Reviewed: SueMe King of the Mountains bamboo tee
Ultra-lightweight and quick drying, this 70% bamboo, 30% cotton t-shirt works well as a single layer for travel in humid zones, but also as a base-layer in colder climates
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Have you ever traveled with a 100% cotton t-shirt? After a day or two, they stink, and when you do wash them, they take days to dry and look crumpled. TravGear has tried a few alternative fabric t-shirts over the years, with varying degrees of success, so the arrival of a 70% bamboo, 30% cotton mix fabric proved intriguing.
SueMe King of the Mountain bamboo tee: design
A single-knit blend of 155gsm 70% bamboo viscose and 30% organic cotton, this tee is fairly tight-fitting, but has plenty of stretch. Seams are nicely hidden on the inside, so chaffing isn’t an issue.
SueMe King of the Mountain bamboo tee: in use
A decade ago, TravGear instantly fell in love with merino, t-shirts, specifically the Icebreaker Tech T Lite. Ultra-lightweight and quick to dry, it was highly impressive … for a few years. The trouble with merino wool is that it breaks. Small holes appear after multiple trips, and then its days are numbered. It doesn’t seem like SueMe’s attempt will suffer from that problem – it seems much stronger. TravGear also loved its quick-dry feature; about two hours in a warm environment.
SueMe King of the Mountain bamboo tee: conclusion
Sue Me is going for the all-natural market. As well as the fabric and the all-water inks used upon it for the image, the box around the product is made from recycled board and printed using vegetable inks. There’s even a pack of bamboo seeds Fargesia yunnanenis in the box. However, behind the branding is a well-thought-out t-shirt that proved really comfortable and easy to care for. Don’t like the image? TravGear kinda agrees, but no worries, SueMe has plenty of other designs.
Price as reviewed: £20