Sport Walking is an outdoor pursuit and so, rather inevitably, you’re going to need sun protection, especially if you’re walking in exposed areas or for long periods of time.
We all think about slapping on sun cream as the first line of defence but what about our clothing? Yes, covering up places us on the right side of medical advice but do the t-shirts or tops we wear when we go Sport Walking really give us the protection we need?
The answer to that, probably, is we (you and us) don’t know or can’t be sure. There are no doubt scientists out there who could give a definitive answer on the likelihood of sun penetrating a standard sports top but we didn’t have any easily to hand.
The alternative to taking a chance with your t-shirts is to pick something with built in factor 50 sun protection but this isn’t always as easy as you might think. Several brands offer sun protection clothing but the cut and styling doesn’t necessarily suit Sport Walkers.
So, when we bought our first couple of ‘UV Tec Tees’ from sailing and watersports specialist Gill, we had high hopes. Looking at the cut and design on the website, they seemed like they had a nice slimline cut (ideal for wearing under a vest) and, most importantly, came in a variety of colours, including dark navy and black.
Why does this matter you ask? Well, from a performance perspective, it doesn’t, except for perhaps staying cooler by wearing a white or pale grey top. It’s more about the ‘visual longevity’ of the garment because most UV protection tops that are available just come in white and let’s be honest, white tops soon become yellow or even brown as sweat and sun cream get ingrained.
Before long, you can only bring yourself to wear it in the garden in private, as you really don’t want to be seen out training in public with yellowing sweat stained clothing! OK, so this is purely aesthetic and is all about pride but like it or not, yellowing of white sports clothing is a thing and it can mean that you abandon a garment that could help you because of how it looks.
So, having a choice. Being able to pick white if that’s what you want but also, being able to choose dark navy, grey or black if you prefer means you have a choice and choice is always a good thing when it comes to technical clothing because these are garments that you, we, the world, really needs to have a long shelf life!
The Basics
The UV Tec Tee from Gill is a simple plain men’s t-shirt (they make a women’s polo shirt variant but this may not work so well for Sport Walking). There are no pockets for gels, no zip up neck, it’s just a t-shirt pure and simple, so it’s not necessarily ideal for wearing on a challenge. What it is good for is wearing for workout walks if fitness is your thing or for training walks if you’re preparing for a challenge.
The fabric is polyester, so it’s not the best in terms of environmental considerations but, again, shirts like these are not fast fashion. You’re going to be using them year after year and so, in the absence of an alternative UV protecting material, we think the health benefit of wearing sun protecting clothing goes some way to alleviate the concerns about plastics in the fabric.
Pure polyester, also, is not the most breathable of options (look at cheap event t-shirts) and it must be said that these shirts can feel warmer when it’s really hot, than other looser weave tops that we have but perhaps that’s the point? Perhaps what’s really making them feel a little warmer is the tightness of the weave in order to get that additional protection from the sun? Truth is, we don’t know.
What we do know is that ours felt warmer than other tops we have but that was on a really hot day during a recent heat wave here in the UK. We were still glad we had them on and probably would have chosen to wear them anyway, just to add to that sun protection.
It’s a question of compromises with these things but to be honest, we’ve never felt that breathability and warmth was an issue during slightly more normal temperatures and that’s another factor that falls in favour of these shirts. Going out in hot sun during a heatwave is an extreme experiment but for the majority of people, working out or training in milder temperatures will be the norm.
The peace of mind you have knowing that your clothing is protecting you as well as your sun cream is really empowering. There are no weak links in the chain – you can do the work you need, whether that’s a fitness workout or targeted challenge training, safe in the knowledge that you’ve got additional protection.
Design
What we really like about the design of these t-shirts is that they have a raglan sleeve, so you get a great fit across the shoulders. They also have flatlock seams so they sit well against the skin and overall they feel like really well made, quality garments. The fabric gives a degree of stretch, so that ergonomically they work as well as they protect.
While they may be manufactured in Thailand, they are Gill’s own product. They’re not sourced in bulk from some factory in China and then branded here to sell on. Gill have created these t-shirts themselves to be high performing garments in challenging environments, like the open ocean, where sun exposure is hard to avoid.
This also gives a degree of certainty about the garment’s quality and performance. Gill is a major water sports brand, based here in the UK but with distribution all around the world.
While it may feel a bit odd to adopt a garment designed to fit the needs of ocean sailors for Sport Walking, fundamentally, if the garment works and brings benefits, who cares what it was originally designed for. It is true we wouldn’t wear this t-shirt for serious training or challenges because we’d have other priorities. What we use these t-shirts for is for everyday training and we love being able to pop one on and feel safer in the sun!
Sport Walk Recommends
We recommend the Gill UV Tec Tee for everyday Sport Walking, with or without a vest or backpack. This means fitness workouts or short training sessions during the working week, where you’re going for up to 10km and for around an hour.
We would, in principle, still recommend them for longer Sport Walks or short challenges because of the sun protection benefits but the truth is they’re not really technically designed for this kind of application and the absence of a neckline zip and breathability panels, for instance, is an issue. So we say use them for your everyday training or walking and then use a more technical top for your challenges.
Sport Walk Recommends Grade – 8/10
Check out the men’s Gill UV Tec Tee and other UV protection garments