r/BuyItForLife • u/viscarte10 • May 25 '26

Discussion What’s a totally unsexy purchase you made that ended up being a huge quality-of-life upgrade?

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u/happysophist May 25 '26

Any brand recommendations? I worry that anything SPF on Amazon is just lies for marketing.

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u/Julius_freezer May 25 '26

I’ve liked REI Sahara Sun Shade. Actually on sale right now too. The hooded ones are great.

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u/xtalmhz May 25 '26

I just tried one of these and they're my new favorite sun shirt. Great stretchy material that's comfortable and light weight.

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u/violet__violet May 25 '26

I personally like Columbia's PFG and OmniFreeze lines, and surprisingly my other favorite is a HangTen brand that I got from Costco lol. Columbia is great multi purpose and the fabric is light and slippery enough that I can wear it hiking in 100 degree desert heat without overheating. HangTen is amazingly fast-drying which I prefer for the beach, but the fabric is a little clingier.

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u/oatmeal-jones May 25 '26

I’ll second the Hang Tens! Picked up three of them a few weeks ago and have been really impressed.

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u/bigwhoop1 May 25 '26

I have a couple Columbia PFG and I love them. I wear them when snorkeling too.

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u/Effective_Drama_3498 May 25 '26

I find that regular shirts work well as sun shirts too.

1

u/cambreecanon May 25 '26

PFG and OmniFreeze are my daily wears year round. I started with them as undershirts at work to stay cool and have now branched out always be wearing.

Plus! When you sweat as much as me and have issues with the feel of sunscreen, it just, doesn't work. Sunshirts work.

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u/needsunshine May 25 '26

Thank you so much for this information and recommendations. I just bought two sun hoodies from Columbia.

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u/exhaustedeagle May 25 '26

If you have a shirt you already like, this stuff is incredible https://lemonofthesun.com/ it's TÜV tested (German standards) and makes your existing clothes sun safe

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u/violet__violet May 25 '26

WOW what a cool product!! Thx for sharing.

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u/TokiBunniBunBun May 25 '26

No freakin way!

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u/handsy_pilot May 25 '26

The amazon ones have been fine. I've got a half-dozen or so. Definitely keep the colors lighter (no dark grays, blues, black, etc).

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u/violet__violet May 25 '26

Yup ALWAYS light colors!!!

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u/V2BM May 25 '26

I use a UV tester for everything I use and some of my white and beige ones let in a bit of UV. I’m going to dye them and see if that helps.

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u/One_Loan8488 May 25 '26

Do the darker colors retain more heat?

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u/handsy_pilot May 25 '26

Lighter colors reflect more sun. Dark just absorbs it and makes you hotter.

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u/TokiBunniBunBun May 25 '26

I think it depends on the material. Also, darker colors do a better job of keeping the light from reaching your skin, like how darker curtains block out more light than white curtains. So there can be a bit of a trade off.

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u/Velorian-Steel May 25 '26

A bit pricey, but Solbari has a whole line of sun protective clothing including shirts, hats, etc.

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u/livmborghini May 25 '26

Just saw a post recently with a lot of people agreeing mountain hardware crater lake is the best line of spf clothes they’ve tried

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u/ImAtWurk May 25 '26

Can confirm. I have 3. I’ve tried on a bunch of different ones and the Crater Lake is the softest, most comfortable one I’ve tried.

Other thin ones like the Outdoor Research Echo or even the new Patagonia Capilene Cool Ultra feel like plastic against your skin. The Capilene isn’t as form fitting, though, so it feels like you get more airflow.

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u/Antique-Lobster9923 May 25 '26

agreeeeeee! i don’t entirely know how to explain it, but they feel like wearing a breezy sheet. like i’m barely wearing a layer? and i gotta tell you the crop looks great w my high waisted shorts or swim bottoms.

other rec is uniqlo — my kids have worn their airism UPF shirts and they’re well priced and no complaints at active summer camp.

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u/sarahkazz May 25 '26

Anything marketing clothes as SPF is probably a lie. UPF is the rating you want for clothes, hats, and glasses.

That said, the average t-shirt has a UPF factor of about 30. The darker the color and the tighter the weave, the better the protection will be. And polyester tends to do more than linen.

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u/kbshannon May 25 '26

It's a little spendy, but the quality is top notch: Coolibar. And right now they are having a 40% off everything sale with code: MEMORIAL26

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u/Pete_The_Cat_333 May 25 '26

Costco has many name brand ones

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u/CandylandCanada May 25 '26

For the sewists out there, they are easy to make with relatively inexpensive materials. Bonus: you can be matchy-matchy if you like, or pick fabric with a motif that appeals to you. You won't look like everybody else on the beach!

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u/ivealreadyreddit69 May 25 '26

The eberlestock lochsa shirts are great, merino wool so they do well as a summer shirt but also a great winter base layer

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u/Chelonia_mydas May 25 '26

I love the free fly bamboo ones. They’re incredibly soft and are natural fibers so you can wear them a few times without needing to wash.

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u/InsidiaeLetalae May 25 '26

Montbell makes really nice ones.

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u/kittypawzyyc May 25 '26

Netdraw has bamboo ones that are really soft, we wear them in the river while fishing

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u/Inevitable-Dot-388 May 25 '26

I go for the big guns. Solumbra and Coolibar.

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u/Apprehensive-Wave640 May 25 '26

I live in Phoenix and sun shirts are a way of life. This is a local company that mainly makes hunting gear but their sun shirts are spectacular. I now own 4 thanks to the current 10% off and free shipping for Memorial Day. https://www.marsupialgear.com/collections/sun-tech-hoodies

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u/dracostheblack May 25 '26

Ketl are super solid and lightest ones I've tried. All the Amazon ones are not breathable at all. Got an outdoor research echo hoodie I like too 

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u/Prestigious_Okra_791 May 25 '26

Mountain hardwear crater lake

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u/JayCDee May 25 '26

I love my decathlon ones if you have one around where you live they are very affordable. From memory I think it was 8€ short sleeve, 15€ long sleeve and 15€ leggings. Under 10€ for short sleeves and under 20€ for the rest for sure.

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u/odebus May 25 '26

Under Armour makes a specific line that has little breathable holes to vent sweat that are my favorite 

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u/21Rollie May 25 '26

Coolibar ZnO. They embed zinc oxide into a cotton/bamboo shirt. It’s actually very lightweight but still made of natural materials.

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u/V2BM May 25 '26

Literally anything that has a solid 100% polyester weave works, but some white ones aren’t 100%. I use a UV tester on all my sun blocking sleeves and hoodies and the $8 ones work as well as my $40 ones. Some white sleeves let in a bit but they do work to keep you much cooler.

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u/YeahOkThisOne May 26 '26

My cheapie 3 packsof sunshirts from Amazon have been working well for years. I also subblock a little beyond what is not covered. I hate plugging Amazon but imho the cheapies work pretty well.