Backpacking Background:

I started backpacking and became hooked on the outdoors. I realized that I enjoyed the colder weather and solitude of deep backcountry, and have hiked various environments from the green mountains of the Appalachians to the barren desert of Arizona. My hiking season starts early September and ends early June. I’m usually a moderate weight hiker, but as an Emergency Medical Technician I’m trained to be prepared, so my pack usually weighs between 30 to 40 lbs (13 and 18 kg) while solo, to 60 lbs (27 kg) when leading. Information about the author can be found at http://www.corridor9.net.

Product Information:

Item:	Men's DriMove L/S (Long Sleeve) Top
Manufacturer:	GoLite
Year of Manufacture:	2006
Website:	http://www.golite.com
Listed Weight:	Size L  6 oz (170 g)
Actual Weight:	Size XL 9 oz (255 g)
Available Colors:	Mediterranean Blue  |  Blaze  |  Grass  |  Sable
Available Sizes:	S, M, L, XL, XXL
MSRP:	$30 US

Product Description:

(From Website)
"Featuring flat seam construction for comfort, crew neck, and raglan sleeves for freedom of movement, the DriMove long sleeve top is made of a lite-weight, wicking polyester knit that dries quickly and serves as a great, all-around performance layer for a wide range of sports."

Some of the listed features include:

• DriMove™ wicking polyester knit
• Flat seam construction
• Men's crew neck; Women's V-neck
• Raglan sleeves

DriMove Definition:

Initial Impression:

This item was shipped via UPS and arrived on my doorstep on October 30, 2006 in perfect condition and complete. The top was neatly folded with tissue paper placed in the middle and packaged inside a clear plastic display bag. Upon removal of the top from the bag and tissue paper it was easily apparent how comfortable this fabric was going to feel on my skin. It felt like silk and all of the seams were sewn nice and tight. Attached to the shirt was a product description card that listed size, color, and style. On the reverse was the same information listed above from the website, contact information, and the GoLite Guarantee;
The sizing was correct according to manufacturer specifications and fit me really well. From the moment I slipped on this shirt I knew this would be one of my favorite shirts. The material feels as soft as silk, and the wicking properties are simply awesome. In the 4 days since I got the package, I've worn this shirt 3 of them. Starting from the top, the crew neck is nice and snug while not being overly tight. There is no tag around the neck like as all the information is screen printed to the inside. The seams are extremely comfortable and stitched in such a way that I can hardly feel where they are when wearing. The stitching is nice and tight with no hanging strings on any of the seams.

Sleeve length may be a bit long for some people, but I like my sleeves a bit long. With my arms hanging down to my side, the sleeves will slide down to the end of my fingers. The cut of the shirt is such that even though the sleeves may hang the shirt doesn't look too big on me. There is no feeling of excess material when pushing the sleeves above my wrists and the shirt feels perfect with the sleeves down as well as pushed up. The length of the top is long enough that it doesn't ride up when I raise my arms above my head. I have already worn this shirt under a fleece pullover as well as a long sleeve cotton shirt. Both these items of clothing slid easily over the shirt without causing the sleeves to ride up my arms. In addition, when removing the fleece pullover, the material slid nicely enough that I didn't have to worry about pulling the shirt off while removing the pullover.

Something else I noticed today; I had my wife wash the shirt according to manufacturer's specifications. When I went to try it on to test for shrinkage, no shrinkage noted, I saw that the GoLite logo was already starting to peel away from the material. With this much peel after one wash, I wouldn't be surprised if the logo is completely gone by the end of the test.

Also, something that struck me as strange was the fact that the stitch color used in the manufacturer's photo differs from the color on the actual shirt. It appears that the stitching is orange in the manufacturer's photo, while it is obviously black in my photo below. I prefer the black stitching myself as it gives the shirt more definition.

Testing Plan:

During the testing period, I plan on answering the following questions:

• Comfort: Anything that is close to my skin really needs to be comfortable. This is especially true with a base layer piece of clothing. It must keep me comfortable, dry, and not chafe me all while providing the movement and flexibility I need while hiking. How comfortable is this top going to be against my bare skin? Although the seams are of a flat construction, will they be placed right to not chafe while wearing a backpack? I’ve had my fair share of crew necks that were like wearing a choker even though the rest of the shirt fir rather well. Will this be an issue with the DriMove? How well will the sleeves stand up to repeatedly being pushed up my forearms? Will they start to stretch over a short period of time? Will I be able to hoist my pack easily, or will I feel bound by the shirt? There is nothing more bone chilling than to hoist your pack only to have your shirt rise up and let cold air in direct contact with your chest. Is this shirt long enough to prevent this? Is there a tag on this shirt that will cause me to itch, or is the information “silk-screened” directly to the shirt?
• Function: Warm / Cool and Dry. Those are the two primary aspects that this shirt serves. It must keep me warm and dry on cool days and cool and dry on warm days. How well does it wick the water away from my skin? Will I be forced to wear an additional layer simply due to the cooling abilities of this top? What about on warm days, will this shirt wick water away from me quick enough that I don’t feel like I’m in a sauna? How quickly does this top dry after being completely wet from perspiration or precipitation? Will the material have a tendency to snag?

• Cleaning: I would imagine that being a poly blend, cleaning is as simple as throwing in the wash with other like colors. However, it seems like it has been a trend with gear makers to make cleaning gear a special chore. Will I be able to throw this in with my regular laundry? What about odors, will this shirt absorb odors? I’ve had some poly shirts become quite funky after hiking for a few days; will I be stinking due to the material soaking op perspiration? How easy does this shirt stain? Will I look like pigpen walking around because this shirt attracts dirt? How easy will it be to remove stains? I sure don’t want to be scrubbing a stain for 5 minutes before throwing it in the wash simply to clean the top.

Testing Locations:

I will be testing this item on a number of day trips, and overnight in the Land Between the Lakes Recreational Area that crosses the Kentucky-Tennessee border on their western edges. The land is fairly flat with an elevation range for this area around 400 ft (122 m) above sea level. The average high and low for the testing period is 59 F (15 C) in November and 31 F (-.5 C) in late December. The average precipitation low for this time period is 3.29 in (8.36 cm) with the average high being 4.31 in (10.95 cm). Most of this precipitation is in the form of rain, although it is not uncommon to see snow in the winter months. A good majority of the trails and campgrounds in this area are along the lake shore. This requires an extra layer of clothing and wind protection due to the breezes that flow along the 184 mile (296 km) length of the lake.

In addition to the hiking and backpacking this shirt will see, I will be wearing it a lot around town over the entire test period. As this item fits well and is extremely comfortable, I'm sure it will quickly become one of my favorite shirts. My wife also likes the look of it on me; a definite plus.

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Field Report - January 9, 2007

Field Locations:

I've tested this shirt in a number of locations throughout the Field Report phase. A good majority of my use has come from wearing this shirt around town where the elevation is roughly 460 ft (140 m) above sea level. This shirt has seen trail time during multiple two night trips and terrain ranging from elevations of 400 ft (122 m) to elevations above 6,640 ft (2024 m) where the weather ranged from 75 F (24 C) to 18 F (-8 C).  The GoLite DriMove shirt has also seen wind condition upwards of 25 mph (40 kph).

Performance:

After repeated washings, the shirt is still comfortable and silky feeling. The screen printing has continued to wear off the sleeve, but the fabric remains intact. While wearing a pack I didn't get chafed anywhere, nor do I feel that the seams are in a position to give me blisters. The arms have yet to shorten up, it does not appear to have shrunk any and remains comfortable. The collar and wrist seem to hold their shape well as I haven't noticed any stretching going on there either. Even though they haven't stretched out, I don't at all feel like I'm wearing a choker or that my wrists are confined. The DriMove still retains its flexibility though and allows me to stretch comfortably without binding my shoulders. I've found that while I continually push my sleeves up, they will not stay there because there isn't enough elastic or friction to keep them above my forearms. Because of this, they continually slide back down. This hasn't been too much of a discomfort as the shirt breathes so well that I haven't felt hot at all.  At no point in time was it hard to put on a coat, sweatshirt or pack over this shirt. It slid nicely along all fabrics that I tested it with.

While this shirt proves to be better suited to keeping me cool and dry on warm days, I have found that with a light wind breaker, I was able to stay relatively warm on cool days without feeling like the DriMove was "over cooling" me. I do still get that chill every now and then when a big wind comes up and help evaporate the perspiration faster, but it hasn't left me feeling cold to the point it was uncomfortable.  I have found that even while wearing a cotton sweatshirt, fleece, or even down that this shirt still keeps me relatively dry. In addition, I have found that this shirt doesn't tend to show perspiration as much as others. This is definitely a good thing for me as I perspire quite a bit even when it's cold outside and I sure don't want someone seeing puddles under my arms.  I'm also pleased with the fact that this shirt dies rather quickly.

Cleaning is quick and easy as I can place this shirt into the washer with other like materials and not worry about it fading, or bleeding onto my other stuff. I was a bit surprised at how it holds stains though. I have 2 stains around the waist line, I believe I got dirt in between my shirt and my pack belt, that I simply haven't been able to get out yet. However, the shirt doesn't retain odors after washing.

One of the issues that I do have with the GoLite DriMove shirt is its ability to snag on just about anything. In the time that I've been wearing it for my field report I've developed 6 snags ranging from simple catches where the thread pulls out of the weave by a millimeter or so to 4+ inch long snags that leave holes. It is almost impossible to wear this shirt alone while walking through the woods as it will catch on even the smallest branch. I have stopped wearing it out as a shirt because I caught it on a shelf at a retail warehouse and developed yet another inch long snag. My wife even put a snag in it when she leaned over to kiss me and a hangnail caught my sleeve. In order to keep this shirt snag free, it must be worn under something else.

Summary:

I've had the opportunity to test this shirt extensively and as predicted, this shirt has become one of my favorites. I love the way it feels against my skin, the way it looks on me, as well as the way it functions to keep me cool and dry.  So far, the only major downfall of the shirt is the fact that is snags on everything.

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Long Term Report - March 7, 2007

Field Locations:

The GoLite DriMove top has been used a number of times during this test phase just as it was during the last phase. While a majority of the use has still been around town, roughly 460 ft (140 m) above sea level, I have had the opportunity to wear this shirt on outings in Western Kentucky as well as Western Tennessee on a couple of occasions. Elevations for these areas range from 392 ft (119 m) to 590 ft (180  m). The temperature ranged from 10 F (-12 C) with blowing snow and rain to 58 F (14 C) with little wind. While I was able to wear this shirt by itself on the warmest of days, most of the time I had on a fleece jacket to both cut the wind and keep the precipitation from soaking me to the bone.

Performance:

This shirt remains comfortable and silky soft against my skin.  Parts of the screen printing along the sleeve have finally let go and come off completely.  However, for some reason, the remaining sections of the logo remain in place with no signs of separating from the fabric underneath. While this doesn't affect the performance of the shirt, I believe that stitching the logo in place would prove to be a better option as far as aesthetics are concerned. You may also notice that the color of the shirt is different in the pictures of this series as opposed to the pictures from last series. Let me assure you that the shirt has not faded at all since the last series. I have used a different camera to take the pictures in this series and this is what causes the shirts color to appear differently than the pictures above. The pictures above, the lighter & brighter orange, more adequately show the true color of the shirt.

Some of the thread in the seams  have started pulling loose a little. However, I would expect a bit of this after 20 washings, especially since this garment has been washed with other hiking clothing with lots of hook and loop material as well as plastic belt clips that the thread can snag on. None of the seams have yet to unravel completely,  but the current rate that the thread is pulling lose is a bit disheartening. The stitching still has yet to give me any blisters though while wearing my pack and remains as comfortable and silky smooth as the day I received it.

I was expecting this shirt to stretch a bit. This usually happens to shirts I own over an extended period of time; the neck looses shape, the shoulders start sagging, and the sleeve cuffs look like bell-bottoms. However, with the DriMove tee none of this happened. In addition, the shirt didn't shrink in the wash either which has essentially solved the problem of the shirt riding up and exposing my mid section when hoisting my pack over my head.

Throughout the testing period this shirt has been exposed to rain, snow, dry sunny conditions, as well as a fair amount of sweat all the while keeping me warm, or cool based on the conditions, and fairly dry. As most people, I sweat a fair amount during any normal aerobic activity. While the shirt was damp to wet during the activity, I found that it dried off quickly as soon as I was done sweating. While this shirt did wick the water away from my skin thus speeding up the evaporation process, at no time did I feel overly cool or uncomfortable.  The DriMove held the heat in wonderfully when cold, but wearing this shirt in warmer temperatures was a bit uncomfortable. Due to the fact that this shirt is a long sleeve dual layer shirt it was quite warm even in temperatures nearing the 55 F (13 C). My experiences have shown that this shirt makes a good base layer down to temperatures around 15 F (-9 C), and a wonderful outer layer up to temperatures around 50 (10C) when hiking or doing some other sort of aerobic activity.

As stated before, cleaning was a breeze. Throwing this in the wash with like colored hiking clothing has made wearing this more often more and more appealing. Even though this shirt is of a synthetic material, I have yet to smell any odors due to sweat or foreign liquids spilling on it. The perspiration and deodorant hasn't left any stains yet, but I have had a few stains develop from grease and oil spilling onto this shirt. Simple cooking oils have washed out fairly easily, but the grease from my stove has left a spot on the hem around the waist area.

The only problem that I have with this shirt is the wonderful ability it has to snag on just about everything. Throughout the test period I have received approximately 12 snags of various lengths on this shirt. Some of these snags are of such length that I have developed small holes through the outer lining. Because this shirt is sewn with two distinct layers none of the holes are through both layers in the same place, but my experiences have shown that one good snag on both the inner and outer lining would produce such a hole. It is advertised that this shirt can be used as a  "Base Layer or alone for all sports". However, I feel that if this shirt is to be used alone at all the manufacturer needs to address the issues with snagging. Additional pictures of shirt snagging can be seen below. That being said, if the amount of care is given to this shirt as one might give down sleeping bag, or lightweight tarptent, years of use can be had from this shirt.

Summary:

Even with snagging being a major factor in my opinion, I still believe firmly that this shirt is one of the best wicking, most comfortable long sleeve shirts that I have ever owned. It is also my opinion that the GoLite DriMove L/S Tee is well worth the price, and that anyone who purchases this shirt will not be disappointed. I feel that some improvements on the design could make this shirt better for the end user but current design of the shirt is well worth its value. I would definitely recommend this shirt for any of my hiking partners looking for a versatile base layer shirt. It has, and will continue to be one of my most favorite shirts.

I would like to thank GoLite and Backpackgeartest.org  for the wonderful opportunity to test this shirt.