Three Do-It-All T-Shirts for Women

I’ve been on a quest to find best do-it-all T-shirts for women and that means more than being able to breathe and feel good while I run, hike, ride, climb, do yoga, lift weights,  paddle, and yes, sleep. To me, a perfect T-shirt can also be worn casually without screaming “I work out!”

Throughout my testing over a few months of doing all of the above, I came up with the following criteria:

1. Must not be branded too obviously—no printed name brands, or large logos. I honed in on this test by finding 13 shirts that passed this requirement. All of them could be worn for travel or pass for normal T-shirts.
2. Must not shrink on a cold-wash cycle and low dryer setting (It’s recommended that most wool products should be laid flat or hung up to dry but blends can often handle a low dryer setting). You should always wash new clothes before wearing them to remove chemicals or byproducts from manufacturing. One shirt snugged up too much and was dropped at this stage.
3. Must be comfortable enough to sleep in. This was my favorite test: I like my sleep. There can be no irritating seams or tags. Wool-blend shirts pulled ahead in this category, and a few synthetics made the cut too.
4. Must be able to breathe, wick sweat, and dry quickly while I: trail run, hike with a pack, go on a bike ride, camp, SUP, garden/do yard work, do yoga, play various sports (like sand volleyball or pickleball). Both the wool blends and the synthetics passed the tests, with the synthetics feeling cooler and generally better in summer heat.
5. Must dry quickly and adequately enough to wear all day after any of the above activities. I worked in the shirt for a couple hours after being active in it, sometimes wearing it to run errands or do other tasks. The thinner wool blends surprised me by drying well-enough. One wool-blend shirt I tested stayed very wet for hours, and so it was out of the running.
6. Must not hold onto odor after said activities or simply between washes. I started by smelling myself. I also live with three family members who aren’t shy about asking, “What’s that smell?” when standing close to me.

These are the three shirts that passed with flying colors.

The Three Best Do-It-All T-Shirts for Women

Smartwool Women’s Merino Short Sleeve Tee ($80)

While Smartwool has many multi-use tees, I chose this one because of the minimal branding. That little Smartwool guy is cute and all, but I prefer to have him subtly placed on one side of my lower hip.

The shirt is made from a merino wool/nylon combination fabric (88 percent merino, 12 percent recycled nylon)—the merino is wrapped around the nylon fibers which keeps the soft wool next to the skin. The nylon adds durability and helps the stretchy shirt maintain its shape. My favorite part about this fabric is that it’s extremely lightweight. I have a black sample, and if I hold the front side up over my eyes while I’m wearing it, I can see through it. Its lightness helps it to breathe well and dry quickly, especially for wool. Compared to the other wool-blend shirt in this roundup, I prefer this one for hot-weather activities because of its thinness.

I wore it on a trail run, while hiking, and on a camping trip. I liked its stretchiness–it didn’t inhibit my movement at all. I tend to pull up the sleeves on short-sleeved shirts to make them wear like a tank top at times during a run, then back to a shirt, and this one’s sleeves allowed me to do that easily without getting stretched out. The shirt breathed well, and I didn’t notice any stink after activities.

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Ibex Springbok Short Sleeve Tee ($95)

There’s a reason why there are two wool-blend shirts on this lists. Wool just wears well—it looks good, feels good, and performs. This tee from Ibex sports a tiny logo (a cute little Ibex face) on the, backside of the left hip, to allow the Springbok to blend in with the non-sporting side of my wardrobe. And all seams on this shirt are reinforced, which furthers its refined look.

The Springbok is constructed out of a 45 percent merino wool, 45 percent Tencel, 10 percent nylon blend, which is super soft; I looked forward to the sleep test in this shirt and loved how cozy it felt, without it being too hot. The Tencel  adds durability and structure, and is also anti-microbial (like the wool) so it helps ward off odor from sweat. On the performance end, the seams are smartly placed. The shoulder are dropped down towards the collarbone to not become irritating while wearing a pack (which I found to be accurate during testings), and the underarms are gusseted—which allows better range of motion, especially while reaching overhead. While I can still see through one layer of this shirt, it’s slightly thicker than the Smartwool top. I can see wearing this more on cool to cold days, either on its own or as a layer for winter sports. I accidentally threw this top in the dryer on a low heat after a cold-water wash, and it didn’t shrink, though it did show some minor pilling.

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Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Shirt ($39)

This one has been in heavy  rotation in my closet for a couple years. A tiny Patagonia logo sits at the bottom left hem, and its feathered coloration (I have the Feather Gray, but they’re all feathered) adds to its casual-wear appeal. This shirt almost passes for a cotton tee—but the best thing about it is that it’s not.

It’s made out of Capilene, Patagonia’s 50 percent to 100 percent recycled polyester material that wicks sweat and dries super-quickly—much quicker than the wool shirts in this roundup. The Capilene gets additional performance from da treatment that helps it feel softer and wicks even better, plus an odor-controlling treatment to keep stink in check. The shirt’s seams never chafed me, and the fabric is uber-stretchy and feels great on the skin. Since it dries so fast, it’s been my choice for paddling trips and massive endeavors that cause me to sweat buckets, like hiking out of the Grand Canyon while wearing a heavy pack in May. I also wear this shirt casually with shorts, and it passed the sleep test. It’s a good choice for backpacking trips or camping when you need a do-it-all shirt. And at $39, the price tag is friendlier than the wool options. I just might be storing this one away with other summer clothes when winter rolls around, whereas I’ll wear the wool tees all year.

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Honorable Mention

Oiselle Flyout Boxy Short Sleeve ($56)

The reasons this one didn’t make my top three: Its cropped cut makes it less versatile both wearing casually and during activity. I feel like it looks strange with shorts (two short things stacked on top of each other), and it rode up on trail runs while wearing a hydration vest.

The reasons it gets a mention: I wore it with a jean skirt for a casual dinner and didn’t feel like I looked too runner-nerdy. I also slept in it and it was completely comfortable. And then I ran it in and enjoyed the breezy feel of the fabric. Once I stopped running, it dried very quickly, allowing me to work in it for a couple hours without changing shirts.

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