Ex Officio
Air Strip Shirt
 If
"manmade fabric" makes you think of plastic, think again: The synthetic
DriLite cloth in Ex Officio's Air Strip Shirt is 85% nylon and 15% polyester, but it has
the soft hand of cotton--and in hot weather, it may be the most comfortable
fabric you'll ever wear.
The "DriLite" name is apt for two reasons: The shirt dries
quickly, both on your perspiring body and on a clothesline; and it's light in
your suitcase or against your skin. For warm-weather comfort, the shirt has a
layer of perforated fabric across the back and under the arms, with a
Velcro-tabbed yoke that can be opened for additional ventilation plus discreet
slash vents along the side seams.
Other design features include:
-
Long sleeves that you can roll up and hold in place with
Velcro tabs.
-
Two roomy bellows pockets over the chest, each with a
Velcro-tipped flap.
-
A hidden zippered pocket beneath one of the Velcro flaps.
(This is probably the safest place that you can carry a wallet, cash, or
credit cards unless you're willing to pull a neck wallet out from under your
shirt every time you buy a sausage or a subway ticket.)
-
A button-down collar with hidden Velcro patches that help
the collar hold its shape for a neat appearance.
-
30+ UPF sun protection. (The collar can be peeled away from
its hidden Velcro patches and turned up in back to keep the sun off your
neck.)
I wore a blue Ex Officio Air Strip Shirt on an August
Silversea cruise in the British
Isles, an Oceania cruise from
Dover to Barcelona during September, and a Viking River
Cruise through Southern France in October. It was comfortable in every kind
of weather, and it was the lowest-maintenance shirt in my wardrobe. Since then,
I've bought more Air Strip shirts, and they've become my favorite shirts for
daily wear at home and on the road.
Price: US $79, and worth
every penny.
Look and fit: Safari-style
full cut. (Sizing is generous, with large being comparable to a normal shirt's
XL.) Available in two dozen colors.
Ease of care: Machine wash
in cold water and tumble-dry at the warm setting, or hand wash and hang anywhere
to dry.
Special features: See the
bulleted list above. (The zippered hidden pocket is reason alone to buy the
shirt.)
In a nutshell: A
comfortable, versatile casual men's shirt that was born to be washed in hotel
sinks.
Order from:
Ex Officio or third-party
retailers such as REI.
Other review pages
for men's travel clothing
Photo: Copyright © Magellan's. Used by
permission.
| 
Durant
& Cheryl Imboden's
