Mens' Shirts & Pants- Wrinkle-free??? Dry Overnight???

My husband took three Travelsmith CoolMax Cotton Pique Polo shirts on our recent trip to Germany. He would wash them when we arrived and they would be dry the next day. As for pants, he took black jeans and never washed them!

I've used the quick dry shirts in the past; including Coolmax. They do work as advertised: quick drying/no wrinkles. But the downside is that the shirts begin to smell of body odor after a very short amount of time. The fabric is designed to take moisture (including body sweat), and move it to the outside of the fabric. There are fabric blends that are designed to decrease the smell, but in the end the shirts will still stink. I've gone back to regular cotton t-shirts; they take longer to dry but are more comfortable and are "breathable".

"But the downside is that the shirts begin to smell of body odor after a very short amount of time. "

Frebreeze in a little spray bottle will help keep them fresh smelling.

My friend tells me that he finds descent wrinkle-free clothing at Marks that are relatively inexpensive. Some of the Denver line isn't bad.

He also just mentioned that hanging them to dry overnight in the WC helps further eliminate wrinkles.

You could always do a test run with them at home to see how long they take to dry and how well they stand up.

I use ExOfficio (sp?) expensive but work great and have lasted a long time. I also use their underware.

Tilley's Endurables manufactures and sells shirts and pants that dry overnight. They're cotton and polyester blend and look and feel like "regular" clothes. I've bought items from them and their claims are true. I wash them in the hotel sink at night, and wear them to breakfast the next morning. They have a website.

Wal-Mart sell Puritan slacks - less than $20 a pair - that are 60% poly and 40% cotton. They dry overnight and with a shake or two they are quite presentable. I took four pair with me for three weeks last summer, and had no problems whatsoever. Both Travelsmith and Duluth Trading have travel shirts that also meet your requirements. The DT shirts are very much like seersucker, quite cool, and very comfortable. The microfiber TS shirts are very nice as well.

I also use Exofficio shirts and underwear, and also use with the Prana brand special treated cotton T-shirts for rock-climers. They dry real fast with a special anti-oder treatment too. (I smelled the best out of my friends on my last hiking trip! hah!) Tilley Adventures has a lot of "normal" looking clothes but im not sure they are better than the ones Ive used from Exofficio, Prana, Robbins etc. I also love the light Merino Wool from Icebreakers - its non-ichy, and no order, and all natural. Royal Robbins has some nice shirts with "3x" dry cotton - special treated cotton thats feels real but dries 3x faster. Columbia has some travel shirts too. Look online at direct web sites, or REI.com
Regardless what you buy try it on at home to work or for a day, and test it in the sink so you know. Just beware some "special" adventure fabrics require less detergents and no softeners so read the care labels. But all in all a little prep work makes traveling light and comfortable easy!

One thing you need to realize is that Europe is very humid and things dry more slowly. In Germany, anyway, heat is by hot water rediators., and in the winter you can dry clothes overnight on the radiator, but other times of the year, you have to rely on normal drying.

In non-winter times, I change clothes as soon as I check in and wash the what I take off. Then I get most of the water by rolling it in the bath mat. This way it is dry by morning.

REI sells a great travel pant that's light weight and dries overnight. They're not officially wrinkle-free, but they don't seem to wrinkle too much. Another nice feature is 3 handy zipper pockets in addition to the regular pockets.

The short answer, avoid cotton. Whether underwear, socks, shirts or pants. I love cotton at home because it's comfortable. Take away the washer and dryer and cotton is stretched, wrinkled and often still wet after hang-drying for a night. Generally the lower cotton content the faster it will dry.

I like microfiber pants (multiple brands); polyester, rayon or washable silk for shirts (some are more comfortable than others); underarmor underwear (it drys fast and keeps its shape); and polyester or wool blend socks.

I don't buy anything that needs special laundry care or dry clean. I test wash and hang-dry clothes before I pack them and I always wear them ahead of time to make sure I actually like them (style, color, fit).

I shop everywhere. I seem to have good luck at JC Penney and Macy's because there is a large selection to look through and they have regular sales.

Good idea on Fabreeze. In many places there will be a lot of smoking. I Fabreeze and hang clothes that don't need washing but might smell without it.

I agree with Charles, while I'm not a guy, I do use the Exoffico travel pants they only weigh 3 oz and are great for travel and I washed mine in the sink and they were dry the next day. Hardly any wrinkles. Its a great brand they dry quickley. They also have spf 30+ and so do the shirts. I get mine at my local Dillards (department store) or online try www.rei.com I am sure they ship to canada.

J.C. Penney has the Haggar brand of poly pants and shirts. They work well. You might also try washing shirts in clear softsoap antibacterial. Gets rid of odor.

Kent, I use Tilley clothes extensively when I'm travelling, and they've worked well for me so far. If you're able to get into one of their Ontario stores (Toronto, 2 locations or Mississauga), you'd be able to get more specific information on their products and talk with the staff.

Based on my experiences I would HIGHLY recommend trying on any clothing you're thinking of buying, as their sizing is not always consistent. I use several of the Adventurecloth products, as well as one Hemp product and some CoolMax. The Tilley Hats are legendary, and if you're looking for great sun protection, they work well.

Good luck!