Note: Minus33 provided this item for review.

Minus33 sent me the Kearsarge Polo in Azure Blue to try out. This is a merino wool pool which comes in a few different colors at a really solid price. I’ve recently become a pretty big fan of the value proposition/quality that Minus33 offers, and this polo is a perfect example of that.

I’m a big fan.

Materials

This is a 100% merino wool garment made from 17.5 micron merino at a weight of 170gsm. This makes it a decently lightweight shirt, and thus the UPF rating is at 25 per Minus33. The material itself is less pique polo style, and more jersey polo style — which is to say it’s more like a t-shirt fabric made with a collar and such.

That’s not a slight, it’s a nice material. I find the 17.5 micron merino a really nice balance of comfort and price and I don’t think many will notice a practical difference between it and something more fine like 16 micron. All in all, the material is thick enough to not be see through, but lightweight enough to breath well.

Fit & Style

This is made to be an untucked polo look, and it pulls that off well. The Azure Blue color is quite bright, but there are other color options as well — I do like the brightness of this. The collar is also really nice, as it stays put and in decent shape overall.

I found the fit to be tailored, as best I can put it, with the sleeves being slightly more relaxed. All in all this is a solid polo shirt cut, leaning slightly more casual because of the styling on the collar. It’s good stuff, nothing overly remarkable (which is basically what I want out of a polo). Minus33 does put a discrete tag on the side hem, I’ve not tried removing it, but I do wish it wasn’t there.

Performance

We’ve written about merino wool here a bunch, and this being 100% merino wool there’s nothing different. It has remarkable odor resistance, very good wrinkle resistance, and dries quickly given both the material and the weight of the material.

I’ve worn it quite a few days in a row without it smelling or looking any worse for wear. I’ve also never found a need to steam it, I wash it, hang it to dry, and toss it back on. Even in the humid heat I get in Houston, this has wicked moisture away quick enough as to never be a concern.

The one performance factor this is lacking on is the UPF rating, especially for a shirt you would find yourself wearing for a day out in the sun. This is more a merino wool fault, than anything else, but worth noting.

Overall

I absolutely love this shirt, and at $75 it offers a very competitively priced item, with some really nice materials and solid finishing. I’ve been looking to add more polos to my closet, and this one quickly found a spot as one of my most worn items. It’s the perfect weight, in my favorite shirting material.

Find here, $75.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

I’ve been more and more inclined to not wear t-shirts of late, which means I have been looking to expand my clothing into short-sleeved button-ups and polos. I have a few from Outlier, but was looking for something a little easier/worry-free to care about, and snagged the Triple Aught Design Gemini Shirt Short Sleeve in Gunmetal.

I’ve had it for a while now, and thought I would share my thoughts on a shirt which has become a staple for me.

Straight out of the washing machine, no attempts to remove wrinkles.

Material

This is a 65% Polyester, 35% Cotton shirt which comes in an a rather light 122gsm material with a DWR finish to it. The handfeel of the material is absurdly soft, and Triple Aught Design notes that the fabric has a ‘sanded finish’. I’ve not seen that before, but it feels as soft as you could get something before it starts to look fuzzy — if that makes sense.

This means it not only feels soft, but it has a softer/no-glare finish to it, while not been a full matte finish. It’s a really nice and subtle effect that keeps the material from having that synthetic sheen/vibe to it.

The materials are nice, and feel even nicer in hand.

Fit and Style

The trick on short sleeve shirts is for the styling and fit to work well for you. I’ve found this shirt to fit a little boxier, and is cut very long in the torso. I have a long torso already, and this size Large shirt (my normal size) had me immediately remark “wow, that’s long”. Certainly not too long to wear untucked, but any longer and I wouldn’t be a fan.

That said the cut overall is pretty nice. I do have broad shoulders and find that while the size fits me perfectly across the shoulders, the shirt can be a little restrictive on my arm movements in extreme circumstances — a little stretch in the material would go a long way here.

The drape of this shirt is a little stiff looking. It doesn’t quite flow, but it doesn’t look stiff either. It’s so light that the entire shirt tends to sway, instead of falling easily with gravity — hard to describe, but the drape gives away the shirt a bit.

The collar though, the collar is extremely good and stays nicely. This is really well done.

The one caveat is the chest pockets. These are an intentional design decision and they are what gives this shirt a unique look. I’ve never had anyone comment on them one way or the other, but if you don’t like the look of the chest pockets in these pictures, you won’t like them in person either. They don’t bother me, but they are different and worth basing your decision on.

Performance

As always, here’s the stated claims and what I have seen in use:

• Moisture Wicking: this is a mixed bag for me. The shirt does dry very quickly, there’s no doubt about it. It would be easy to sink wash, and dry over a short night before wearing again. However, when I start to build up sweat, I do notice the shirt can feel a little clammy between my skin and the shirt, like the sweat isn’t being pulled into the shirt and wicked away. That said, suddenly the moisture will disappear, and I don’t know what to make of that.
• Wrinkle Resistance: yeah, pretty much as claimed. You wash it, pull it out, hang dry or dryer, there’s not enough wrinkles to ever keep you from wearing this. I’ve not packed it for travel, but it’s my most wrinkle resistant short sleeved shirt.
• Resists stains: yep, the DWR coating is solid, but will wear off eventually.
• Lightweight and Packable: yep.
• Easy to care for: 100%, yes.

I wore this for a cool morning while the kids took tennis lessons and it blocked the light breeze to keep me comfortable, then I went straight into the yard pulling weeds in 80°F heat and it stayed clean and I didn’t overheat. I really like this shirt, as it’s very comfortable to wear.

For me the biggest performance advantage of this shirt is how easy to care for it is. Wash and dry however, it seems to not bother the shirt. No wrinkles, and strong DWR to keep it looking clean. When I travel this summer, I’ll always be taking this shirt with me.

Overall

It’s not my favorite looking shirt, and I wish the color selection was better, but I do really like how easy this shirt is. There’s better performing shirts out there for hot weather (Outlier’s Ramie SS gear is legend for this), but this is the most performant while being easy to care for shirt I have found. I’d buy another if they had some less ‘tactical’ looking colorways available. As it is, if you like the pockets and the color, this is a great add.

Find here, $95.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.