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Reviews > Clothing > Shirts > tasc Hybrid Fitted Long Sleeve Tee > Test Report by alex leggtasc Hybrid Fitted LST Tee Shirt
Test Series by Alex Legg Initial Report: December 16th, 2012 Field Report: March 5th, 2012 Long Term Report: May 8th, 2012  Picture from http://tascperformance.com/ Tester Information: Name: Alex Legg Age: 30 Gender: Male Height: 6'4" (1.9 m) Weight: 195 lbs (88 kg) Email address: alexlegg2 AT yahoo DOT com City, State, Country: Tucson, Arizona, USA Backpacking Background: I grew up backpacking in the Rockies. I hike ranges near Tucson, Arizona during winter, Colorado during summer. I carry a light pack, mostly water. I make shelter with a tarp whenever possible to reduce my pack weight from my two person tent. I enjoy day hikes, but I am known to spend as many as 5 days out. Temperatures range from below freezing to above 100 F (38 C), and elevations from 2,000 ft (600 m) to 14,000 ft (4,300 m). I bag a peak almost every weekend, and walk my dogs daily through deep sand and overgrown mesquite trees in our local washes. Product Information and Specifications: Manufacturer: thriv NP inc. Year of Manufacture: 2011 URL: http://tascperformance.com/ Listed Weight: Not listed Actual Weight: 220 g (7.8 oz) Size: L Available Sizes: S - XXL Color: Heather Grey Available Color: Navy, Black, Heather Grey MSRP: US $40.00  The tasc Hybrid Fitted LST fits really snug. It is the type of shirt that if I was in the gym every day, I would look great in. Unfortunately, due to a torn muscle in my chest, I have not been in a gym for six months, so it doesn't fit me quite like the guy on the manufacturer's website. The shirt is not too small, and it fits to the exact contours of my upper body. I feel that the sleeves fit closer to my skin than most form fitting base layers that I have worn, especially in the forearm area. I can actually wear it as a base layer below a base layer. It took a little getting used to the tight fit, but once I acclimated to it, it became a very comfortable shirt. It's very lightweight and breathable, when I held it up to a light, I could see right through it. The shoulders are ventilated more so than the rest of the shirt, and this is also noticeable when held up to a light. The 160 GSM performance fabric is fitted and made of 55% organic cotton, 40% Viscose from bamboo, and 5% Elastane. The manufacturer's website says that the flex-fiv performance fabric: allows maximum air-flow and temperature regulation with minimum weight, naturally draws perspiration from the skin and wicks moisture, naturally protects you from the sun's rays and retains little heat, and naturally remains odor free. I wore the shirt on a long hike the day after receiving it, and the fabric managed to wick my moisture to the outside of the shirt where it quickly dried. I never felt uncomfortably hot or cold. The temperature was around 45 F (7 C) in the morning and 55 F (13 C) in the mid afternoon as I climbed from 2400 ft to 7000 ft (732 m to 2,134 m). The tight fit was really comfortable while hiking. The fabric was very soft on my skin, and didn't rub underneath my backpack straps. I look forward to getting it in the field for longer trips to test the warmth and of course the ever important odor control feature.  I never knew that bamboo could be made into a wearable fabric, but it seems like a cool idea. Bamboo grows so fast that it is quickly becoming recognized as a base for sustainable products from flooring to paper. This is a comfortable shirt that seems to wick very well. It is soft and stretchy and it's form fitting feature makes it a great base layer for the colder trips. I am anxious to see how it holds up to extended use, as I tend to be hard on my gear. Thanks to thrive NP inc. and BackpackGearTest.org for the chance to test this product. Field Report:
March 5, 2012  Field Conditions:I have worn the tasc Hybrid Fitted LST on nearly every hiking and backpacking trip that I have taken since I received it. A few of them will be addressed in this report. I went to the Rincon range in Saguaro National Park for a 3 day 2 night trip with one base camp. It got down to 32 F (0 C) at camp in the early morning while making breakfast at 8,000 ft (2,438 m). The shirt went to the summit of two peaks, Tanque Verde at 7,049 ft (2,149 m), and Rincon at 8,482 ft (2,585 m). I wore the shirt on a two day, 20 mile (32 km) trip in the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. I began at an elevation of 2,600 ft (792 m), and climbed as high as 7,900 ft (2,408 m) on the top of Cathedral Rock. The temperature ranged widely from the mid 30s F (0 C) before the sun came up, to the upper 70s F (20s C) in the middle of the afternoon. The shirt came along on a 3 day 2 night trip along a portion of the Arizona Trail from the Mexican border to the town of Patagonia. I started at around 5,600 ft (1,707 m) and got as high as about 8,400 ft (2,560 m). The temperature ranged from 40 F (4 C) before the sun came up in the mornings, to around 75 F (24 C) by mid day. Performance in the Field:
 The shirt has worked great as a base layer as well as a single layer. I generally carry two base layers while hiking in Arizona during the winter so that I can switch them out as one gets sweaty and I start to get cold. I like how quickly this shirt dries. It's a far faster process than my other light weight base layers and not even comparable to how slow cotton dries. Sometimes I change into another layer while I sit down after a long climb, and within ten or so minutes, the shirt is dry and ready to be worn again. If I choose not to put it back on right away, the shirt can be wadded up and stuffed into some of the tinniest of pockets.  I
like the form-fitting feature of the shirt. Not that I want to
prance around town with it on, it's so tight that I feel a bit
self-conscious, but when I'm on the trail and no one is around I love
it. It is a good shirt for those days where the morning is
chilly, but the afternoon gets progressively warmer. I feel
comfortable in this shirt from about 45 F (7 C) to near 80 F (27 C),
but I think any more than that and I would have to shed the shirt. Many of the hikes I have been on while wearing this shirt have had little to no shade from the sun. One of the original reasons that I was interested in this shirt is because of the 50 UPF sun protection claimed by the manufacturer. I can honestly say that I have yet to get sunburned through the fabric, and that is something that happens to me often down in the Sonoran Desert. (This is a lot of water for the Catalina Mountains North of Tucson) As of now I am noticing some wear along the seams of the shirt. There are very pronounced white colored seams on the outside of the shirt, and they are wearing and starting to show loose threads in many areas. To the credit of the construction of the shirt, I have to admit that I am very hard on my gear, sometimes wearing it for days on end through all sorts of tough terrain. I sometimes lay down in running water to cool off, and I periodically lay down on the dirt and rocks along the trail while I try and catch my breath from long difficult climbs. I don't think the loose threads have affected the strength or performance of the shirt at this point, but I am curious as to what I will be saying on my long term report. The shirt is going to see a lot more cactus and thorn bushes before I'm done with it! (Seam starting to fray along the right arm)  Summary: I like this shirt. It is actually my favorite lightweight base layer at this point. It is very comfortable. The fabric feels soft and stretchy against my skin. I am concerned that I may end up testing it so hard that it eventually rips and falls off my body while I'm half way up a mountain, but for now it is holding up. I think that the 50 UPF sun protection does in fact work, this is a very important feature in sunny Southern Arizona where shade trees can be miles/kilometers away. Pros: 1. Comfortable 2. Good wicking abilities 3. 50 UPF sun protection 4. Dries very fast Cons: 1. Starting to fray at the seams 2. A little too form fitting for me to wear much in public Long Term Report:
May 7th, 2012 Field Conditions: During the long term testing period, the tasc Hybrid Fitted LST came on many backpacking trips and day hikes. I will highlight a few of them below.  I wore the shirt on an overnight trip to the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson. The elevation ranged from 5,400 ft to 9,453 ft (1,646 m to 2,881 m) on top of Mt. Wrightson. Temperatures ranged from the low 50s F to the mid 70s F. (10 C to 21 C) I hiked around 20 m (32 km) in total as I wandered around the wilderness and bagged the tallest peak. The shirt came along on a 2-night, 3-day trip to Coconino National Forest in northern Arizona. Temperatures ranged from 32 F to 65 F (0 C to 18 C) and elevation from 9,600 ft to 12,643 ft (2,926 m to 3,854 m) on top of Mt. Humphreys. I also took the shirt on an overnight trip to Coronado National Forest in southern Arizona in order to climb Mt. Graham. Temperatures ranged from 45 F to 70 F (7 C to 21 C) and elevation from 3,000 ft to 10,720 ft (914 m to 3,267 m).  Performance in the Field:The tasc Hybrid Fitted LST has continued to perform great. It is just as comfortable today as it was when brand new. I have put some serious miles on it and washed it several times. My concerns about fraying at the seams have not turned out to be a problem. The fraying has stopped for now and has not gotten any worse than the picture above in my field report. The anti-odor feature has proven to work well even after several days on the trail without showering. I have continued to use the shirt as an effective baselayer and a good single layer. I wore it as a single layer while hiking in 40 F (4 C) weather and as a base when it got any cooler. The shirt wicks very well and dries considerably faster than cotton. I have found the form fitting feature to be quite comfortable while carrying a backpack. The shirt moves with my body without conflicting with the straps of the pack. I also have noticed that the shirt doesn't ride up under the waist belt of my pack like many non-form fitting shirts. Despite my aggressive approach to hiking and backpacking, I have not destroyed this shirt! I am always excited to find gear that I cannot easily ruin. It is such a disappointment when I spend hard earned money of stuff that wears out quickly and doesn't last. I foresee myself purchasing similar shirts from tasc Performance in the years to come due to the durability and comfort of this shirt. I have been continually impressed by the anti-odor feature of the shirt. After a few days of hiking and camping, I get pretty nasty smelling. The tent smells, my hair smells, and generally so do my clothes. The interesting thing with this shirt is that I notice my stench considerably more when I take the shirt off. It is as though the shirt conceals my odor and traps it beneath the fabric. When I take the shirt off and smell it, it is noticeably better smelling than my skin. I haven't been able to get my girlfriend to smell the shirt for a second opinion, but I assume that she is glad it can mask my odor a bit while we share tight spaces in our tent.  I am very happy with this shirt! It has performed above my expectations throughout the testing period. At one point I was concerned about some fraying at the seams, but it has not persisted and the shirt is holding up great. It has not discolored after extensive use and washing, and it still looks fairly new. There are no holes and it has not gotten stretched out. This shirt is probably the most comfortable lightweight baselayer that I own, and therefore I wear it a lot. I have had a great time testing this shirt and reporting back on it. Pros: 1. Anti-odor 2. Durable 3. Good wicking 4. Fast dry time Cons: 1. Some fraying at the seams I would like to thank thrive NP inc. and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this product! Read more reviews of tasc gear Read more gear reviews by alex legg Reviews > Clothing > Shirts > tasc Hybrid Fitted Long Sleeve Tee > Test Report by alex legg | ||||