5.11 Traverse Shirt
- By John Fenna
- Last updated: 26/01/2017
Made to a very high of practical features, the 5.11 clothing is tough, long-lasting, comfortable, good-looking and well thought-out; my wardrobe contains more 5.11 items than any other brand! The latest 5.11 item that I have been trying out is the Traverse Shirt.
Made from a unique 3oz 100% polyester ‘stand-off’ fabric woven to assist air flow and wicking, and which is highly breathable, the shirt feels silkily comfortable, has mesh lining in the yoke and behind the huge zip-closed chest pockets, and narrow mesh panels that run down the side seams from elbow to waist for superb ventilation.
With a classic shirt styling – stand and fall collar, full button front, twin position button cuff and buttoned cuff placket – the Traverse Shirt fits in anywhere, while the fabric and ventilation make it one of the coolest shirts to wear in warm conditions.
The twin vertical zip-accessed pockets cover the whole chest area to provide superb secure storage space, while the twin open-topped patch- style chest pockets are big enough for ease of access to other items.
There are no annoying tabs to button up your rolled sleeves, and rolled sleeves stay put perfectly well without them, while YKK zips and melamine buttons mean that the fittings on the shirt are most unlikely to fail.
I have been wearing the 5.11 Traverse Shirt during an unusually warm and humid British summer and have found it the most comfortable of my summer-weight shirts as it is so breathable and well-ventilated. The shirt’s UPF rating of 50 gives good protection from sunburn and the shirt is tough enough to take heavy wear in the outdoors. The shirt is easy to wash and dries very quickly while being wrinkle resistant.
The only gripe I have about this shirt is about the patch pockets – I am not keen on the multi-part design and decorative stitching and I would have preferred to see the pockets with pocket flaps for extra security; several times my glasses have fallen out of the pocket while I was bending over!
Apart from the minor gripes, I find the 5.11 Traverse Shirt well up to my expectations for 5.11 clothing: good looking, practical, well-featured, well-built, tough (though lightweight) and easy to wear.
Available in sizes S-3XL in the long sleeved version at around £57, and about £55 in sizes M-3XL in the short sleeved version, the 5.11 Traverse Shirt is available in Black, Khaki, Storm, Fatigue and Cobalt Blue.