Review: Peter Storm Energy S/S Crew T-Shirt



Peter Storm Energy S/S Crew T-Shirt



On the face of it, acquiring a good value, hard wearing walking T-Shirt should be a doddle. There are loads to choose from: almost too many, in fact, and with varying degrees of ‘technology’ involved. But if you winnow out those that are too clingy, too ‘athletic’ in fit or made from fabric that snags too easily, the field quickly narrows.

Having extolled the virtues of the more traditionally styled walking shirt elsewhere, the simple T-Shirt still has a useful role in the wardrobe: with its simpler cut and no collar, it can be worn more comfortably as part of a layering system right through the year, so is a versatile piece of clothing.

Anyway, I came across the Energy S/S T on a recent plod round Blacks. Here are some details:

HERE

For a fairly low cost item, I found it worked pretty well: comfortable, with a decent fit, (not too clingy) and good wicking properties (it dried very quickly) aided by side and back panels in a more open weave version of the fabric for added ventilation.

The anti-odour properties were a bit lacking – not unexpected from a 100% Polyester fabric – but it did a couple of days at a pinch, and I dare say it could be rinsed and dried easily enough overnight.

At 170g, it’s not the lightest shirt around (I have a Rab Aeon S/S that weighs in at nearly half that weight, and it’s heavier than the Jack Wolfskin Tumbleweed) but it does the job – and it seems well made! It’s styled as much for running as anything else, with reflective slashes on the back, so not so good as an off the hill garment if you’re in polite company, but is no worse than many other equivalents.

Again, I had occasion to wear it for lengthy periods under a rucksack, and – so far – it has stood up to the rigours without snagging or pulling beneath straps or buckles, something which I think is aided by the relatively tight weave and not-so-obviously waffled texture of the fabric used in the majority of the panels.

It was also comfortable as a baselayer when rain or cool dictated additional layers on top, and I really liked the fact that the neck wasn’t too tight.

RRP is £15, but as Peter Storm products are mostly sold through the Blacks/Millets group, members of various organizations (eg: YHA) can get discounts off that. So it’s quite good value, too.

Getting Shirty

Sooner or later the realisation hits: we are no longer as young as we used to be. It's hard to accept, but there we are. The slim, fit youth that used to fill these shoes has become lost, and the chances of bowling the Aussies out at Lord’s have diminished as the waistline has expanded.

All of which can lead to problems when searching for walking shirts. The trouble is that many of the available T-shirts are rather clingy or designed more as a baselayer (ie: close-fitting, and without any discernable style. Either way, it’s not very easy on the eye.

But despite the fact that I have grown older and wider over the years (and, in truth, I was never much of a Greyhound) I still need an element of performance from my walking shirts. Ideally they will wick moisture well, smell sweet after a day or several on the trail, be tough enough to wear all day under a rucksack and not snag or deform, wash easily and dry overnight, require no ironing, and look good enough to be presentable in the pub or restaurant at night.

Besides the technical aspects, I also prefer them to be reasonably flattering in cut and styled with a man of my age in mind: there’s nothing worse than a beer-bellied old man trying to carry off a young look with the mistaken idea he looks trendy (actually, that’s not true: tucking a slogan-ed T-shirt into jeans with a brown leather belt is a truly heinous fashion crime, and one that should be avoided at all costs).

Anyway, with all the above in mind, I have been trying out a number of different walking shirts to see how they measure up, most recently on our Camino trip. It’s a tough ask: can it be done?

The products are:

Jack Wolfskin Tumbleweed S/S (TUMBLEWEED)


Jack Wolfskin Tumbleweed S/S

 Karrimor Tech Checked Shirt S/S (KARRIMOR)

Karrimor Tech Checked Shirt S/S


Peter Storm Energy S/S Crew T-Shirt (ENERGY)

Peter Storm Energy S/S Crew T-Shirt