Personal Information:
Name: Kathryn Doiron
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 8" (1.7 m)
Weight: 150 lb (68 kg)
Email: kdoiron 'at' gmail 'dot' com
Location: Washington DC, USA

Brief Background: I started backpacking and hiking seriously almost four years ago. Most of my miles have been logged in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. I have recently finished 1200+ miles (2000+ km) of the Appalachian Trail. My style is to be as light as possible while not spending a fortune. My pack weight tends to hover around 25 lbs (11 kg) with two days of food and 0.5 L of water. I have recently started getting into winter hiking, snowshoeing and kayaking.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: SmartWool
Website: http://www.smartwool.com/
MSRP: $70 USD
Weight: (stated) 8.11 oz (230 g)
Weight: (actual) 5.57 oz (157 g)
Size/Color: Large/Black
Material: Merino Wool

Initial Report:
September 9th, 2009

The SmartWool Sport NTS Tee is a women's specific t-shirt that is meant to be worn next to the skin. SmartWool gears this tee towards either a stand-alone tee or as a base layer when temperatures drop. This is a form fitting garment with flat-lock or princess seams that has a fitted look. The neckline is a crew shape meaning it is round and close to the neck. The sleeves are short but with a little length. The tee is long in the waist coming down well below my belt line. Wool is a natural, renewable fiber with anti-bacterial properties, wicks moisture and helps naturally regulate body temperature. This SmartWool product is a washer and dryer friendly wool. The color choices available on this tee are varied.

Detail of the crew neckline

My initial impressions of the Sport Tee were how narrow it seemed for a large. Upon actually trying it on, I discovered that the tee might look small but it has a nice fit. The material has a nice stretch to it and it is figure flattering with the princess seams and fitted construction. I was a little surprised by the length, this tee has a very generous length so I hope I will not have to worry about drafts from the bottom. I also noticed when I held up the tee that the back of the tee seems to be a little longer then the front. Extra coverage in the back is always a good thing even when the tee is generous in length.

Detail of the seams and longer back
Detail of the flat-lock seams and the extra length in the back

The seams are very nice with the flat-lock stitch. The tee has the feel of a thick undershirt. The feel of the tee is soft and cotton-like in spite being 100% wool. The tee comes with two tags inside. The neck tag is a small piece of leather with the female symbol, size and "Made in Vietnam". The other tag is a synthetic tag sewn into the side left seam with care instructions and materials.

My test plan over the next couple of months will be to use the tee on all my outdoor activities including hiking and backpacking trips. My trips will include backpacking in the George Washington National Forest and the Shenandoah National Park, plus dayhikes as well as occasionally kayak camping.

Field Report:
August 3rd 2009

I have taken this shirt out on two day hikes and an overnight backpacking trip to date. The trips are outlined below.

Trips:

The first day hike was a 3 mile hike. Temperatures were about 50 F (10 C). I hiked about 2 mi (3.2 km) starting at 7000 ft (2133 ft) and gaining about 1000 ft (305 m). The shirt was worn under a light weight long sleeve base layer with a wind/rain shell over top to cut the wind. The fitted nature of the shirt made it ideal for layering and I didn't have any bunching or riding up of the shirt under my layers.

The next trip out was an overnight backpacking trip. The shirt was again worn under a long sleeve base layer with a rain poncho over top. Temperatures were again down to 50 F (10 C) but it was raining and felt much colder then it was. The shirt did well in keeping me warm and not riding up under my backpack.

The last trip out was a day hike with unseasonably warm temperatures. It was at least 70 F (21 C), with no clouds and little tree cover. I started off with just the shirt, no layer over top. As I hiked I became quite warm but I never noticed any sweat build up. The sleeves on the shirt are the perfect length to allow me to wipe sweat off my face while not being too long. When I stopped for lunch beside the stream in the shade I pulled on a down layer to stay warm. My back initially felt cold and damp when I removed my pack but after I pulled on the down layer I warmed up again. I removed the down layer when I resumed hiking. This was about an 8 mi (13 km) loop hike with an elevation gain of about 2000 ft (610 m).

Impressions and Comments:
So far I have been enjoying the shirt. I love the fitted nature of the shirt as long sleeve layers work nicely over top. I still find that the material feels and stretches like a cotton undershirt but it certainly doesn't behave like cotton. I feel warm with the shirt on and find it wicks away my sweat, and keeps odors at bay. My one complaint, which is minor, is the length of the shirt. I like my shirts a little long but this is quite long. It hasn't been an interference while I wear the shirt, but doubt I will be tucking it in as I sometimes do when layering. I have noted some minor piling along the back of the shirt near my lower back on the outside, likely from my pack rubbing back and forth. I will monitor this and see if it gets worse with wear.

Wrap-up
Pros so far: comfortable to wear, wicks sweat nicely, resists odors. Cons so far: is quite long, minor piling at wear spots.

This concludes my field report on the SmartWool Sport NTS Tee. The long term report will be appended onto this report in two months time (around January) and will include more field testing and any long term wear issues. Please check back then for further information on the SmartWool Tee.

Read more reviews of Smartwool gear
Read more gear reviews by Kathryn Doiron

Test Report by Kathryn Doiron

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