Are Linen Shirts Good? (For Hiking And Summer)

Some people claim that linen shirts are the best thing in the world of fashion right now, while others think of them as abominations for mankind. If you have become tired of this debate, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, I will try to figure out the answer to one of the most hotly-debated fashion issues.

Are linen shirts good or bad?

Linen shirts are good for the summers and can be worn at both casual and business events. On the other hand, they are bad for the winters as they don’t insulate the body. They are also bad for camping and hiking, as they tend to show creases pretty easily.

The question “Are linen shirts good” is very vast in its scope. Therefore, I have tried to break it down into a bunch of subtopics so you figure out if wearing a linen shirt is good for you.

Are Linen Shirts Good For The Summer?

Linen shirts are excellent for the summer season, as their breathability ensures that any moisture or sweat that your body produces is quickly wicked away. This helps in lowering the overall body temperature and thus makes you feel cooler.

Personally speaking, linen is my favorite material for the summers, beating linen by a huge margin. It’s available in a wide variety of colors and fits and ensures that you don’t look like a sweaty mess.

And because linen is extremely stiff, it will not stick to your body. Thus, if compared to a cotton shirt, a linen shirt would make the wearer feel much more comfortable.

Since the fibers of linen are hollow, it allows the sweat from the body to be evaporated at astonishing speeds. This hollowness also promotes breathability and makes sure that you sweat less in the first place. Thus, wearing a linen shirt in the summers is a win-win decision.

Are Linen Shirts Good For Hiking?

Linen shirts are not the best choice if you are going hiking. Although linen is very good at wicking away moisture, it does not provide heat to the wearer and is less durable than synthetic fibers such as polyester. If going hiking, your best bet would be to wear merino wool and polyester blend garments.

Hiking is an activity in which you are definitely going to be exposed to elements of nature. Although linen handles heat well, it is not going to be equally effective in insulating the body on a chilly day. It also does not handle rain well, as it is neither water-resistant nor waterproof.

Due to both these reasons, hikers and campers usually tend to avoid linen. But if you really want to wear a linen garment, there is one way to get around the disadvantages posed by this fabric.

Wear a linen blend instead of pure linen. By blending it with synthetic fabrics like polyester, the manufacturers allow us the best of both worlds. We can have both the breathability of linen along the durability of polyester.

Are Linen Shirts Good When Travelling?

Linen shirts can be great for traveling and vacations depending on the location that you are going to. They tend to look best (and work best) on beach vacations or in more tropical areas. They are not that great if you are going to a colder area.

However, one thing that you need to keep in mind with linen is that it is going to rumple and wrinkle.

This is not much of a problem if you carry a travel iron like I always do (If you don’t know what a travel iron looks like, this is what I am talking about), but if you don’t, then be aware that you might have to wear your linen wrinkled.

If this is the case for you, I would recommend avoiding linen, especially if you are going on a business trip. Wrinkled linen does look good on casual occasions, but does not work well on dressier occasions and fine-dining events.

Are Linen Shirts Good For The Winter?

To be honest, linen shirts are not that good for the winters. Their breathability becomes a curse in colder temperatures because it ensures that the body is not able to insulate itself.

It is much better if you go for knitted fabrics such as merino wool and cashmere in the winter, as they tend to do a much better job at keeping you warm. Linen can still be okay in the fall though, but you would have to do some due diligence of your own.

If you are buying a linen shirt for wearing in the fall, make sure that you get a heavier shirt. Although linen is pretty light in terms of fabric weight, there are variations of it that are considerably heavier. So go for one of those and you would be adequately warm for the majority of the fall season.

What Is Bad About Linen Shirts?

Although linen shirts are great and deserve to be part of everyone’s summer wardrobe, there are some downsides to this fabric too.

As I mentioned in this article before, linen is terrible when it comes to heat retention. It is good for breathability, but this same thing makes it prone to colder weather. It does not do a good job of heating the body in extreme winters.

Another aspect of linen that can be considered a downside is the fact that linen can get wet pretty easily. It is neither waterproof like polyester nor water-resistant like merino wool. This feature is particularly important to those who are going hiking or camping.

Linen is a stiff fabric that offers very little stretch. This makes it probably the worst fabric when it comes to activewear and sportswear. Blending linen with synthetic fabrics does help in this matter, but not by a huge margin.

However, there still are a few different ways to soften a linen shirt.

Final Remarks

Linen shirts are excellent for the summer. They can be worn while traveling, and look good on dressy occasions as well as casual events. But linen shirts are not the ideal choice for winters, and their lack of heat insulation properties also make them a bad candidate when going hiking.

In this article, I gave you a whole lot of information telling why it was good (and a little bit about why it is bad), but the final decision is up to you. Take a look at this post again, and determine if linen shirts are good for you.