The Greatest Solar Shirts of 2025

Solar shirts are the unofficial uniform of climbers, mountain bikers, backpackers, and extra. In consequence, discovering the most effective solar shirt to fulfill all wants has turn into a typical quest amongst outside fanatics.

An excellent solar shirt offers thorough pores and skin protection, protects in opposition to a broad spectrum of UV gentle, and gained’t get in the way in which once you’re out having fun with the world. We consider solar shirts as wearable shade.

We examined over 25 completely different shirts and evaluated every one’s high quality and efficiency below varied circumstances and actions. Whether or not you’re on the lookout for the excessive efficiency of our high choose, the Anetik Ultraguide Hooded L/S, or a budget-friendly possibility just like the REI Sahara Shade Hoodie, we’ve you lined.

Editor’s Notice: We refreshed this information on April 6, 2025, by including extra details about our testing course of, a worth & worth part, and a brand new worth choose to the lineup, the Patagonia Capilene Cool Every day Hoody.

The Greatest Solar Shirts of 2025

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Different Solar Shirts We Examined & Love

Greatest Solar Shirts Comparability Desk

Solar Shirt	Value	UPF Score	Weight	Supplies
Anetik Ultraguide Hooded L/S	$120	30+	10 oz (Males’s medium)	100% polyester physique, 88% polyester/12 % spandex -sleeves and hood
REI Sahara Shade Hoodie	$50	50+	7.1 oz.	92% Polyester, 8% Spandex
Mountain Hardwear Crater Lake Hoodie	$70	50+	5.5 oz.	88% Polyester, 12% Spandex
Black Diamond Alpenglow Professional Hoody	$120	50+	6.7 oz.	92% Nylon, 8% Elastane
Free Fly Bamboo Light-weight Hoodie	$68	20+	9.7 oz.	70% Viscose from Bamboo, 30% Polyester
Howler Bros Loggerhead Protect Hoodie	$69	35	8.1 oz.	100% Polyester (50% Recycled)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Every day Hoody	$65	N/A	6.3 oz	50-100% recycled polyester (relying on colour)
KUIU Mesa Vented LS Snap Shirt	$109	50+	8.6 oz.	100% Polyester
Ridge Merino Solstice Light-weight Pullover Hoodie	$85	30+	8.7 oz.	87% Merino Wool, 13% Nylon
Out of doors Analysis Astroman Air Solar Hoodie	$99	30, 50+	5.3 oz.	85% Recycled Nylon, 15% Spandex
Cotopaxi Sombra Solar Hoodie	$75	50+	7.1 oz.	85% Nylon, 15% Spandex
Out of doors Analysis ActiveIce Spectrum Solar Hoody	$100	50+	7.2 oz.	94% Polyester, 6% Spandex
Mountain Hardwear Canyon Lengthy Sleeve	$70	50+	7.4 oz.	100% Polyester Dobby
Rab Pressure Hooded Shirt	$70	30+	5.8 oz.	100% Polyester
KUIU Gila Professional LS Hoodie	$99	40+	9.7 oz.	Physique: 100% Polyester; Neck Gaiter: 92% Polyester, 8% Spandex
Patagonia Stretch Terre Planing UPF Hoody	$129	40+	8.3 oz.	100% Recycled Polyester Ripstop

How We Examined the Greatest Solar Shirts

Our Skilled Testers

This listing of solar shirt suggestions didn’t come simple. The very best solar shirts crush it throughout energetic pursuits and take what you dish out with ease. For the primary model of this information, editor Austin Beck-Doss gathered dozens of solar shirts from the main manufacturers and a few smaller upstarts and headed to the crag, the path, and in all places in between. 

In 2024, Rob Simpson and Ryan Kempfer took over this information. As a university scholar in Southern California, Rob acquired his first outside job as a camp counselor and backpacking information simply exterior Yosemite Nationwide Park. On and off for the subsequent 25+ years, Rob led backpacking, mountaineering, and winter tenting journeys all around the Sierra Nevada vary. Now Rob lives in Salida, Colo., the place he loves mountain climbing numerous 14ers and exploring all of the Continental Divide and the Rockies have to supply. He’s presently on a 9-month journey exploring Baja and Europe, the place he’s placing a ton of drugs to the take a look at. Ryan is an avid outdoorsman who loves snowboarding and mountain climbing and mixing each for backcountry pursuits. He lives and works as a information within the Tetons, the place he places gear by the wringer every day, each for enjoyable and work.

Our Testing Grounds & Course of

Our meticulous testing relies on our expertise sporting the product. We take note of the overall attributes but additionally hone in on the meticulous particulars that may make an article of clothes stand out. We seemed for the mixture of high quality and performance, hoping we’d expertise the feeling distinctive to solar hoodies: you overlook you even have it on.

We paid specific consideration to breathability, sturdiness, and general consolation. We wore these shirts within the environments and circumstances they had been designed for. Within the peak of summer season, with temperatures pushing triple digits, we hiked, fished, climbed, hunted, and biked in every kind of sunshirts.

The entire solar shirts on this listing obtained excessive marks of their namesake division. An optimum solar shirt offers ample protection of the arms, neck, and head. We examined the protecting capability of hoods with and with out helmets. We sought hems and sleeves which can be lengthy sufficient to do their job even throughout energetic use.

We primarily wore solar shirts as base layers, in direct contact with the pores and skin. This allowed us to gauge each the consolation and breathability of the fabric. To guage sturdiness and anti-odor properties, we made certain to put on every shirt a number of instances whereas recreating in rugged terrain. We took these on spring backcountry ski excursions in Colorado and Wyoming. We fished the Arkansas River and went paddleboarding in Baja. We hiked, biked, and ran year-round in all of those locales to really take a look at the efficacy of those solar shirts.

To assemble correct specs, we weighed every shirt on our personal scale when doable and communicated instantly with manufacturers concerning UPF score, supplies, and anti-odor remedies. After a whole bunch of hours of testing, we’re assured this listing represents the most effective of the most effective.

Purchaser’s Information: Find out how to Select the Greatest Solar Shirt

Each shirt on this listing presents solar safety, however every has a novel set of options, execs, and cons. Solar shirts are available in a wide range of supplies and types. Some excel at sure actions, akin to climbing or looking, whereas others are designed to do-it-all.

The recognition of sunshirts has lately ballooned, and there are extra choices to select from than ever earlier than. To assist inform your resolution, this purchaser’s information consists of each related subject below the solar. In the event you’ve discovered your self right here looking for shirts designed for particular actions, we’ve acquired guides to the greatest working shirts, suggestions for fishing, and even flannel shirts.

Varieties of Solar Shirts: Button-Up vs. Hooded Pullover

There are a number of sorts of solar shirts available on the market, however the dishevelled button-up and hooded pullover are the preferred by far.

Hooded Pullover

Climbers, path runners, and mountain bikers typically want hooded pullover solar shirts sometimes produced from 70-80% polyester and 10-20% elastane or spandex.

Not all solar shirt hoods are created equal, however the most effective ones match comfortably and gained’t blow off within the wind. Hoods provide immense solar safety advantages. We like hoods that cowl the neck, ears, and brow. In case your exercise of alternative requires a helmet, select a hooded polyester solar shirt. Properly-designed hoods stretch simply over climbing and biking helmets and keep put throughout energetic use.

Different key options of many hooded pullover solar shirts are thumb loops (that are nice for back-of-the-hand solar safety), and high-cut collars that defend the chest and neck. A few of our favorites on this listing, embody the KUIU Gila Professional LS and the REI Sahara Shade.

The draw back of a hooded solar shirt is identical as any pullover — they’re a little bit of a ache to placed on and take off. Plus, whereas many hooded solar shirts are gentle and breathable, most of them don’t include vents. A number of exceptions embody quarter-zip hooded pullovers with mesh aspect panels just like the Black Diamond Alpenglow Professional and the Out of doors Analysis Astroman Air Solar Hoodie.

Nonetheless, for essentially the most half, solar shirts on this model are normally ventless. One ultimate draw back of hooded pullover solar shirts — they get pungent. Elastane and spandex, specifically, develop disagreeable odors extra rapidly than pure fibers like merino wool.

Professional tip: if you need a hooded solar shirt with out the stink, purchase one thing produced from pure fibers and minimal elastane. Stable selections embody the Free Fly Light-weight Hoodie, partly produced from bamboo-derived fibers, and the Ridge Merino Solstice made largely from merino wool.

Saggy Button-Up

For actions like fishing, looking, and hen watching, select a dishevelled button-up solar shirt. Button-up solar shirts sometimes include a collar as an alternative of a hood,which suggests you’ll have to additionally put on a protecting solar hat if you wish to defend your face, neck, and ears. Some fashions of button-ups, like our general greatest choose, the Anetik Ultraguide include a hood, providing you with the most effective of each worlds.

Not like the active-wear look of hooded pullover solar shirts, button-ups have a extra conventional look. Most button-up solar shirts look completely at house on the bar or a yard barbeque. Plus, they’re simple to placed on and take off.

Anglers, specifically, are likely to want button-up solar shirts for just a few causes, First, button-ups usually include pockets — a useful place to maintain bits of spare deal with akin to lures and tip-its. Additionally, many button-up solar shirts have vented panels, which enhance airflow and breathability in heat circumstances.

On this listing, the KUIU Mesa and the Mountain Hardwear Canyon are our favourite button-up solar shirts.

UPF Score Defined

Ultraviolet Safety Issue, or UPF, is the score system that gauges a material’s effectiveness at filtering ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) gentle. For instance, a material rated to UPF 30 permits roughly 3% or 1/thirtieth of accessible UV to cross by it.

UPF scores all the time fall between 15 and 50+. Clothes beneath UPF 15 don’t meet solar safety requirements. Any cloth that enables lower than 2% of UV to cross by charges UPF 50+.

A number of elements can have an effect on a material’s UPF score. Darker colours are likely to filter out extra UV than lighter colours. Thicker cloth normally presents extra safety than thinner cloth. A tighter weave could have lowered UV transmission in comparison with a unfastened and porous weave.

Manufacturers work to resolve the difficult downside of making a light-weight, breathable, and extremely protecting solar shirt. The really helpful merchandise on this listing possess a fantastic steadiness of breathability, consolation, and efficiency, with spectacular UPF scores.

Manufacturers conduct UPF exams on their very own merchandise. Simply final 12 months, Patagonia issued a voluntary recall on a sequence of solar shirts that did not stay as much as their marketed UPF score after impartial testing.

In any case, respected manufacturers make all the solar shirts on our listing. As a basic rule, we advocate buying a solar shirt with a UPF score of a minimum of 30 — particularly you probably have a good complexion or recreate at excessive elevations.

Supplies

Polyester is the commonest base materials for solar shirts for varied causes. In comparison with bleached cotton, which has a pure UPF score of round 5, polyester presents much more safety. Plus, it dries a lot sooner.

In recent times, many manufacturers have integrated 10-20% elastane or spandex into their solar shirt’s polyester weave. Integrating stretchy materials is nice for airflow and mobility, but it surely additionally has some downsides. First, elastane can lose its springy high quality over time. A shirt made with plenty of elastane or spandex, in all probability gained’t retain its unique form and slot in the long run.

Additionally, artificial fibers like elastane develop odors sooner than pure fibers like cotton or wool. Solar shirts are identified for his or her gnarly stench that may develop after a single day of sweaty outside recreation. Anecdotally, we observed that shirts with a excessive elastane depend did in reality appear to odor fairly dangerous after a exercise.

In our analysis and testing, we discovered that the majority hooded pullover solar shirts are produced from 80-90% polyester and 10-20% elastane or spandex. After all, there are some exceptions to this. The Free Fly Light-weight Hoodie is produced from 70% bamboo viscose, and the Ridge Merino Solstice is produced from merino wool.

Button-up collared solar shirts are usually made with out spandex or elastane, in order that they aren’t as stretchy.

Breathability

Designed to guard in opposition to sunshine, solar shirts naturally should be snug in heat circumstances. A cloth’s breathability is outlined by its capability to let air cross by. Breathability decreases drying time and likewise helps to reduce odor.

On this listing, the Mountain Hardwear Crater Lake is the right alternative for these on the lookout for a solar shirt for energetic use in heat climate. You will need to word that elevated breathability can generally result in a decreased UPF score like we see within the Anetik Ultraguide, which is extraordinarily breathable and has a comfortable contact really feel to its cloth. A looser weave that enables airflow will let extra UV attain the solar beneath.

The entire solar shirts chosen for this listing are comparatively breathable. Solar safety is important even in cooler circumstances, however naturally, a scorching summer season day requires breathable clothes.

Odor Resistance

Solar shirts are identified for being a bit pungent. There are just a few causes for this. First, solar shirts are usually worn for energetic use in heat circumstances. Strenuous exercise plus warmth equals sweat, and sweat results in odor.

Secondly, solar shirts are normally produced from artificial supplies like polyester and elastane. Artificial fibers are produced from petroleum merchandise — polyester threads are basically skinny ropes of plastic. Not like pure supplies like cotton and wool, synthetics don’t take in sweat.

As an alternative, the sweat combines with micro organism out of your pores and skin and turns into trapped in between the fibers. Elastane fibers specifically are extremely efficient at trapping micro organism. Over time, the micro organism builds up — and so does the odor.

In the event you’re on the lookout for a solar shirt that gained’t ever odor, your search could proceed ceaselessly. Fortunately, some solar shirts are extra odor-resistant than others. If you wish to decrease the stink, we advocate following these three ideas:

• First, don’t purchase a solar shirt with a excessive elastane/spandex depend. Most solar shirts are produced from 10-20% elastane/spandex.
• Second, search for a solar shirt produced from pure fibers. Bamboo is an more and more fashionable various to polyester that could be much less liable to undesirable odor.
• Third, buy a solar shirt that has an odor-resistant therapy.

On this listing, the Patagonia Capilene Cool Every day Hoody and the Black Diamond Alpenglow Professional are noticeably spectacular within the odor-resistance class. They’re handled with Black Diamond’s HeiQ Pure Odor Management Therapy.

Hood

If most UV safety is your aim, you’re going to desire a solar shirt with a well-fitted hood. The advantages of a hood are apparent: neck, face, and ear safety. Nevertheless, not all hoods provide the identical utility and worth. For essentially the most half, pullover solar shirts have hoods, and button-up solar shirts don’t.

A hood that gained’t keep on throughout energetic use is sort of worse than no hood in any respect. Throughout our testing, we wore solar shirts whereas mountain climbing, climbing, and biking in windy circumstances. The very best hoods stayed on in opposition to the percentages.

In case your exercise of alternative requires a helmet, you’ll want a stretchy hood that may match over it. One among our favourite hooded solar shirts is the Out of doors Analysis ActiveIce Hoody. The hood is well-fitted, helmet-compatible, and extremely protecting. We wore this solar shirt over a helmet for a lot of months, and the fabric maintained its match and elasticity.

Thumb Loops

The fingers and arms see loads of solar publicity, making them prone to pores and skin most cancers. A solar shirt with well-placed thumb loops may help defend these weak areas from extreme UV.

Most solar shirts with thumb loops are within the hooded pullover class. Typically, a thump loop is a small opening that matches over the thumb and retains the wrist and again of the hand lined by the sleeve.

Although most pullover solar shirts on this listing include thumb loops, just a few types surprisingly don’t.

We love the thumb loops on the REI Sahara Shade. They’re positioned comfortably, and maintain the complete hand’s again protected.

Match

The best way a solar shirt suits will outline its efficiency. As a basic rule of thumb, solar shirts ought to have a semi-loose match. We significantly respect the match of the Patagonia Capilene Cool Every day Hoody; it’s excellent, not too unfastened and never too tight.

A loose-fitting solar shirt breathes higher, and it’s much less prone to restrict your vary of movement. Nevertheless, in the event you normally put on a comfortable dimension medium on the workplace or out on the bar, we advocate sizing as much as a big dimension once you buy a solar shirt. Another reason to dimension up: to your solar shirt’s thumb loops to correctly defend your arms, it must have full-length sleeves.

Value & Worth

Finances

You could find a high quality funds solar shirt for below $70. Lots of our award winners, together with the REI Sahara Shade Hoodie, Mountain Hardwear Crater Lake Hoodie, and the Patagonia Capilene Cool Hoody, are fairly priced. They’re sturdy, snug, light-weight, and have 1 or 2 extra options that make them stand out.

Mid-Tier

Solar shirts on this class run from $70 to $100. These will usually be just a little greater efficiency than these within the funds class and will have wicking abilbiites or odor management remedies or could have larger UPF scores. For instance, the Out of doors Analysis Astroman Air Solar Hoodie ($99) is a technical efficiency piece that’s extraordinarily stretchy and strikes with you.

Premium

Solar shirts with added versatility, extra storage, and sturdiness will clock in at over $100. Our high general choose, the ultra-versatile Anetik Ultraguide Hooded L/S ($120), can do all of it and with model. It has 5 pockets and might transfer seamlessly from a hike to a fishing expedition to city. Others on this class are technical items with distinctive options like giant mesh underarm aspect vents discovered within the Black Diamond AlpenGlow Professional ($120), a high-performing solar shirt that’s supreme for climbing and high-output actions.

Often Requested Questions