Outdoor Research Men's ActiveIce Spectrum Sun Long Sleeve Tee

This is a great shirt for outdoor activities in mild temps. It's super comfortable for my long runs and day hikes. It fits me quite well and I enjoy wearing it.

I'm one of those people who like to find shirts that perform well for any given activity. My main activities are running and hiking so I have quite a few shirts for those endeavors. Last year I purchased the Outdoor Research ActiveIce Spectrum long sleeve sun shirt. I nabbed it on a pretty good sale because it is a bright ugly color that doesn't sell as well (I'm guessing). On the positive side, no [good] deer hunter will shoot me when I'm wearing this! 

Basically, the ActiveIce shirt is really good for certain activities in certain weather, but I don't recommend it for every activity in any weather. First, I don't like to wear this shirt when it's hot and muggy here during Wisconsin summers. I found that it doesn't dry well in humid weather. The shirt is kind of heavy and clingy when I sweat in humidity.  Second, this ActiveIce shirt isn't for multi-day hikes because it does start to smell after a day or two. I took it on a four-day backpacking trip in the Cloud Peak wilderness area and it started to smell already on the second day. Yuck!

After trial and error, I found that this shirt works best in temps between 30-70 degrees on days that aren't so humid. Yesterday I wore it for a half marathon in 45-degree weather and it was awesome. I've also worn it on even longer trail runs and races and it was great. I do sweat a little in cooler weather but the shirt does dry pretty well when it's not humid. This shirt also blocks wind just a little so it keeps the chill off of me during runs/hikes on cool days. And the thumbholes are an added benefit. I also wear this shirt on day hikes in those temps and conditions.

I should note that I do have one spot on this shirt that pilled a tiny bit due to a backpack strap. You can't really see it unless you're close, so it's not a big deal. But I'm guessing if I wore this shirt with a heavy backpack for several days it would pill up a bit more. 

The left upper area of the shirt with the OR printed logo. 

Overall I really like this shirt for outdoor activities in the right weather (not hot/humid). It really does shine for me on 40-50 degree days for high output activities. Outdoor Research does make a hoodie version as well for those interested.

Background

I've worn this shirt for many miles over the last 12+ months. I've certainly put it to the test!