Hi! As heatwave scorches Europe, the second problem I’m a little afraid of (especially as someone without any melanin in my skin) is the sun. I’ve seen someone mentioning a sun shirt but trying to find real information online is very confusing, especially with EU in mind ( I see US has something called UPF) and if you are not looking for ads. Maybe someone knows something about it?
I love me some sun hoodies! Obviously great for hot sun on a hot dry day. But also they seem to help with mosquitoes.
When it gets cold at night, a sun hoodie is better than nothing to help you stay warm. They work well as a thermal underlayer too.
Heat and UV are correlated but weakly. It’s entirely possible that an early spring day with cool temperature and light breeze has a higher UV levels than a cloudy day with 35°.
You don’t need specific SPF clothing to get protection.
This has a good discussion about spf clothing. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-sun-protection-clothing/
My personal preference is to seek shade and wear sunscreen when it’s intolerably warm, rather than to add tight weave clothing, but to each their own.
I have an REI Sahara sun hoodie along with some Columbia omnishade vented fishing shirts and vented sunblocking pants from Ex Officio: They’re all effective and have kept me safe in 100F+ heat indexes from Vegas to New Orleans at the height of summer.
Straw hats help and cold wet towels are good too (especially in dry heat).
You can wet your clothes too, but that also reduces how much they shield you from UV.
Clothing with a UPF rating just means its level of protection has been measured; it doesn’t necessarily imply unrated clothing doesn’t protect also. That is to say, I don’t think sun protective clothing has any high-tech coatings or other special sauce the way waterproof/breathable clothing does.
Just wear something made of synthetic fiber and/or with a dense weave, colored a dark color, and that covers as much skin as possible. And most importantly, a wide-brimmed hat.
Sources:
Just wear something made of synthetic fiber and/or with a dense weave, colored a dark color
Why dark colors? All of my sun clothes are as light of a color as I can possibly find so they reflect the sun instead of absorbing it.
The structure of the cloth in UV clothes is designed to be opaque to light while being cool, breathable and quick drying. I’ve never gotten a sunburn under my blue jeans and I’m sure they have a quite high UPF, but they are not sun gear in my opinion.
this is the brand i get here in the states. I am in New Mexico, we get our fair share of sun and heat. These shirts are thin, and relatively cool. They are upf 50 i believe.
Sun hoodies are made of a poly blend that is white, reflects a lot of sun, and is rated to keep you from getting burned through clothes which can happen with regular cotton or linen if you’re in the full sun all day. I’ve worn them all day in full sun and never get burned or even tanned on my shoulders.
Amazon and Alibaba sell them for like 20-50 euros. I like getting ones with thumb holes, a hood, and is at least 1-2 sizes too big because they are better when they drape and let the air in, and they are hard to remove when soaked in sweat.
They’ll be rated like UPF 50+ which just indicates high resistance. You want higher than 30+ at least.
The brand I’ve used for the last few years also makes them with a hood that has a built in lower face cover / balaclava. This is much warmer but very handy at keeping off the sun. I don’t use that kind, but I’ll use a high UPF white Buff neck gaiter to go over my lower face or forehead to hold the hood on. YMMV.
I’ll also use a wide brimmed floppy hat that will at least cover my upper face and nose, and I’ll wear sunscreen to an all day sun event on my hands and face. Otherwise I burn fast and it’s very unhealthy for skin aging and cancer risk.
The fact they they are white actually detracts from the UV-proofness. Light colours block the least UV.
You want to find lighter color (more reflective) long sleeve shorts with buttons and vents. Vents on your back help a lot for air flow. Either they’re called Sun Shirts or Fishing Shirts. The UPF rating isn’t going to change much between brands and really doesn’t matter as much as it doesn’t equate to the US SPF that we use for sunscreen all that much anyway.
You can get a good idea as to what to look for at websites like Bass Pro Shop, Academy, Scheels, and similar.
Here’s one my father uses on the regular https://www.basspro.com/p/world-wide-sportsman-ultimate-angler-long-sleeve-button-down-shirt-for-men
However, there’s Magellan brand ones at academy he also uses.
Keep in mind your neck will still get sunburned, as well your upper knees if you wear shorts. Plus your hands. And ears. You can wear a cowboy hat, or a large brimmed hat, or one with a drape over the back neck. But you’ll have to wear sunscreen on your hands, at least. And feet if you’re wearing sandals.
And that’s all they really do. Prevent you from using sunscreen all over. They’ll be hot like any article of clothing, but they’ll also save your skin like most articles of clothing as well. And get better air flow.
I personally use a hooded, loose fitting sun shirt made of nylon, but it has no vents and gets hotter. It’s better than just wearing a long sleeve shirt, though. I should buy a real sun shirt with better ventilation, but they’re kind of expensive.
Haven’t got one yet but have been thinking of getting a rash vest, it’s more for surfing/water sports though. Not sure what the material is like for daily wear. They usually have SPF ratings though so it would work for that.
Don’t know if they sell in the EU, but Columbia’s PFG sun gear is good. Neck gaiters and a hat if you want face protection. Wear it all the time for fishing in the sun.
So are you having problems with sunburn under your clothes? Or what are we trying to fix here?
