Battle of the High Tech T-Shirts

It's summer time and that means that one short trip in the New York city subway will leave you dripping with sweat and sticky just in time for your important meeting. In search of something better, the ultimate t-shirt that keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter, that wicks sweat and never smells, I tested some of the different high tech t-shirts. Here are the results:

1. The Best

SmartWool: A wool T-shirt for $50? Am I crazy. I must be because they actually do what they said and they never smell bad after a long day. I also used one as my running T-shirt on a business trip, wearing it on each run without washing inbetween. After a week, it still had no smell whatsoever.

2. Pretty Good

Columbia Titanium: These shirts are very comfortable and although they are polyester, they do have anti-bacterial and odor fighting properties that keep them fairly fresh. The only t-shirt I could find in an entirely neutral white.

Arc'teryx: Another excellent running shirt, unfortunately none of the colors were suitable for wearing under a collared business shirt.

Patagonia: Great shirts, they do eventually get that polyester odor, but not quickly. Very comfortable and very good at keeping you from becoming too sweaty during the day. An odor-free version is promised for this fall.

3. Not acceptable

North Face: Very comfortable shirts, great breathability, but they reek after just one use. You can smell one of these shirts across room, unfortunately.