Make & Model - KÜHL Airspeed Long Sleeve Shirt
UPF Rating - 30
Materials - 2.5-ounce to 4.7-ounce cotton/nylon/polyester blends
Colors - Agave green, carbon (shown), khaki, natural, pirate blue, sky blue
MSRP - $85
URL - http://www.kuhl.com

We really had to sit down to study what makes this shirt work so well. This KÜHL shirt was the most expensive of the garments we tested, but every detail of its design and performance testified to money well spent.

Unlike the other shirts we evaluated, which primarily use one type of fabric, the Airspeed uses three different types of fabrics for different areas of the shirt. The chest, back, and top of the arms use a woven fabric for maximum wicking and solar defense. Both sides of the shirt under the arms and inside the chest pockets use a perforated mesh for better ventilation. And the insides of the arms use a soft and stretchy knit fabric for non-binding flexibility.

We wore the Airspeed under four hours of blazing direct sunlight while kayaking the mangrove-lined canals of Halfway Creek in Big Cypress National Preserve, and also on multiple hikes. We suffered no sunburns in areas it covered. We never once got overheated and, amazingly, the shirt stayed relatively dry &mash; even when the weight of a backpack or kayak seat was constantly pushing it onto our skin.

Pros:
– Built-in “Heat Sinks” at the chest pockets give you all-day sun protection without raising your core temperature.
– Innovative design features
– Moisture wicking and flexible

Cons:
– Though the small rubber buttons make our hands look huge (you know what they say about guys with big hands, right?), they're otherwise difficult to manipulate. To unbutton the collar to flip it up and shade our neck, we had to stop and take the shirt off first.