Moisture wicking undershirts help you feel drier & more comfortable when performing outdoor sports. But, they are not all created equal.
So, which type should you choose? We discuss it in detail here.
Should I Wear A Moisture Wicking Undershirt With A Moisture Wicking Shirt?
For use in outdoor sports, the short answer is YES. Wearing a moisture wicking base layer can definitely help you feel more comfortable.
But, let’s dig a bit deeper into this subject.
Here’s a question I received from a reader curious about wearing a wicking undershirt while playing outdoor sports.
Hi Tug,
ADVERTISEMENT I’ve been reading through several of your posts regarding moisture wicking, dry fit, etc., undershirts.
I wear a 100% cotton V-neck undershirt daily to protect my outer shirt from sweat damage.
I’m located in Southern California and play outdoor sports in 90+ degree weather and continue to wear the same 100% cotton V-neck undershirt.
The problem is the undershirt is soaked after playing for a short period of time.
When playing sports I do wear a moisture wicking v-neck type of shirt on the outside. I prefer both my undershirt and outer shirt to be V-neck.
I’ve read your comments on how these moisture wicking shirts pull the moisture away from your body and push it to the outside of the shirt.
Therefore, if I begin to wear a moisture wicking undershirt and a moisture wicking outer shirt, do you think the moisture would wick away to the outside of both shirts?
If yes, I’m not sure which type of moisture wicking undershirt to purchase after reading several of your posts.
Do I look into VDRI, Coolmax, Duluth Buck Naked, or even 37.5? And if 37.5, I assume Dry-to-Cool and not Wet-to-Cool.
Any suggestions you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff
Wearing Wicking Undershirts For Outdoor Sports
Heya Jeff,
Good to hear from you buddy and thanks for your question!
Good job on doing all that research on my site before emailing me — that’s very impressive.
The answer to your question is yes (:
If you wear a moisture wicking undershirt, it should transfer more sweat to your outer shirt.
I say *should*, because not all moisture wicking shirts are created equal.
You can learn more about that in these articles:
https://undershirtguy.com/5-best-ways-to-manage-sweaty-armpits/
https://undershirtguy.com/dress-shirts-with-fast-drying-underarms/
I suspect that you’ve read one of the first articles I wrote about moisture wicking undershirts, since you referenced some of products I’ve written about.
If you haven’t already read it, you can find it here. It’s got a lot of great information about wicking fabrics, so it’s worth reading.
Which Undershirt Is The Best?
As for which moisture wicking undershirt (or base layer) to wear, the answer is not as simple.
First, it looks like the 37.5 athletic shirt offering from Mission is being cleared out — meaning, they’ve dropped it. Their main menus only have towels, gaitors, hats, and some other cooling gear. But, no more shirts.
Of course, you might want to buy some of their men’s clearance items, though you wouldn’t be able to buy them in the future.
Second, many of the moisture wicking undershirts I write about, are designed more for daily-wear purposes versus athletic wear purposes.
I’m making this distinction because your application is for use in outdoor sports, not for daily-wear.
Note, I’m not suggesting a daily-wear moisture wicking undershirt can’t be worn in an activewear situation, because they can.
However, there are many more activewear moisture wicking shirts available that you can wear as a base layer.
For outdoor sports or even for the gym, I’d recommend a thin light compression moisture wicking base layer shirt instead of a daily-wear moisture wicking undershirt. You can find more information about that in this article I wrote about inexpensive compression undershirts.
I’m recommending light compression wicking shirts because they form to your body moreso than some daily-wear moisture wicking undershirts. As such, they should do a slightly better job of wicking moisture than a looser fitting undershirt.
You can also find many light compression shirts here on amazon, such as this one from lavento (photos below) which has pretty good reviews.
Hope the above information helps you in your search.
Please be sure to keep me posted and let me know what moisture wicking shirts you try, and which work best for you!
Best,
Tug
