Originally Posted by
Sy Reene
It has been an interesting thread, but hasn't really touched much on what I was looking for feedback on. That is, can technical clothing actually be more cooling than slathering bare skin with sunscreen. There've been mentions in past threads how the right kinds of clothing increases the surface area that holds sweat, (ie. more than the skin's surface area), so that with wind effect, the sweat evaporation rate is actually higher than with bare skin and therefore could be more cooling (if it's not instead insulating the body)..
Louis Garneau has recommended certain jerseys specifically for the cooling effects of some fabrics. That's why I got a Garneau Lemmon II jersey, for our brutal Texas summers. I rode for two hours at noon Saturday when the temp reached 100F, and so humid the "feels like" temp was over 111F. Brutal and I dialed my effort way back. But the jersey was comfortable -- more comfortable than my Bontrager and Pearl Izumi jerseys with more typical tech fabric.
If I wanted to avoid sun on my arms I'd get the long sleeve version of the Lemmon II. But I need more sun so I'm considering the sleeveless version.
Garneau also has an Icefit fabric jersey. Like the Lemmon jersey it uses multiple types of fabrics, including mesh fabrics in the high sweat areas -- underarms, upper back yoke, etc.
I'm sure other jersey makers offer similar jersey fabrics designed more for summer comfort than purist graphic appeal. There are two or three major mills that make almost all the wicking fabric for almost every sporting apparel maker.
These fabrics may not accept sublimated graphics, and tend to resemble a patchwork of two or three fabric types. I'm not a fan of sublimated graphics or the type of fabric designed to accept those graphics. Feels kinda plasticky to me. I have 'em, from Pearl Izumi, but I don't wear them often in summer.