- any of the plastic fibers will have issues with odor getting baked in
- out of the available options, the main choice for tropical travelers was generally lightweight nylon
- there’s the whole slew of plant fibers
- cotton has been pretty much the go-to choice for a long time – aside from its environmental impact, its biggest issue is not letting go of moisture – not an issue in desert environments but can make you feel like you’re being steamed in tropical environments
- linen, hemp, and ramie are the old school fibers and all have an interesting side effect of getting stronger when they get wet – their biggest shortcoming is aesthetic, they wrinkle like crazy
- there’s been decent advances in the newer fibers like bamboo and lyocell (wood fiber) and they seem to come with a whole host of benefits as well (including anti-odor)
- the controversial category is the animal fibers
- silk is the most expensive with wild silk (ethical version) being even more expensive – great for tropical climates but doesn’t handle UV exposure
- the traditional choice was tropical weight wool – lightweight wool with all the benefits of wool (anti-odor, anti-bacterial, breathable, “cool in summer, warm in winter”, etc.)
this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023
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Thank you Cerement for a very comprehensive answer! I wasn't aware tropical weight wool was a thing. Do you have any personal preference when it comes to the plant based choices, aside from cotton?
- I think your best bet is going to be bamboo and lyocell – they tend to be much easier to get hold of (availability and price)
- they’re both being treated as “performance fabrics” so often through outdoor and sports stores as well as traditional retail
- odd little twist with lyocell, for some reason it’s marketed more towards women than men
- if you don’t mind the constant rumpled look, then basic linen works just fine – main issue is access, most modern linen comes out of the EU (US companies almost completely ignore it since it doesn’t fit into fast fashion)
- you would probably get better results out of hemp but, despite the recent Farm Bill, it’s still tainted with Hearst’s and Nixon’s “reefer madness” so what’s on the market is usually heavyweight stuff through co-op/hippie/new age stores (and styled to fit that aesthetic)
I did notice that about linen. I seems like very few people wear it anymore. I expected to find way more down here in one of the most humid places in the US. I very much appreciate you giving me your time!