Gear Review

Mountain Hardwear Wicked-T

1. Cool Synthetic Mesh
2. Sun Protection
3. Quick-Dry
4. Low-friction comfort

The Mountain Hardwear Wicked-T has earned a place as a gear staple for me—it's my favorite synthetic top by far.

Made from a soft, open 'jersey mesh' polyester, the Wicked-T is comfortable and cool against the skin. You can wear it in warm conditions that would normally necessitate a cotton top without overheating.

This is a technical top, to be sure, with a variety of important details that make it an excellence choice in the backcountry.

Among them: the Wicked-T uses offset seams and a low-friction exterior to make the shirt especially comfortable when wearing a heavy backpack.

The Wicked-T also does an outstanding job of evaporating off moisture.

Get the Wicked-T wet, and it dries out as fast or faster than any other syntethic fabric I've tried. Oddly enough, this can be a bit of a liability in extremely warm weather: you may find the Wicked-T evaporates sweat so efficiently, you end up needing to drink extra water to keep up.

I prefer the Wicked-T in its long sleeve version, for extra sun protection. Despite the fabric's open mesh, Mountain Hardwear rates the Wicked-T with a sun protection factor of 35—easily better than cotton.

When I'm not wearing it alone, the Wicked-T makes for a fine base layer. The fabric's very low friction coefficient keeps it from snagging or bunching up beneath your other clothing layers—again, enhancing comfort.

The Wicked-T comes in a variety of rich color hues, for the fashion-conscious. For warm weather, of course, pick the lighter colors.

Last but not least, the Wicked T is significantly lighter than other T shirts: 4.6 ounces for a men's medium. Beat that!

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