Review by Arnie P
The Woolrich company originated in Woolrich Pennsylvania in 1830. Over the years I have owned several Woolrich shirts and have always liked them.
- Woolrich Concourse Shirt
The men’s Concourse shirt was provided by Woolrich for review purposes.
The Woolrich company originated in Woolrich Pennsylvania in 1830. Over the years I have owned several Woolrich shirts and have always liked them.
The shirt weighed in at 7 oz on my scale. The weight on the web site is listed as 3 oz, but it does not mention for what size shirt. After contacting the web site, I found that the 3 oz is the weight per square yard. The sizing chart indicates medium for chests measuring 38-40” and large for 42-44”. My chest size is 41” and I like my shirts to be loose fitting. Thus I asked for a large size. When hiking, I wear a long sleeve shirt all the time. This provides for insect protection as well as sun protection. When it gets cooler I can put a light weight mid layer beneath the shirt. When hiking I usually wear silk or wool next to my skin to wick any moisture away from my body. It is always good to keep your body dry.
Concourse shirt pocket
The shirt is available in 8 colors. The colors are Cadet Gingham, Olive Tonal, Light Olive, Moccasin, Deep Naval tonal, Deep Navy Mini, Light Olive Gingham, and Light Olive Mini. I was sent an Olive Tonal color shirt. I found the actual color of the shirt to look better than what I saw on the web site.
Outstanding features as listed on the hang tag:
Button down collar
Convertible roll-up sleeves
Flat button closure pockets
Inner comfort collar band
Wrinkle resistant
Machine washable easy care
And features mentioned on the web site
Two button adjustable cuffs
Curved shirttail hem with even front & back lengths
The care tag reads:
Men’s 6035 Olive Tonal
size L
100% cotton
Made in China
Hand or machine wash cold
no bleach
like colors
gentle cycle
tumble dry lo
remove promptly
cool iron
The features I like are the 2 button down pockets which are big enough for my camera and a cell phone. At other times I may have a compass or a GPS instead of the cell phone. I like being able to roll up my sleeves occasionally and lock them in place with a button. It is no fun to have to continuously roll up your sleeves only to see them return back down quickly. When hiking I like to keep my shirt outside my shorts or pants. This allows for better ventilation. The curved shirt tail hem with even front and back makes this practical as well as better looking.
Trying the Concourse
On a near freezing sunny day I hiked in the Horn Pond reservation. For this hike, I wore a thin wool sweater under the Concourse shirt and a fleece vest over the Concourse shirt. I was comfortable except when the wind picked up. The ground temperature is still colder than the air temperature. So it does not take much of a breeze to feel the cold.
Horn Pond Reservation
I am looking forward to using this shirt in warmer weather. I will also be wearing this shirt to seminars and meetings. Check back in about a month to learn more about the Wooolrich Concourse shirt.
Update
4-24-2011
The snow has gone in Massachusetts and is being replaced with rainy weather. I am finding the Concourse is very versatile and I have used it hiking, attending seminars, socializing, and at various meetings.
Indoor activities
For indoor use I wore a cotton T-shirt as I would normally do for any other shirt I own. The meeting and seminars I attend last from 2 hours to 9 hours. During the course of a long day the temperatures can vary from being too cold to being too warm. I found this shirt has handled these varied conditions better than any other shirt I have. This is good because I attend about a meeting a week.
Outdoor activities
The role of cotton as a material for hiking and backpacking is a topic that comes up often in hiking circles in New England. In general cotton is not recommended for hiking in cold or potentially cold weather. Many leaders will not allow someone who is wearing cotton to be part of an organized hike. The reasoning behind this is that cotton tends to absorb moisture and when this moisture starts to dry it cools down the person and also conducts heat away from the body. One of the things I did with this shirt, in weather below freezing, was to wear a silk first layer, in order to keep moisture away from my body. In this cold weather, I wore a thin wool sweater as a second layer, followed by the Concourse. I then wore a fleece vest over the Concourse shirt. I was always comfortable with this combination. I found this shirt is not like the typical cotton shirt which is thicker and does have a tendency to absorb and hold moisture. The Concourse is thin and dries quickly and thus does not take heat away from my body. I have used cotton T-shirts and found they get damp and stay damp for a long period. So it was a pleasant surprise when I found that I could wear this all cotton shirt without getting wet from sweating. I probably would not go hiking in this shirt when the temperature is much below 20 F. I am looking forward to using this shirt in warmer weather when I will not need the fleece vest for warmth. Since I will be using this shirt a lot in the sun it would be nice to know UPF rating for this shirt. Most likely it is rated over 50, but I still would feel better if I knew the rating.
hiking on town ski slope
During May I will be spending a week in the mountains of New Hampshire. Please check back in about a month when I will have more to say about the Woolrich Concourse shirt.
A last look
5-24-2011
The weather improved in May and in addition to using my Concourse shirt for indoor activities, I hiked twice in Pepperell forest and spent a week in New Hampshire where I was out on a hike nearly every day.
Hiking in Pepperell forest
The first 2 Sundays I was hiking with my hiking friend feral_cat to prepare for upcoming backpacks starting in June. We decided that doing this 8 mile hike would give us an indication of our fitness level. The temperatures ranged from 50-70 F on these hikes, and I found that with a silk undershirt, I did not need a jacket and that I did not get too warm at the higher temperatures. We did each 8 mile hike in about 3 hours. I was comfortable, protected from the sun, well ventilated, and dry.
hiking in Pepperell forest
hiking in Pepperell forest
Hiking in New Hampshire
My wife and I stayed in Franconia Notch for a week. There are several mountains in the area including Lafayette (5260 ft,8th highest in New Hampshire) and Cannon (4100 ft). The upper parts of the these mountains still have snow and when the warmer weather arrives there tends to be a lot of fog surrounding the mountains and the possibility of rain is high a lot of the time. The temperatures for our daily hikes was about 50 F. Since the wind off the mountains can be cold, especially with the high humidity, I wore a silk first layer on the windier days, and this worked out well.
Our first day we walked to Echo lake where I purified some water and then we hiked along a bike path leading to the trail head for Skookumchuck trail. On this hike the temperature was close to 50 F, but the winds were moderate up to 20 mph. They were strong enough that I had to secure my hat or risk having it land somewhere inaccessible such as the lake, a swift stream, or a tree. Another day, we hiked on the Copper Mine trail to Bridal Falls. We almost made it to the falls, but my wife was not able to do a difficult part of the trail. On the way back we returned by way of the Sugar House trail. When we reached the paved road, we were about half a mile from the car. The last part of this hike was through grass and quite a few tics attached themselves to our clothing. Fortunately we don’t think any of them bit us. On another day we hiked most of a 5 mi snowmobile loop north of the Skookumchuck trail. We were lucky to see a young moose briefly as it walked onto and up the trail in front of us. The moose seem to walk slowly, but cover a lot of ground quickly. Then on the next to the last day of our trip we visited the Basin and Baby Basin in Franconia Notch, and again walked some of the bike path.
on the shores of Echo Lake
on bike path to Skookumchuck trail head
on Coppermine Trail
on snowmobile trail
at Baby Basin
on the shores of Echo Lake
on bike path to Skookumchuck trail head
on Coppermine Trail
on snowmobile trail
at Baby Basin
Summary
I have used the Concourse shirt almost daily, and overall I am very pleased with the outcome. The material dries quickly. When temperatures reached into the high 70′s, I would probably want a faster drying material. The quality of this shirt is extremely good. I could not find any loose threads anywhere, and after two months no signs of wear or tears. I washed the shirt several times and there are no stains.
I wish to thank Woolrich and 4alloutdoors for giving me the opportunity to test the Concourse shirt.
