I fondly remember my first pair of synthetic long underwear. The blue and white sleeves of the Helly Hansen polypro fit like a glove, and I thought I was in heaven when I bought my first Patagonia shirt. Both kept me warm when I was cool, cool when I was warm and dry when I was sweating like . . . well, you know. And then day three happened. I smelt like, if you know what this smells like you’ll know how bad, a thru-hiker. Yuk!!! There had to be something better, I thought. Well, after every new generation of North Face moisture wicking fabric for the last 9 years, and all kinds of Marmot Dri-Climes, Nike Dri-Fit, many other brands and fabrics and styles, and even having been asked to test out a new fabric from Jet clothing in which my feedback helped redesign a new line they were producing, I about gave up on find a T-Shirt that didn’t stink after day three. I’m glad I didn’t, because I’ve found “the” shirt to end all shirts.

Bell Magic, portage pack and ZRE paddle in the Boundary Waters during a test of the Terramar T-shir

Sue-e, Sue-e, Sue-e

The Terramar Transport Micro-Mesh T-shirt is built from a fabric called VisaEndurance(TM), which claims to eliminate 99.9% of odor causing bacteria for the life of the garment. It was this claim that drew me to try out this new shirt. I’ve seen this type of claim before, so with skepticism I decided to give it a go. $13 and a week later, the shirt arrived at my door step via UPS. The next day, I wore it on an hour long road ride on my bike. Then threw it on the floor. The next day, I wore it on a two hour mountain bike ride, and then threw it on the floor. I skipped a day, and then wore it on an hour long road ride. By the third ride, it had an odor, but not nearly as bad as the odor my $100+ bike jersey has after that many rides. Plus, it wicked moisture much better.

What the Heck Are Raglan Sleeves for Freedom of Movement

Besides passing the first test, the Terramar Transport Micro-Mesh shirt has a good fit, sort of. The body of the shirt has about the right fit with just the right tightness across the chest to leave you looking like a cross between Kurt Cobain and Superman, but the sleeves and the neck. I’m not sure what they were thinking when the designed the sleeves. They tend to bunch up under the arm pit. It takes a little while to get used to the feel, and the neck feels like a cashmere sweater after George on Seinfeld put his head through it. One feature that I found I really like was the longer back to the shirt. This is nice for not only bike riding, but helps prevent showing your paddling partner your plumber’s crack when you’re paddling bow.

So, What’s the Review for the Terramar Transport Micro-Mesh Shirt on Trips?

Well, the good news is that this shirt weighs only six ounces, so even when you’re wearing it, you’ll hardly know that it’s on. And the really good news is that for long weekends, you won’t have to worry about a stinky shirt. At about the fifth day, it does start to smell slightly, but a quick dip in the lake, and after the shirt dries in no time, it looses most of the stink. I found that by washing the shirt out twice over a nine day trip the shirt continued to smell good. I can’t be sure, but my educated guess is that because the salts from your sweat stick to the shirt, it’s these salts that start to stink, when you wash the salts out, the VisaEndurance(TM) smells good because it doesn’t absorb any odor. Very nice.

Conclusion

This is “the” shirt for odor free long trips. I’m amazed after using this shirt for the last few months. I only wish I would have purchased one for my month long trip over the summer. With a slightly different cut under the arms and around the neck, this shirt could pass as a nice shirt to wear around town also, but as it is, I’d skip it in town but wouldn’t leave it home when adventuring. This gets the Famous Nessmuking Buy Me Now Before It’s Too Late Award.

Date Reviewed: 10/15/2005
Product Reviewed: Terramar Transport Micro-Mesh T-Shirt
Retail Price: $32.99 (On sale at Campmor for $13)