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Your Fav Men's Long Sleeve Undershirt

I'd like to get my husband some nice undershirts for our upcoming trip. We will be all over the UK, Paris, and The Netherlands in about two months. Anyone have any favorites? Budget is kind of flexible. He doesn't buy himself nice things often.

Posted by
14818 posts

Are you going to be traveling light and doing sink wash?

My brother likes the merino wool tee shirts and sometimes wears another shirt over them. The merino washes easily in the sink, dries quickly and doesn't get smelly. I'd avoid 100% cotton (take too long to dry) as well as 100% poly as that can get smelly. I've got an activewear shirt (100%poly) that I just don't take on trips because it gets stinky even when I am not...if that makes sense. Smell doesn't go away until I get home and machine wash it. No amount of pit scrubbing in a bathroom sink gets it smelling clean.

Ugh...that is probably TMI!!! Sorry!

Posted by
118 posts

Hi Pam!
We are packing light. We have access to a washer 1/3 of the way into the trip but not a dryer so quick drying material is a good tip :)
Mainly I think he'll just want a few nice ones for when it will be super cold... but I suppose the whole region could be pretty cold.

Mainly I think he'll just want a few nice ones for when it will be
super cold... but I suppose the whole region could be pretty cold.

I’m not sure what your definition of “super-cold” is but if you’re travelling to the UK, Netherlands and Paris “in a couple of months”, that makes it late April. Although our weather in the UK could be described as “super-unpredictable” or “super-changeable”, I wouldn’t expect it to be super-cold in late April. Average daily UK temperatures at the end of April up to 15 or 16 Celsius, around 60 Fahrenheit. The Netherlands or Paris will be similar. There has occasionally been snow in April but usually towards the start of April rather than the end.

Unless you’re up in the highlands of Scotland where it will usually be a fair bit colder.

Posted by
118 posts

Hi Jane,

We are from southern California and are used to 10 degrees higher temps in the same months. We are starting out in Edinburgh on April 12th. I am kind of hoping for the best and planning for the worst. My sister said she was "colder than she'd ever been" after visiting Paris in the Spring... I think that was a function of being outside for most of the day tho... and maybe wearing a cheap jacket.
so IDK just looking for ideas and advice

Posted by
1937 posts

I bought the Vapor Apparel Men's UPF 50+ UV/Sun Protection Long Sleeve T-Shirt on Amazon for a recent trip. I think they will tick all your boxes. They are extremely lightweight, and easy to wash in the sink and they dry quickly. On warmer days he could even wear them as his outer shirt, and it could be worn over a light short-sleeve t-shirt. They come in a lot of colors too.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00TQ0DDYU

Posted by
14818 posts

I tolerate a lot of cold but I was freezing in Paris for a few days last April. At the last moment I left out my long sleeve base layer trying to save some weight. Dumb move. Lesson learned.

If it's cold you are worrying about, and I agree this probably won't be an issue for more than a couple of weeks, is to get 1 or 2 base layer shirts. Again, you can go with merino wool (expensive) or something else. I size up and use the Land's End Heat Crew as a regular shirt all winter layered under another shirt but they have men's sizes and he could try these. They are light weight, dry quickly and are on sale.

https://www.landsend.com/products/mens-thermaskin-heat-crew/id_244153?sku_0=::616

If you are doing a search, use the term base layer instead of undershirt.

Posted by
118 posts

If you are doing a search, use the term base layer instead of undershirt.

Thank you!

Posted by
2545 posts

Agree and follow the advice described by Pam. Wear fine soft, merino wool t-shirt during cooler/cold weather.

Posted by
3961 posts

My husband's favorite base layer is Smartwool. It's light weight and fits the bill in Summer & Winter. It's his go to for cool morning bike rides. Great for travel. Easy to wash in the sink & hang to dry.

The Patagonia layer base mentioned earlier looks like another great option!

Posted by
6552 posts

We like the silk longies from Land's End. Crew neck or turtle neck styles, at least in the women's. I have two, myself, and got a crew neck long sleeved one for my DH. I wore mine under regular tops when we were in London in February a couple of years ago. They're going with me to Netherlands and Switzerland this spring, as well. Very light, fold up to almost nothing.

Posted by
5837 posts

If "budgets is kind of flexible" means you are not skimping, Craft is my premium base layer choice. Craft base layers wick moisture away from the skin and are very fast drying.

Here is a link to Craft's base layer guide: https://shop.craftsports.us/baselayer-guide
Note that Craft has three "thicknesses" for a range of temperature and activity intensity: "Confort" being the warmest, "High Intensity" for active wear and "Extreme" to avoid overheating.

I will add that I travel with two sets (upper/shirt and lower/pant) of base layers. I have always only needed one set because they dry so quickly. Sink wash cold. Squeeze then wring in towel. Hang. Wash before dinner and usually dry before sleeping. But the Craft base layers take up so little space and weight almost nothing, so having a backup set is insurance if I don't have time to do laundry.

Posted by
529 posts

If you have a Costco membership, they sometimes have 23 degrees heat base layers. If you don't, then Amazon has them. These are light as a feather and don't take up much room in your suitcase. Both, my husband and myself carry a pair. Several light layers will keep you warmer, than just wearing one heavy layer.

Posted by
2545 posts

Maybe it's me and my body chemistry...but plastic t-shirts quickly become "ripe" under even modest use. Soft merino wool does not.

Posted by
118 posts

I appreciate the responses! I found a Patagonia Capilene on eBay and I’ve got my eye out for a wool option so he can see what he likes better.

Posted by
17561 posts

Patagonia Calilene is warm, comfortable, and quick to dry, but my husband’s Capilene shirts get so stinky I made him switch to merino wool.

The stink can be removed by adding borax powder to the wash cycle, along with detergent, but that would be difficult to manage while traveling.

But maybe your hubby doesn’t perspire as heavily as mine does!

Posted by
118 posts

But maybe your hubby doesn’t perspire as heavily as mine does!

Lola, I’m gonna find out! We have passes to the San Diego Zoo so we can do some testing before we leave :)

Posted by
2545 posts

The offensive odor occurs while wearing plastic t-shirts despite starting out very clean. Wanna sit next to me when I am wearing a "ripe" t-shirt? Probably not.