Gear Review: Dakine Chester/Cheyenne Shirt
It looks like a button up, but is amazingly functional in the backcountry
Our testers were hard-pressed to find conditions in which this cowboy-cool shirt didn’t excel. “Wear it to dinner at the resort, on cold backcountry ski days, or as a midlayer on summer backpacking trips,” says one
Colorado tester.
Two layers of polyester are interlocked during the knitting process to form fabric that’s “softer than any merino I’ve worn, but not plasticky feeling like so many synthetics,” reports another tester. The pointelle weave adds decorative flare and boosts breathability, with sweat vapor escaping via the tiny holes. While close to a 10 on the warmth scale, the shirt vents well due to seven front buttons (snaps on the women’s Cheyenne).
The extra-long tail keeps your backside covered, and fourway stretch accommodates the gangliest telemarking form. An editor who wore the Chester for a week in Iceland writes that drying times were slower than other baselayers, and odor started building after about two days, despite the fabric’s antibacterial treatment.
$60
13 oz.
m’s S-XL, w’s S-XL
dakine.com