The Tern Ultralight Merino Wool Shirt is a hot weather top (also great as a base layer in cold weather) that has excellent moisture wicking, comfort, sun protection, & quick drying abilities. It's odor and bacteria resistant, with adequate durability for the ultralight weight.
The fit should be athletic, but not tight or restrictive- this allows the merino wool blend to more effectively wick moisture from your body. There is no hardware, adding to the simplicity and decreasing weight. The Tern is a high performance piece for high activity.
The natural odor resistant & ultralight properties of merino wool make the shirt perfect for travel, running, hiking, and everyday use.
Use the Tern on warm days to shield yourself from the sun without overheating, or use it as a base layer in colder temps and take advantage of the merino wool next to skin.
We offer both a long sleeved hooded option (which works well as a sun shirt) and a short sleeved T-shirt option.
Weight:
Hoodie (Men's L): 5.4 oz
T-Shirt (Men's L): 4.1 oz
Features:
True Flat-Lock Seams
Raglan Sleeves
Minimal Clean Collar Hood
Excellent Stretch
Moisture Wicking
Bacteria/Odor Resistant
Quick Drying
UPF Rating 36+
Technology:
- Fabric: 115 GSM Merino Wool blend - 58% merino (18 micron) / 42% nylon, knit
- Fit: Close
- The Tern hoodie or T-shirt should fit close to skin and fit easily beneath other layers.
- Gender: Men's sizing (see product images for how the Tern fits women)
Care: This product is built for ultralight performance, & was not built to withstand abrasion.
Do not wash in a machine that has an agitator. Use mild detergent on a delicate cycle with cold water. Hang dry.
Note: If used with a backpack, some pilling may occur. Pilling will not affect performance, & is not covered under warranty.
Warranty: Outdoor Vitals Performance Promise
Layering Collection: Kinetic
Layering Category: Moving Set or Baselayers
Product Care
Your Tern Ultralight Merino Wool apparel is a high performance piece of gear. It needs some extra attention to keep it performing at the highest level.
Please read through the care instructions below to ensure that you care for it properly:
Before Washing
- Never wash your merino wool with anything with velcro or similar hook & loop characteristics.
- Never wash your merino wool in a washing machine that has an agitator.
- If you cannot follow any of these prior instructions you should hand wash your product using the detergent and drying process described below.
The Wash & Dry Process
- Use a mild detergent like Dreft (for babies) or Nikwax (for technical gear).
- Choose Low Spin or Delicate wash.
- Choose Cold Wash & Cold Rinse (add extra rinse if possible).
- Hang dry until the product is completely dry.
For more information on caring for your gear please visit https://outdoorvitals.com/pages/care-guide-faq
NuYarn Technology
Outdoor vitals uses Nuyarn® Technology in all of our merino wool fabrics & apparel. Nuyarn is a spinning technology that releases the natural performance characteristics of wool fiber that are otherwise twisted out by traditional wool spinning methods.
Essentially the result is performance products made from natural fibers that can outperform synthetics.
Nuyarn can make wook that performs as closely as possible to the way it does in nature, to rival or exceed the performance of synthetic alternatives.
Types of Spinning
Ring Spun & Traditional Core Spun techniques compress the natural air pockets in the fiber, create loops, & restrict the natural movement of the fibers -essentially creating a rope-like structure that can be itchy next to skin.
Nuyarn® does not twist the fibers. Instead it drafts merino fibers along a high performance filament, resulting in 2 ply yarns with much more volume & aeration. (This 2 ply yarn structure is 35% finer than yarns spun on a conventional ring frame. Combined with the Nuyarn® thermal advantage, this offers the capacity to engineer much lighter, high performance fabrics as a result.)
Benefit Summary
The Nuyarn® method of twist-free spinning allows us to create products that outperform traditional merino wool & synthetics, and offer a natural enhancer to athletic performance.
- 5x Faster Drying
- 85% More Elasticity
- 120% More Seam Strength
- 53% More Air Resistant
- 30% Less Resources Used
- 8.8x More Durable
- 35% More Thermal Retention
- 50% More Burst Strength
- 25% Less Energy Used
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The very first day that I wore this was the start of a 8 day Appalachian trail trip from Rutland Vermont to Franconia Notch New Hampshire starting September 2, 2023. Before I had even gotten out of the car on the trip to the trail head I had somehow snagged a thread and gotten a run in the shirt - like the run in a stocking. Not sure how that happened - I hadn't done anything yet!. Over the next 3 days I continued to produce snags and pulls nearly every time I disconnected the chest strap from my pack. The warranty notes for the shirt said it didn't cover pilling. This wasn't pilling - this was snagging.
The weather for the first few days of this trip was unseasonably warm and humid - temps in the high 70s to low 80s, with dew points in the 70s. I literally had sweat pouring off of my body, and was sweating liquids out as fast as I could take them in. In these conditions, the shirt was impossible to dry. I wrung the sweat out of the shirt each afternoon, and hunt it to get as much air movement and sun as I could. No dice. Each morning was a clammy unpleasant experience.
I bought the shirt for the blend of wool and nylon, hoping that the wool would keep the stink factor down and that the nylon would promote wicking and drying. However, I found that the shirt became a soggy mop - impossible to dry in these conditions. As I passed through Hanover, NH I stopped at a gear outfitter and purchased a pure synthetic shirt. I joyously stripped the OV shirt off for that synthetic shirt - the feeling of relief was immediate. I was then faced with the prospect of wringing out the soggy mop and packing it into a ziploc for a few days until the end of the trip. Ugh. Since I was trying to go ultralight on this trip, such a prospect was unwelcome. At that point the number of snags on the chest of the shirt was kind of humorous. (I wish I had taken a picture.) Ultimately, I decided not to pack the OV shirt home. $60 down the drain as I just deposited it in a trash can.
How much of this is OV's fault? Well, clearly the shirt was a mismatch for the conditions faced. That's on me. But the runs and pulls? That's on OV. Again, the first one happened BEFORE I HAD EVEN GOTTEN OUT OF THE CAR. And by the time I got to Hanover (day 4), it was so bad I didn't even want to pack it out.
Fast answer, I love the Tern series and recommend them to anyone looking for a good base layer. I now own 3 Tern hoodies and 2 Tern Tshirts. So yeah they're great.
I wear the hoodie the most during the summer to give myself the extra sun protection. I've worn this to the beach, amusement parks, water parks and to my kid's soccer games. I'm never over heating especially if I'm only wearing the Tern hoodie and I've always been amazed at how fast it dries.
This past July during a hot, for New Hampshire, series of 90+ I was on a 2 days/1 night trip. I actually got chills one of those days while hiking since the sweat seemed to be pulled so fast. I used the hoodie during the day and then the tshirt for bed. Gray all day and red for bed.
As for the shirt itself, it is very light weight. The hoodie weighed in at 194g for the 3XL. The tshirt cut back to 144g. It packs down really well, maybe a softball size in my hands but likely could get it smaller.
I have long arms 38" and a thick neck ~19", I am ~275lbs and 6' tall. One might say a bit more than the basic dad bod in terms of physique. The 3XL fits me really well I do not feel like a sausage as I often do in clothes that are "athletic" style/fit. I could probably drop down to the 2XL.
Great shirt. Dries super fast, doesn’t stink or retain smell. Love it.
Great for sleeping in.
Absolutely loved this shirt: lightweight, wicking and breathable... but it lasted only 1.5 trips before it developed a hole where the waist belt of my pack caused some abrasion.
5 stars for fit, comfort and function, 1 star for practicality
A great dayhiking piece, but not practical for a backpacking trip for me.