Reviews > Clothing > Shirts > Fieldsheer Mobile Cooling SS Shirt > Test Report by joe schaffer

Product: Mobile Cooling Shirt

Manufacturer:  Fieldsheer Apparel Technologies

    Website: http://www.fieldsheer.com
    Features: from website

    Drirelease® GEO Cool Knit allows motion flexibility that can reduce skin temperature up to 7° F (4C)
    Sunsheer™’s UV protection up to 50+ UPF
    Odorsheer™ Anti-Odor technology prevents odor causing bacterial growth
    Sweatsheer™ technology wicks moisture away
    Flat-lock seams prevent rubbing and chafing
    Crew neck for men
    V-neck for women
    Short sleeve raglan design
    Ventilated mesh back, sides, and underarm panels
    92% Recycled Polyester 8% Spandex Outer
    91% Recycled Polyester 9% Spandex Contrast
    Womens sizes: XS-XL
    Mens sizes: SM-3XL
     
     Colors: Blue, Morel, Cerulean, Coyote (requested & received)

     Sizes: SM, MD, LG, XL, 2X, 3X

My Specs:  Men's L
        Weight: 5 oz (141 g)
        Dimensions:
             length from shoulder: 26 in (66 cm)
             neck opening 7x3 in (18x7.6 cm)
             sleeve length from pit: 5 1/2 in (14 cm)
             waist cuff circumference: 45 in (114 cm)
             chest circumference: 44 in (112 cm)

Country of origin: China
            
MSRP: US $34.99 (sale price $26.24 as of 6/30/21)

Warranty: One (1) year manufacturing defect warranty from date of purchase.

Return Policy: Within 30 days in original condition; unworn with tags attached.

Received: June 28, 2021

My Description:
    This light-weight short-sleeve tee features smooth taffeta front and sleeves with a type of waffle or stipple-finish polyester on the back and sides. The material is quite stretchy. Seams are flat-sewn. Sleeve and waist cuffs are double-row stitching. Crew neck is finished in back with a blue strip sewn into the inside seam; along with a small grosgrain loop. Logo, size and origin are paint-stamped at the top of the back inside of neck; the logo is paint-stamped at the bottom front left of the garment and also with a blue accent at the outside top back of neck. Care tag is sewn to an inside seam at the bottom front left.

     Care instructions are to machine wash cold; no bleach; tumble dry low heat; do not iron; do not dry clean.
 
Impressions:
   The fit for me is just right across the shoulders and chest. For a wicking shirt it seems a little loose below; and to say that my shape often fills out many garments in that area would not be hyperbolic stretching. I don't find any itchy spots or rubbing points. It seems to breathe very well. I notice the stretch a little bit in the upper part of the shirt, but as floppy as it is in the lower part not at all. The neck front rides a little high.

    I don't find any loose threads or missed or otherwise buggered stitches. The shirt looks well-made. It appears to be wrinkle-free, which as a tee shirt enthusiast stands as a firm requirement. Care instructions suit me to a T.

    First part of the test will be to get under a load on a warm day and check the Sweatsheer Moisture Wicking technology hydrologic fiber claim of fast-dry; and especially that the shirt will provide hours of sweat-free comfort. Then to verify whether the material deflects 97% of UV--I should be marshmallow white under the sleeves with exposed arms looking like hotdogs if the Sunsheer works. (Generally I don't hike in short sleeves, but the ambitious tester must at times sacrifice.) And of course, to see if the anti-microbial Odorsheer claim of less odor and longer garment life seems supported in the field.
   

FIELD REPORT

Field Conditions:
   1. Jun 28-Jul 10, 2021: Home wearing, 98 hours.
    2. Jul 12-22, 2021: Emigrant Wilderness, California, USA. 11 days, 24 mi (39 km) mostly trail; leave weight 42 lb (19 kg); 40-90 F (4-32 C), mostly hot and calm with one showery day; 7,200-9,000 ft (2,200-2,700 m); 7 camps. 3 1/2 mi (6 k) hiking; 138 hours wearing.
    3. Aug 4-9, 2021: Stanislaus National Forest, California, USA. 5 nights; 50-80 F (10-27 C); 5,900-8,000 ft (1,800-2,400 m); 4 camps. 60 hours wearing.  

Impressions:
     Suffering a bout of home-grown illness I sought any comfort available. About all I could find was this shirt and a pair of test pants. I wore both for four days straight before mustering the gumption to get out of bed and shower; for which I did remove both garments.

     Finally after 10 days of pouting around the house I ventured into the outback, thinking I might as well feel crappy in the tent as at home. I wore the shirt on the first day's hike. I left the car in putrefying heat. It was so hot that my teeth were burning my cheeks. Far too hot for two shirts, I thumbed a nose at the skin cancer gods and trekked boldly off in only the tee. (Certainly I throw my body willingly into the test, and was not thinking about having to send the shirt back if I failed to use it backpacking.) I liked the shirt so much at home that I really would rather have not risked ratting it up under a backpack.

     In three hours of stultifying heat, the last of which was spent in a tortuous tangle of windfallen trees so intense that at one point I flopped on a log and came to tears wondering how I would claw my way clear, the vendor claim of staying dry proved out. The shirt was wet under the pack straps, of course, but nowhere else. I find this hard to believe. I expected to be sweating like a 7-11 hotdog and kept wiping the front of the shirt in disbelief. Therefore, I conclude that the Sweatsheer Moisture Wicking technology hydrologic fiber claim of hours of sweat-free comfort is entirely valid.

    Persistence, a couple of GPS temptations that I was within a tenth of a mile (0.16 k) and essentially having no other options finally got me staggering to my destination. I watered up and doused the shirt in my jug-bowl, squeezing it out only slightly before putting it back on. The coolness helped bring body temp below melting, though the saturation made the shirt feel clammy. It got much more comfortable as the fabric dried and regained its breathability. I don't know how long it took to dry completely, and as heat-stricken and exhausted as I was it could have been quickly and seemed a long time. It did dry completely, and I left it on until the next day's splash bath.

    In a circumstance I don't ever recall previously, I actually felt hotter with the shirt off. Surprised at this possibility I waited for about an hour after splash-bath before putting the shirt back on. Indeed, I got immediately less uncomfortable as the stickiness abated. The temperature was 90 F (32 C) in the shade with a humidity level sucking wet off the tongue. I was on the verge of plopping into the remains of the creek, but a vision from several years ago in that puddle of a long snake swimming between my feet disabused me of the notion. (I don't know if Sierra rattlesnakes swim, and that one definitely was not a viper, but seeking comfort in the potential company of writhing serpents just doesn't work for this snake-averse camper.)

    Another bath observation proved the vendor's UV deflection claim. I was still pasty-white under the tee sleeves, with forearms red as aforementioned hotdog. The back of my neck was also hot for a couple days.

     To my dismay though not much surprise, the shirt did pill at several contact points under the pack suspension. Fortunately these only occurred in back, so only someone standing astern is going to give a rat's behind. I was actually surprised that having endured outright treachery in the grasp of the snag gods for an hour, the shirt was not torn or otherwise damaged by the immersive tangle of brush in the last two-tenths-mile (300 m) of thrashing about.

    Between the heat and the lingering travails of what I believe was a bout of e-Coli poisoning I spent four days in one spot and wore the shirt virtually all of that time. In that time I concluded my hike-testing of the shirt was completed. I didn't want to pill the shirt any more; and the neck and forearms eschewed any further bare exposure to relentless UV radiation in smothering heat. The only exercise I got was keeping my chair in the shade. When finally I felt like hiking again I stowed the tee for non-sun camp use only. I find the shirt wonderfully comfortable for lounging and sleeping.

    Most often I cannot wear a new shirt for any length of time before a skin reaction develops. I wore this shirt about 72 hours continuously and 98 hours total at home without any rash at all. I washed it knowing I'd be wearing it a lot on the outing. Commonly I find the best synthetics comfortable until they get gummy. In 138 hours of wearing the shirt on this trip, it still felt terrific.

    Third trip I slept in the shirt every night as well as evenings and early morning in camp. I now note a half-dozen spots of pilling on the back. I don't know what would have caused the additional pilling from the initial torture under a backpack.

     The neck front is too high. The cuff doubles over. While such light material doesn't choke, it presents a minor annoyance. After a couple days  it snags in stubble. I don't prefer V or scoop neck, but I also don't like the cuff piling and rubbing at the bottom of the Adam's apple.

Accumulated wearing: 296 hours. Hiking: 3.5 mi (5 km). Machine washes: 1.

Reviews > Clothing > Shirts > Fieldsheer Mobile Cooling SS Shirt > Test Report by joe schaffer