Columbia Men's Airgill Long Sleeve Knit

breeze amplifier
April 13, 2011

I was looking to upgrade my trusty UA catalyst shirts that I use primarily for paddling and stumbled upon these and ordered a large blue one. Even before I tried it on, I knew it was way too big and the blue was a shade or two lighter than it appears on my PC. I normally wear a large for Columbia tops and they fit great. I returned the blue one for a fossil size medium and I honestly think I could fit into the small, but I decided to keep the medium. Right away I also noticed the weight of the shirt is considerably more than the catalyst I was comparing it to, so at that point I thought I had probably made a mistake paying so much for the Columbia garment vs. the relatively low cost of another catalyst. After wearing it on an all day paddling trip with temps in the 80s, I changed my mind. These are the next generation of sun protection. The nifty gills on the side provide active ventilation. Every paddle stroke came with a puff of cooling air and if I lifted my back off the backrest, the effect from the back vent was quite refreshing. It vented so well, in fact, I wished I had brought my fleece a couple times during the trip and overheating in the sun was never an issue. These are much much more stain resistant than the catalyst also. From experience I know it’s almost impossible to get the mud stains out of a catalyst and it hasn’t yet been exposed to blood or guts, but after a muddy day on the river the Columbia garment looked and smelled good enough to wear out to the pub for a cold one. The mud simply dried and brushed off. The only cons with the garment IMO are the available color choices and they’re oversized by at least one size. The bottom line is these are perfect for paddling in the summer and I would probably order another if they offered them in their traditional more “earthy” colors.