Long-Sleeve Adventure Travel Shirts
By Tessa Matthews

In the long-sleeve shirt category, I field tested three long sleeve adventure travel shirts: Ex Officio's Baja Plus, Gramicci's Ventilate-Her, and Sportif's Cirrus Outdoor. All of the travel shirts in this review are relatively lightweight, multi-purpose shirts, with moisture management systems designed for city to field wear. At first glance, the shirts are not too different from each other, but after testing, there were distinct features that stood out for each.

I reviewed the following shirts:
Ex Officio Baja Plus
Gramicci Ventilate-Her
Sportif USA Cirrus Outdoor

Ex Officio Baja Plus
Sugested Retail Price: $82

Overall, the Editor's Choice goes to Ex Officio. It is clearly the most versatile and feature- driven of all the shirts, and makes no sacrifices in its quality of construction. This is a shirt you will consider a well-made investment. Its sturdiness is evident in the fabric, reinforced seams, and the ease of maintenance. While each of the shirts offers several features, the Baja Plus has every feature and then some. The back has deep pleats, which offer extra room for airflow, and hidden Velcro closures under the arms open to mesh for good air ventilation. Hidden mesh vents also produce good airflow along the sides of the Baja Plus.

This Baja Plus is the only one with a strong cord locker loop on the back, shoulder patches for extra reinforcement, and a handy Velcro utility tab which works great to hold your fly-fishing pole in place while re-rigging. I found myself liking the shirt before testing, if only for the amazing features (which, in all reality, I may never fully use).

The Baja Plus tested well for city wear. The shirt's cut is slightly tapered (women's version) and the fabric looks formal enough to wear out shopping or casually dining. It crosses over well into the field for hiking and other outdoor sports. I went from work to a 2-mile hike for fly-fishing. The shirt is well ventilated and I kept relatively cool. It does not dry as quickly as the others when wet-I would not recommend it for wearing around water, but it performs well for a crossover between city and field. The shirt does wrinkle despite its wrinkle free claim, although it isn't a serious problem. It will wrinkle if stuffed in a backpack, requiring quick ironing to look it's best.

Summary: Expensive, but consider it a great investment. Features I didn't even realize I needed until I used them, all rolled into well-constructed and flattering shirt. On the downside, slight wrinkling after use or washing and slow drying makes it less desirable around water.

Ex Officio at -206-283-1471 or on the Internet at www.exofficio.com

Gramicci Ventilate-Her
Sugested Retail Price: $64

The Gramicci Ventilate-Her follows through with the company's overall theme in apparel-"less is more". The shirt is simple, offering only the most necessary features, but boasting great comfort, style, and lightweight. The features include mesh ventilation under the arms and a large hidden back air vent for breathability. Front pockets close via Velcro tabs, which made the pockets much easier to open than full Velcro strips, but also left some room for small items to fall out if you bend over. Pockets on the front do not expand, unlike the other shirts. The Ventilate-Her is made for comfort, not for features. For hiking, it feels great, and breathes well. The fabric is lightweight, so the shirt is comfortable to wear and trouble free to pack if you want to wear just a T-shirt.

Gramicci always does a great job with making clothes that you want to wear just because they are comfortable-to hell with technology and fancy coatings or technology. They make clothes that have a great fit, are made of natural fabrics and quickly become closet favorites because they just feel and look good. Gramicci President Don Love, gave me a quick tour of the Gramicci line at a recent Outdoor Retailer show, and his passion and commitment to the product line are both entertaining and contagious. Colors aren't Maize and Chestnut. He calls it like it is-yellow and brown. He frowns on moisture management technology saying instead that Gramicci sticks to the basics and that's why you'll love wearing them. Period. He's right. The clothes are simple, but steady favorites in our tests.

Other great characteristics of the Ventilate-Her are the fact that it dries very quickly, and looks just as great after washing or stuffing in a backpack all day. You cannot destroy this shirt. It looks the same after one month of wear as is does after one day of wear. Other testers found this shirt to be their favorite for backpacking, despite the lack of reinforced shoulders, because of its lightweight and quick drying.

Summary: On the upside, shirt is extremely comfortable and fits like a dream. Lightest weight. It keeps you cool outside, resists wrinkles, and dries very quickly. On the downside, does not offer some of the features like expandable or secure pockets, shoulder patches for backpacking, or helpful utility tabs.

Contact Gramicci at (800) 814-5000 or on the Internet at www.gramicci.com

Sportif USA Cirrus Outdoor
Sugested Retail Price: $67.00

Sportif's Cirrus Outdoor offers a middle ground between the Ex Officio's Baja Plus and the Gramicci Ventilate-Her. The underarm mesh vents has a zipper-closure. The zipper is more visible, which I didn't like, but I found it much easier to open or close than the full Velcro closure on the Baja Plus. Big kudos to Sportif for the expandable pockets, which made it easier to pack small items I wanted readily accessible-like fruit leather, (you should always keep food close to the mouth), a map, and a compass.

My main complaint with the Cirrus is the lack of a back vent. The shirt works well as a wash and wear. It dries quickly, requires no ironing, and is lightweight enough to pack easily. The 100% nylon fabric is more water-resistant than the other shirts, giving it a slight windbreaker feel. It breathes well as you get hotter, but seems to do better than the other shirts in blocking-out wind or water. I liked the weight and feel of the fabric.

This is a great field product as both a stand-alone item or as a cover over a cotton high-performance tee. I am inclined to wear it in the field, and less inclined to wear in the city, although it could go both ways. It lacked the feminine styling that made the Baja Plus a good choice for crossover wear, such as nice pleats or a slightly tapered waist. This is a "play-hard" shirt. I wore it hiking in the rainforest of Cancun and sailing on a Catamarran. It passed the test well and I would recommend it as the best shirt for water and wind.

Summary: On the upside, offers a happy medium of practical features, and the fabric is conducive to high performance in heat, wind and water. Expandable pockets are well designed, and zipper pit vents are easy to use. On the downside, it does not have a back vent, and styling is not as appealing as the other shirts. Practical, not pretty.

Contact Sportif USA at 800-776-7843 or on the Internet at www.sportif.com

Tessa Mathews is Contributing Editor for GearReview.com.