We had the chance to check out Mountain Khakis’ popular Granite Creek Long Sleeve shirt in fetching truffle color, and I can say with confidence that this is one of my favorite shirts of this style I’ve ever tested! Flexible, ventilated long sleeve shirts are a favorite style of mine, and I have reviewed and even purchased many of them, so I consider myself something of an expert.
Though Granite Creek packs a few features that I think are worth noting. The first is the fabric—it’s a little thicker than some of the simple nylon fabric shirts that came out early when this style was becoming popular, but it breathes amazingly well. Also, unlike some of the older shirt of this style, the Granite Creek has DWR to keep you dry and UVA/UVB 50+ for sun protection.
Many of these shirts wear their ventilation on their sleeves, as it were—or rather on their backs in the form of slits and gills that flap in the wind and look out of place anywhere other than holding a fishing pole. The Granite Creek has no such failings and looks just as at home in an office setting or on the town as it does in camp or on the trail. I love that versatility!
I also really like the double chest pockets, with two chest pockets secured by hidden snap closures and beneath them hidden Napoleon styled pockets of the mesh for further ventilation. The shirt does have back panel ventilation, but it’s subtle, and you’d be hard pressed to notice it.
I love shirts like this because in the summer you can wear it without a T-shirt and the ventilation helps keep you cool and protected at the same time. When cooler weather hits, you can wear a T-shirt underneath and still enjoy great breathability and a very comfortable shirt. To me, versatility like this makes it an ideal trail shirt and great for travel—if you’re hot, roll up the sleeves. Cool? Roll them down. Best of all, it seems to dry quickly and did not show wear or wrinkle, which is especially important when packing light for a trip—you could pull it out of your luggage and wear it immediately, wash it fast, and leave your other shirts behind.
At $95 the Granite Creek is a bit more than some competing shirts of this type, which can be had for more like $70. However, few have the Mountain Khakis’ additional features like DWR and sun protection in this price bracket. The Granite Creek competes more with higher priced items from companies like Patagonia, and in that company it more than holds its own. I would not hesitate to recommend this shirt, especially because the fabric gives the impression it will wear very well and showed great longevity. Check out the Granite Creek long sleeve on Mountain Khakis’ website, and if you share it via social media, they will take three dollars off the sale price as a way of saying thank you! Tell them Benosh sent you.
