FIELD REPORT

Ibex Men's Qu T
Richard Lyon
July 2, 2006

PERSONAL DETAILS AND BACKPACKING BACKGROUND

Male, 59 years old
Height: 6' 4" (1.93 m)
Weight: 200 lb (91 kg)
Email address: rlyon AT gibsondunn DOT com
Home: Dallas, Texas USA

I've been backpacking for 45 years on and off, and regularly in the Rockies since 1986.  I do a weeklong trip every summer, and often take three-day trips.  I'm usually camping in alpine terrain, at altitudes 5000 to 13000 ft (1500 - 4000 m).  I prefer base camp backpacking, a long hike in with day trips from camp, but I do my share of forced marches too.  Though always looking for ways to reduce weight, I'm not yet a lightweight hiker and I usually choose an extra pound or two over foregoing camp conveniences I've come to expect.

PRODUCT DETAILS

The Qu T is a featherweight merino wool short sleeve collarless shirt with a very tight weave.   For a detailed description of styling, features, and construction see my Initial Report.

Manufacturer: Ibex Outdoor Clothing, LLC (www.ibex.com).  All quotations in this review come from Ibex's website.
Year of manufacture: 2006
Material: 17.5 micron New Zealand merino wool
MSRP: USD 79
Intended use: "Everyday wear or as a decadent active top."
Listed Weight, per Ibex website (size not specified): 6.4 oz (181 g)
Measured weight, size XL: 6.5 oz (184 g)
Available sizes: Men's S, M, L, XL, XXL
Colors: Kingfisher (bright blue).  Also available in heather grey, ivy, red pepper, and black. 

TESTING CONDITIONS

In the field I have worn the Qu-T on fourteen different days.  These included hiking and backpacking in the Texas Hill Country, at an altitude of about 500 feet (150 m) in early May, and in Wyoming in late May, at altitudes from 5000 to 8000 feet (1500 to 2400 m).  Temperatures at both locations ranged from about 40 – 70 F (5 – 21 C).  (It was unseasonably warm in Wyoming and unseasonably cool in Texas.)  I’ve worn the shirt on day hikes in North Texas, altitude about 200 ft (60 m), at temperatures from 80 – 95 F (27 – 35 C), throughout the last two months, and in Montana in mid-June at about 5000 feet (1500 m), with temperatures from 55 – 85 F (13 – 29 C).  I describe one other outdoor use below.  Except for some scattered showers and a brief hailstorm on the Wyoming trip, the weather has been sunny with low humidity.

In the gym (air conditioned) I’ve worn the Qu-T six times, always during one of my aerobic sessions, from 45 to 90 minutes on a spinning bike, moving stairs, or treadmill; one treadmill session was with a backpack.

I report on one other indoor use, as an undershirt on two long overnight flights, in each case under a cotton denim long-sleeved shirt.

Except for a special test, described below, I washed the Qu-T at home after every aerobic session or day hike, and at the end of each of the road trips.  As recommended by Ibex, I used cold water, gentle cycle, and Sport-Wash, a non-detergent product, then air-dried the shirt flat.  Because of its bright color I washed the shirt separately the first two times but thereafter simply included it with other woolen items.   I hand-washed the shirt in a hotel room with some wool hiking socks, using a one-shot packet of Woolite.  I have not yet washed the Qu-T in the field.

RESULTS TO DATE

Fit.  My choice of size XL has proven to be correct, and that size is just about perfect for me.  Day pack straps, and backpack straps on the overnight trips, haven’t caused any stretching or other distortion.   I have noticed no shrinkage after any washing; this is a benefit of air-drying.  There’s also been no expansion or distortion of the collar, often a problem for me with cotton shirts worn under a pack.  The length of this shirt has meant that when I tuck it inside shorts or trousers, it stays tucked in – my ardent thanks to Ibex for not skimping on fabric.

Comfort.  I find nothing as comfortable as natural fibers, and when I’m hot and sweaty nothing beats merino wool.   Sweat-soaked cotton tends to bunch up under pack straps, causing  irritation and even minor abrasions, but not the Qu-T.  Because it’s wool it wicks, so the shirt has never felt completely saturated, even in the bright sun at 95 F (35 C).  I haven’t detected the shirt’s increasing my body temperature even under these conditions.  On summer evenings it’s soft and silky.

Smell.  Since I didn’t have a multi-day backpack during the initial test period, I contrived conditions to test whether the Qu-T would pick up an odor from me or (as has been my experience with synthetic shirts) develop its own.  Over Memorial Day weekend (late May) I wore the Qu-T to my hour-long spinning class Saturday morning, kept it on for a couple of hours of clearing flood debris in my back yard, then kept it on for a five mile day hike later that day.  I took a shower at this point, but didn’t wash the Qu-T, which I wore for another day hike on Sunday and a ninety-minute Stairmaster session on Monday.  Outdoor temperatures were in the 90s F (30+ C), and I was sweaty and smelly after each session.  While the Qu-T wasn’t odorless – it had the odor of wet wool - it wasn’t pungent either.  Very impressive.   I noted comparable results after the red-eye flights, when I always wake up sweaty and smelling and feeling slightly rank.

Durability.  After what I consider moderate use and several washings, it looks like new.  I was hoping for some fading of its bright blue color, but that hasn’t happened yet. 

Appearance.  The Qu-T is the perfect weight for wearing under a lightweight sport coat on a warm summer evening as “dressy casual” wear.  Its semi-raglan shoulders make it much more stylish than an everyday t-shirt, whether worn in this manner or  by itself with shorts in more casual circumstances.

FURTHER TESTING

The remainder of the test period will permit evaluation of this shirt in more rugged circumstances.  I have a weeklong backpack in the Swan Range, Montana during the first week of August, during which I'll be doing trail maintenance and other backcountry work as a Forest Service volunteer.  I expect daytime temperatures in the 50s through 80s F (~10 - 30 C) in the high country, with nighttime taking things down to freezing or somewhat below.  On this trip I shall wear the Qu T as a base layer under a shirt or sweater, sole upper body garment during the day, and backcountry sleepwear.   Over Labor Day weekend (first weekend in September) I have a combination hiking – fishing trip in Paradise Valley, Montana and Yellowstone Park.  While temperatures comparable to those in the Swan Range are normal, considerably cooler weather is possible.  These trips should permit observation of the Qu-T after an all-day hike and some bushwhacking, after a couple of days of manual labor, after exposure to brush and trail dust, and perhaps in the rain under a Gore-Tex shell.  I’ll also see how easily I can wash it and how quickly it dries in the backcountry. 

I’ll continue to wear the Qu-T during indoor exercise and on day hikes in Texas. 

LIKES

Durability - stout construction and surprisingly robust fabric
Light weight
Wicking ability
It doesn’t stink after even the sweatiest exercise.
It looks great.

DISLIKES

Very little.  Perhaps air drying, in the front country.

My thanks to Ibex and BGT for the opportunity to test this wonderful t-shirt.