clothing @slrpnk.net ElanoidesWahl @slrpnk.net 1y ago

Staying cool in Mississippi

I work mostly outside for my job in construction. I've been using polyester sun hoodies for a few years now and they are mostly good. They do a good job of letting air move across my skin without letting me get sunburned. However I don't like how quickly they start having baked in stink from sweat and I've been looking into different materials.

My goal with my next purchase

Better for the environment
Less maintenance with cleaning
More efficient

I think bamboo or linen might be my next step in my fabric journey based on my recent research but I'm looking for any assistance from someone with more experience in hot/humid climates.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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4 comments

any of the plastic fibers will have issues with odor getting baked in

out of the available options, the main choice for tropical travelers was generally lightweight nylon

there’s the whole slew of plant fibers

cotton has been pretty much the go-to choice for a long time – aside from its environmental impact, its biggest issue is not letting go of moisture – not an issue in desert environments but can make you feel like you’re being steamed in tropical environments

linen, hemp, and ramie are the old school fibers and all have an interesting side effect of getting stronger when they get wet – their biggest shortcoming is aesthetic, they wrinkle like crazy

there’s been decent advances in the newer fibers like bamboo and lyocell (wood fiber) and they seem to come with a whole host of benefits as well (including anti-odor)

the controversial category is the animal fibers

silk is the most expensive with wild silk (ethical version) being even more expensive – great for tropical climates but doesn’t handle UV exposure

the traditional choice was tropical weight wool – lightweight wool with all the benefits of wool (anti-odor, anti-bacterial, breathable, “cool in summer, warm in winter”, etc.)
- Thank you Cerement for a very comprehensive answer! I wasn't aware tropical weight wool was a thing. Do you have any personal preference when it comes to the plant based choices, aside from cotton?
  
  I think your best bet is going to be bamboo and lyocell – they tend to be much easier to get hold of (availability and price)
  
  they’re both being treated as “performance fabrics” so often through outdoor and sports stores as well as traditional retail
  
  odd little twist with lyocell, for some reason it’s marketed more towards women than men
  
  if you don’t mind the constant rumpled look, then basic linen works just fine – main issue is access, most modern linen comes out of the EU (US companies almost completely ignore it since it doesn’t fit into fast fashion)
  
  you would probably get better results out of hemp but, despite the recent Farm Bill, it’s still tainted with Hearst’s and Nixon’s “reefer madness” so what’s on the market is usually heavyweight stuff through co-op/hippie/new age stores (and styled to fit that aesthetic)
  
  I did notice that about linen. I seems like very few people wear it anymore. I expected to find way more down here in one of the most humid places in the US. I very much appreciate you giving me your time!