Wicking Shirts from Coolmax

I will admit that I took my good ole time jumping on the synthetic "moisture wicking" shirt bandwagon. I could always smell someone with one of them on from 10 yards away and didn't want to be a walking sweatbomb myself. So I stuck with reliable, sustainable cotton except for one t-shirt I bought on sale at REI that I only used when with someone who loved me.

The shirtmakers finally woke up to this problem a while back though and started building odor-killing properties into the fabric, so now it's possible to not smell like a laundry basket after every bike ride or hike. I've had good experiences lately with a "Ride On" one from Life is Good and a surprisingly supple one from Coolmax Clothing.

This Coolmax one feels like a 50/50 cotton blend rather than something you would wear to a disco in the 1970s. It's soft, it feels good, and it looks like a normal T-shirt. But it effectively wicks the sweat away and isn't stinky. It dries quickly after a washing too, which is a big plus when you're packing light.

The Coolmax shirts come in 9 colors and are only $14 if you buy direct from their site. Or you can get one of the long-sleeve compression shirts (pictured here) for $29.

They'll do custom imprinting if you want a logo for your club or business. They also sell quick-dry boxer shorts, like the Ex-Officio ones I reviewed earlier, but for $15. Good stuff, good price all around.