G'day, mate.

I'm looking for a long-sleeve shirt to wear as a mid layer (or bottom layer in slightly warmer weather), above my base but under my fleece. It needs to be synthetic or wool, breathable, quick-drying, and warm. I've looked several places but all the shirts that looked like they'd work were all cotton, and that's not acceptable.

Ideas?

I'm trying out a bamboo-cotton blend (yes! it is indeed eeeevil cotton!) that is turning out to be a really nice wicking layer. It's a tasc (that's the brand) long sleeve.

Also look at Stoic (backcountry.com's house brand) wool shirts - there must certainly be a long sleeve version of the short sleeve merino shirts I got off steepandcheap.com. They are awesome in all weather, the colder it gets, I just layer another shirt over the top.

I just about always use a good merino wool long sleeve crew for this. I have one from MEC, and I did manage to pick up one at costco once when they had them.

I see REI has similar things from Icebreaker and Patagucci - however they seem a tad pricy..

If those are too pricy, any good polypro thermal top will do.

I have and like the Smartwool midweight Zip-T long sleeve turtleneck. Nothing special about it - half a dozen other companies make similar tops.

hello

What kind of shirt are you looking for --- a button-up type with pockets, or a pullover stretch type?

For the former, just about any all-synthetic shirt is good for me; REI sells them, though you have to look at the tag. Just because it's at REI doesn't mean it's not at least partly cotton (!). A thrift store can sometimes carry such too, but again, look at the tag. I think in recent years there's at least some cotton blended into most dress shirts for comfort (I miss they tacky days of all synthetic for this reason :-)).

For pullover shirts, I've used merino wool, but unless you're concerned about odor on the trail, I prefer capilene. In particular I like the lightest capilene layer, cap 1. I can wear this in quite warm weather, but it's excellent as the next-to-skin layer too. I'm happier with a heavier weight base layer if not too active, but on days when I'll be exercising outdoors a lot, cap 1 is a wonderful base.

I think in general I tend to wear an all-synthetic button-up shirt next to my skin as I like to have pockets. This isn't an issue on days when I expect to be wearing enough layers over the shirt that the pockets are harder to access, however.

Duluth Trading has a nice line of all synthetic shirts with flap pockets, as well as a handy zip pocket. I like lots of pocketses to keep my precious.....

I just bought a Cap 4 long sleeve zip neck from Patagonia during their recent sale-half off retail and so far, I really like it. My old Cap midweight top and bottom are still in good shape after 25 years, so if this thing lasts anywhere near that, it is well worth it. I'm wearing it around like a shirt and there really is no way to tell what it is unless you recognize it.

They are going to have another sale on the website starting tomorrow, but I got mine at the local store at the sale price, so if you have one near you, I'd check there as well.

if you want wool, you can probably find those at a second hand shop. I have an old Pendleton shirt I got new eons ago, but it isn't Merino, so it's itchy if you don't wear it over something else.

Most of the time I just wear a base layer top as my hiking shirt.

Warm weather:
Capilene 2 long sleeve zip T neck
Or an old GoLite C-thru top (also l/s zip T) I got on closeout sale

Cold weather:
Most of the time, a wind shirt or my rain jacket over the Cap 2 or GoLite top is warm enough while I'm actually hiking; I put on my puffy jacket to keep me warm when I stop but remove it when I start hiking again. This works fine down to about 25*F.

Really cold weather (for western Oregon, anyway )--below 25*F and windy:
An additional lightweight baselayer top used as a midlayer under that wind shirt or rain jacket. For backpacking in the Rockies I always take the additional baselayer top as a mid-layer; it can get down into the teens F even in midsummer there! My current mid-layer is a discontinued Patagonia Merino 1 l/s crewneck that weighs 4.0 oz. Horrible color, but it's almost always worn under the windshirt or rain jacket. I try not to look at it!

I do own a woven wool shirt I used as a mid-layer in the past, but it's heavier than the combo of lightweight mid-layer plus wind shirt. The latter is a much more versatile combination and just as warm.

Basically, anything longsleeve and synthetic or wool that will wick moisture and dry quickly. Crew, turtle or zip-T neck is your preference. It should also glide beneath fleece and not bind up. Nike Drifit shirts work well for me, as one of a gazillion possibilities.

Cheers,

Wise words, with the caveat that in my own limited experience even quite light/thin merino wool doesn't dry as fast as capilene 1. I really liked and wanted to switch to a thin merino wool base layer, in part for the "doesn't stink as much" benefit, and the very minor additional skin irritation was at a low enough threshhold for me that it wasn't a big deal.

But I just find Cap. 1 to be a flat superior base layer in a wider variety of conditions --- I can wear a long-sleeved cap. 1 layer in even pretty warm conditions to protect arms from sun, wind, etc. And it just dries out significantly faster than merino when conditions allow anything at all to dry.

I've learned to live with the stink. :-)

What stink? I thought it was just me. I am a rabid Cap fan...