In the summer my skin needs to breathe. Anything except loose fitting clothing and I start to break out in a rash. Most of the time I'm wearing shorts and a tee shirt.

On 5/29/2026 at 9:22 PM, DaubsNU1 said:

Shelta hat

I've been contemplating that hat. The sun hat I wear now "Outdoor Research Sombriolet" is a good one until the wind blows the brim up.

This is my personal experience, im not claiming it as hard fact...

When its hot, most of the sun shirts are fine. When its heat warning, air so thick you need to bite off a chunk and chew before you can breathe it, 90-100 and 90÷% humidity HOT, the Huk shirts with the mesh back and sleeve bottoms are noticeably cooler. The Icon-x is my go-to. If you shop hard and with patience, you can get them from Amazon for $20-30.

As for the rest, a Real Deal Brazil tarp hat (surprisingly light and comfortable in the heat), Huk or KK lightweight fishing shorts, Crocs, and Costa sunglasses. Sunblock on my legs, face, and hands.

Oh yeah, compression fit underwear is extremely important.

1 hour ago, Lead Head said:

This is my personal experience, im not claiming it as hard fact...

When its hot, most of the sun shirts are fine. When its heat warning, air so thick you need to bite off a chunk and chew before you can breathe it, 90-100 and 90÷% humidity HOT, the Huk shirts with the mesh back and sleeve bottoms are noticeably cooler. The Icon-x is my go-to. If you shop hard and with patience, you can get them from Amazon for $20-30.

As for the rest, a Real Deal Brazil tarp hat (surprisingly light and comfortable in the heat), Huk or KK lightweight fishing shorts, Crocs, and Costa sunglasses. Sunblock on my legs, face, and hands.

Oh yeah, compression fit underwear is extremely important.

I agree 100% with the underwear. They have to be breathable and tight fitting for me in that kind of weather

Sunscreen has worked well for years.

I've also been known to dive in when It gets hot, that has also worked well.

I wear mostly huk. Mostly the icon long sleeve shirts. I’ve never found it uncomfortable and it very breathable. I also wear a neck gaiter, hat, and sun gloves.

I like wearing shorts and flip flops when I can, and the best solution I’ve found for exposed skin is a sun screen stick for the face and generally lotion for my legs and feet. I try to reapply every 2-3 hours but during a tournament that might only happen a couple times per day.

3 hours ago, Lead Head said:

compression fit underwear is extremely important.

Why? On occasion I won't wear any. If I wade in it feels much better not wearing wet briefs the next couple of hours.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret that won't break the bank - Kast King UV50 moisture wicking hoodies. They even have a built in gaiter.

I've fished in the summer GA and SC heat with heat indices in the upper 90's and these do a fantastic job of wicking the moisture away. Once that problem was solved, the next problem was a head covering that didn't trap heat yet still kept me protected.

I tried a number of different hats and settled on the Kast King boonie (the plain, light tan one). It's breathable and has a detachable neck guard as well. It's the first head covering I found that didn't make my head overheat.

I have no idea if Kast King makes decent reels or any other fishing equipment, but their outerwear has been great. I recently purchased their rain suit as well and while it did a great job of keeping my dry this past week, it it did heat me up a bit. The jury is still out on that one.

19 hours ago, scaleface said:

I've been contemplating that hat. The sun hat I wear now "Outdoor Research Sombriolet" is a good one until the wind blows the brim up.

I love the Shelta hats. Have several. They even float.

And best of all, they fit my giant dome, size 8!

Older styles are on clearance, $20 off.

Sheltahats

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Protect yourself from UV rays with High Performance Sun Hats. PATENTED No Flop Visor with UPF 50 sun protection. The best sun hats in wet or windy conditons for fishing, sailing, golfing, stand up pad

Sadly I am allergic to Nylon and don’t do well with bamboo either. So I just have to wear very loose light fitting long sleeve shirts and pants. Usually not nearly the UV protection. Lenin is wonderful but provides very little UV protection. Light cotton is what I usually end up with except hottest of days then cheap Lenin.