Five quick-drying t-shirts and tops for traveling light

Need a sweat-wicking, easy-care, quick-dry t-shirt for your next adventure? These merino wool or bamboo tees are great all-rounders

Purchasing a product using one of our affiliate links earns us a commission and supports this site at no additional cost to you. See our disclosures here.

If you’re on a frenetic journey where speed and traveling light are everything, wash ‘n’ wear is the only way. So having a t-shirt or two that can be worn for a few days without stinking, then hand-washed and dried in a few hours, is a massive help. Cue these merino and bamboo ‘travel t-shirts’:

1 – Icebreaker Tech T Lite T-Shirt

Easy to wash and quick to dry, it’s no wonder that the Icebreaker Tech T Lite is a legend with the wash ‘n’ wear crowd of light travelers. However, it looks and works best in dark colors (black and dark blue) while its slightly delicate nature means it’s worth keeping ‘for best’ and worn strictly for travel only.

Read our full review of the Icebreaker Tech T Lite T-Shirt

2 – Royal Robbins Merinolux Tee

Weighing in at a mere 199g, the Meinolux in pewter (grey) isn’t all merino. Instead, it’s 68% polyester and  32% merino. However, that works in its favor when it comes to durability. We also liked the fact that the Merinolux is a bigger fit than most merino t-shirts; it’s not baggy, but nor does it figure-hug. Within two hours of a wash, it was bone dry.

Read our full review of the Royal Robbins Merinolux Tee

3 – EDZ Merino Vest – No longer available

Made from 100% superfine merino wool, this good value base layer for women is about as versatile as travel clothing gets.

Read our full review of the EDZ Merino Vest

4 – SueMe Tree King of the Mountain 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.

Read our full review of the SueMe Tree King of the Mountain bamboo tee

5 – Icebreaker Cool-Lite Sphere Tank

Super-light and quick-drying, this mainly merino vest for women is the perfect travel all-rounder for hot and humid countries

Read our full review of the Icebreaker Cool-Lite Sphere Tank

The men’s version of the Icebreaker Sphere T-shirt is just as great. Featuring 60% TENCEL™ and 40% Merino Wool blend it is slightly more durable than the Icebreaker 100% Merino tech t-lite but retains its lightweight, quick-drying properties.