Fabric composition is an important factor in selecting hiking apparel. Polyester (often polyester-blends) has long been a choice for hiking shirts due to its weight, moisture wicking ability, durability, and comparative affordability. Unfortunately, polyester's major downside is it can stink and start to stink quickly. A few miles on the trail and you start realizing that you want to keep your distance from others (due to both your and their polyester!). Polygiene is a product that was introduced a few years ago and slowly made its way into clothing in the U.S. market. It's a proprietary product that is embedded into clothing during the manufacturing process. It claims to significantly reduce body odor caused by sweat and polyester.

 

I decided to test this product when I was in Juneau, Alaska. I wore a Polygiene treated polyester-blend shirt on the hike up Mt Roberts and Gastineau Peak. For those of you not familiar with Juneau, there's a tramway that can take you up and down 1800 feet of elevation on the west facing slope of Mt Roberts. There's a landing at the top that has a cafe, gift shop, and interpretive center. The bottom of the tramway is in downtown Juneau with an easy walk to the downtown restaurants, shops, and hotels.

 

I skipped the tramway on the way up and started out at the trail head toward the north-end of downtown. It was a beautifully sunny day and the eight-mile round-trip hike raised a good sweat. My better-half had taken the tramway up and was the final arbiter as to whether I would be allowed to enter the tramway car to be closed-in tight with many innocents. There is no way I would be allowed to enter that car if I had a good hiking funk going. The short answer is, yes, Polygiene worked and I was allowed to enter the car and take a leisurely and scenic ride back to downtown. I didn't smell like cotton candy, but there's no doubt that there was significantly less hiking funk than any other polyester-blend shirt I've worn.