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3 Pieces of Gear for Summer Heat, Sun and Sweat | An Honest Review

2025.05.16

Summer hiking: the sweat doesn't stop, your face and your sunglasses are both running with it, and the sun feels like it's cooking your scalp. Heat, sweat and glare, every single year.

Here are the three pieces of summer gear I've actually tested and found genuinely cooling. All three are easy to add even if you haven't been hiking long, and all three make a real difference to a first summer season in the mountains.

1. Finetrack Dry Layer — the foundation of managing sweat

The thing everything else sits on is the Finetrack Dry Layer, worn directly against the skin.

The point of it is the textured surface of the fabric. It grabs sweat and pulls it off your skin, keeping you dry. Drop water on it and it disappears almost instantly — which is why you get neither the clammy feeling nor the chill of sweat cooling on your body.

It's also antibacterial and odour-resistant, so a full day in it doesn't become a problem. Made in Japan, and light enough not to register in your pack or on your body. It deals with the single biggest source of summer discomfort at the root, which is exactly what a foundation layer should do.

2. Karrimor Sudare Hat — sun and rain in one hat

Protecting your head is the Karrimor Sudare Hat, which packs in more or less everything you'd want from a summer hat.

• A wide brim: big enough to block direct sun off your face, the back of your neck and your ears
• Ventilated mesh: over 50% air permeability, so the breeze goes through and heat doesn't build up
• Serious UV protection: UPF50+ equivalent, blocking 99% of UV
• Water-repellent coating: sudden light rain beads and rolls off
• Packable: rolls up into an internal pocket

And the flapping problem these sun hats usually have is solved by the anti-flap loop it comes with — thread the cord through and it stays put, even on a windy ridge. If you don't want to compromise on either sun protection or airflow, this is the one.

3. goodr Polarized Sunglasses — no more squinting

Last, protecting your eyes: goodr polarized sunglasses.

The polarizing filter cuts the glare off water and rock, and the contrast-enhancing lens makes the texture of the rock stand out, so you can read the ground and walk more confidently. They block 99% of UV and 50% of blue light, which quietly makes them useful at a computer as well as on a mountain.

They weigh about 25 g, and between the nose pads and the temples they don't slide down your face however much you're moving. They remove the "too bright to see properly" problem of summer hiking entirely.

In short: three things that solve all three problems

Heat, sweat and glare in summer get much more manageable with the right combination of gear.

• Sweat: the Finetrack Dry Layer underneath everything, keeping you dry
• Sun: the Karrimor Sudare Hat, covering head to neck
• Glare: goodr polarized sunglasses, keeping the view clear

None of them requires any technique — you simply add them to what you already carry and feel the difference. Whether you're about to start hiking in summer or you've been suffering through it for years, start with these three. Comfort changes a great deal about how much you enjoy the season.

🛒 See the gear from the video as a list → Staying comfortable on low mountains in summer: heat-beating gear

※As an Amazon Associate, Yoshimi Iwasaki earns from qualifying purchases.

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This post contains affiliate links. Prices and specifications are as of the video's publication date. Most items are sold in Japan.

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