wool. The base layers from Merino wool get consistently ranked very well for active sports. Usually in cold or freezing conditions. They are most expensive (the least inexpensive ones start at $50). I have seen multiday hikers, skiiers, mountaineers, backpackers and bikers write glowing reviews about Merino wool base layers. The high performing ones if I recall correctly have some synthethic material woven in the Merino wool fibers/threads when used for base layers.

I wear 100% Merino wool long sleeve T-shirts. The material is lot thinner than traditional sweaters. They quickly build up the heat and cause sweating during any physical activity. I almost never wear the Merino wool t-shirts for salsa dancing. They don't wick. The base layers do but not the t-shirts I have. They act more like thin sweaters than athletic wear.

 

[Smejmoon]

I love merino, but it's too hot for dancing. Fortunately, same as for linen, wool fiber does not collapse when wet like cotton.

 

[Mr Setenta]

Merino is quite good, if you can find it thin enough not to overheat.

As a heavy sweater, the combination of a tight-ish cotton "wife beater" and a looser cotton shirt works best for me. The wife beater will ensure that the front of my shirt (my main problem area) isn't soaked.

I'm not a fan of taking breaks.

 

[Al Israel]

I have had good luck with a tencel tshirt shirt I bought. Looks more casual than linen and wrinkles less. Tencel/Lyocell for guys is hard to find but worth looking for IMO.

 

[Offbeat]

I have had good luck with a tencel tshirt shirt I bought. Looks more casual than linen and wrinkles less. Tencel/Lyocell for guys is hard to find but worth looking for IMO.

How quickly does it dry after washing?

I now travel only with carry on. For my current two weeks trip where I am dancing almost every day, I have packed six shirts, four t-shirts, six under shirts, four pants, plus sleep wear + light warm puff jacket + formal jacket/coat + two pairs of dance shoes. It is challenging to pack all that plus the electronics, medicines, toiletaries, etc and keep it under 10Kgs. My laptop/iPad plus chargers and phones by themselves weight 2kgs. The bag itself is at 2 Kgs and is one of the lightest and sturdiest carry-on of 40 or 45 liter capacity. If I have camera, that is additional 2Kgs.

All that means not only should shirts be light enough to not add weight but also quick to dry after washing.

Last night’s after party had worse heat of any party I ever been to. A guy from Germany said that a place/club like that would be shut down there in less than 2 weeks by authorities. Everyone was dancing one dance and then going outside to sit out two songs. Humidity must have been close to 99% in there!! No AC. Only fans which weren’t effective. My friend changed shirt thrice. I had four shirts in my bag.

 

[AToyane]

I have had good luck with a tencel tshirt shirt I bought. Looks more casual than linen and wrinkles less. Tencel/Lyocell for guys is hard to find but worth looking for IMO.

Tencel is pretty great at keeping you cool. The issue I have with tencel is that it's quite absorbent as well.
There is a great direct-to-consumer brand, Seagale, that makes good merino-tencel t-shirts for both men and women. These are my travel and dance tshirts.

 

[Offbeat]

Tencel is pretty great at keeping you cool. The issue I have with tencel is that it's quite absorbent as well.
There is a great direct-to-consumer brand, Seagale, that makes good merino-tencel t-shirts for both men and women. These are my travel and dance tshirts.

I checked their site. It seems to be a French company based in Toulon. I like the selection there. Tencel t-shirts, unstructured jackets and merino shirts. I like that they are focused on performance wear and not using usual suspects for the fabric.

But they all are extremely pricey!! 250 euros for a merino shirt!