I’ve been looking for a shirt that is a bit of a weekend warrior type of shirt. Something I could toss on for days when I am not certain what I might be doing. From playing with the kids, to lounging on the couch, to taking an impromptu hike, working in the yard — whatever. I was looking for that type of shirt, and so I focused in on the Triple Aught Design Latitude shirt for its warm weather properties, high UPF rating, and long sleeves (so I don’t get sunburn, I never remember sunscreen).
Material
This material is the same as the outer facing on the Triple Aught Design Catalyst Field Shirt I reviewed here, it is a 120 g/m² 100% Nylon Ripstop with a UPF 50 rating. The material is very thin and holds almost no structure. It has a grid pattern throughout the fabric as well.
The material is made to be light, breathable, and quick drying. You might assume durable, but there’s one main issue with this fabric that I have seen in both the Catalyst and this Latitude shirt: pilling. Even after just one wear and wash, there is light pilling throughout. It’s just a thing with this material. It cleans up easily, but if stuff like that bothers you, stay far away. What this does mean though, is that the fabric itself is quite pleasant to feel — that’s your trade off.
Fit & Style
This is basically a hiking shirt look. Though Triple Aught Design took care to make it look like a really great hiking shirt, the collar is slouchy and well, so is the entire shirt. The vertical breast pockets further exacerbate the hiking aesthetic.
However, you don’t go into buying a shirt like this called a ‘modern expedition shirt’ thinking that you will be able to sneak in out of board rooms unnoticed. You buy a shirt like this to have a button down to wear when you want to get stuff done. That’s the style here, take it or leave it.
Performance
My first go with this shirt was a tough one. I needed to go an unpack the items in my garage after moving. A garage in Houston is a special kind of place. The kind of place where it feels like all the humidity and all the heat all at once. If I had to guess the heat index in the garage that day was around 102°F — probably should have waited, but it needed to be done. I chose the Latitude for this task because I wanted to protect my arms from the boxes, and I wanted to try and stay cool.
Much to my surprise the shirt is very breathable, more so than even the Western Rise AirLight I recently wrote about. It never restricted me, and the material held up to a great many box edges sliding against the arms. And those mesh vents in the arm pits, thank you for those.
Finally, I tested the straps to roll up the sleeves and found them to be a nice touch when I was done with the boxes part.
Here’s the crux of the performance: by the time I was done in the garage I was soaked with sweat. The entire shirt was, but it wasn’t heavy and it wasn’t at all uncomfortable (well any more so than being soaked in sweat already is). And when I came back into the house, the shirt started drying out very quickly.
There’s no avoiding getting hot in a situation like that, but the Latitude shirt did exactly what I hoped it would: keep my skin protected from the boxes and my core temp as cool as it could be. After washing it I quickly noticed how fast it dried hanging in the laundry room. As a quick drying hiking and outdoors shirt — this shirt performs as good (if not better) than anything else I have tried. And it looks better while doing it.
Overall
Even though this is a button down shirt with a collar, it’s as casual to wear as a t-shirt. I’d wear it more if it wasn’t so casual, but as it is I generally wear it only when I want my arms protected. It is great to throw on, no regrets on the purchase.
For me though, the style keeps it from being an everyday wear item.
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