Tropical Meets Technical: ‘Town’ Hawaiian Hiking Shirt Review

When I first saw a Town Shirt sun hoodie — with its kaleidoscopic design of pink-and-white mountain laurel — I immediately had to know the brand.

Town Shirt was the name, and thru-hiking was its game. This brand combines years of field development with Hawaiian-style designs using flora and fauna native to the ecosystems of America’s most popular thru-hikes.

It was the chosen apparel of Matt Dobson, a North Carolina mountain guide who led me and several other journalists on a hike through the Art Loeb Trail. We were there to test out some equipment from a well-known company, but I found myself equally intrigued by Dobson’s Hawaiian-style hiking shirt. Dobson, a triple-crown thru-hiker, told me he’d worn Town Shirt’s apparel over thousands of miles.

I followed up on his recommendation by swiftly ordering a sun hoodie and button-up shirt. After many months of testing both pieces of apparel, they now rank among my favorite-ever threads.

In short: Town Shirt’s apparel is perfectly attuned to thru-hiking sensibilities. The shirts have many of the features that hardcore hikers seek out, like the sun hoodie’s kangaroo pocket and thumb sleeves or the button-up’s dual chest pockets. They’re also quick-drying, wrinkle-resistant, and highly durable. But what really sets Town Shirt apart are the designs. You won’t find anything in REI to rival its lovingly rendered depictions of American wildlife and plants. These shirts were made for thru-hikers.

Town Shirt Hawaiian Shirt & Sun Hoodie Review

Many ultralight hikers will spend most of their trail-walking time in either a sun hoodie or a shirt, often swapping between them depending on heat levels and sun exposure. Add in some sturdy shoes, durable shorts, and a jacket, and you’ve got most of the threads you’ll really need.

It’s not a huge surprise that Town Shirt’s sun hoodie and button-up shirt both worked great for me on long-distance hikes, international travel, river paddling trips, and wherever else I took them. The brand is the passion project of Dylan “Pickle” Tonkin, a Pennsylvania native who grew up among the tight-knit community of the Appalachian Trail.

Tonkin and his wife have spent the last several years building Town Shirt from the ground up. The name refers to the ability of thru-hikers to wear the brand’s clothing both on the trail and when they venture into a nice bar or restaurant in one of the many towns that serve as pit stops during these months-long trail adventures.

“If you go into a bar and everybody else is wearing your sports team’s jersey, you feel a little bit at home,” Tonkin told GearJunkie. “So I thought about making apparel with imagery that speaks to hikers, ‘cause that’s my team. That was where the seed was planted.” 

Thru-Hike Centered Designs

Tonkin works with several independent artists to create designs for the brand’s primary products: a sun hoodie and a short-sleeve camp shirt.

He focused on iconic plants and animals from America’s three classic thru-hikes: the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), and the Appalachian Trail (AT). However, all of the designs lean toward a Hawaiian-style aesthetic, reflecting the Hawaiian shirts that have long been popular on the PCT.

The shirts and hoodies feature designs based on plants and animals beloved by Tonkin and other thru-hikers, such as the AT’s Red Eft salamander and Golden-Winged Warbler or the PCT’s Beavertail Cactus.

Tonkin does offer a few single-color designs for a broader audience. But most of his colorful, eye-catching designs aren’t meant to appeal to weekend warriors who want to look as sleek in the outdoors as they do in the boardroom. Instead, the brand opts for designs that speak directly to thru-hikers, a small, energetic community that often values self-expression and hippie engineering over perceived status or cutting-edge innovation.

The Casa de Luna print is a perfect example. It’s a collaboration between Tonkin and the Casa de Luna refuge, which hosted weary PCT hikers for 21 years until its closure in 2019. This design, along with the Red Eft salamander, quickly became Town Shirt’s bestsellers. Tonkin pitched the idea to the refuge’s owners, Joe and Terrie Anderson, while staying with them during his 2018 hike of the PCT.

Technical Features

Make no mistake: Town Shirt’s apparel isn’t just pretty — it can also go the distance.

Sure, there’s hardly an outdoor brand that doesn’t make sun hoodies and technical button-ups these days. But Town Shirt’s apparel is just as durable and tailor-made for hiking as the competition (and it’s maybe even better).

Button-Up Camp Shirt

I chose the Red Eft salamander design for the button-up camp shirt. Not only has this super-light and functional shirt served me well on bike rides, hikes, and travel days, but I have also literally gotten compliments on it wherever I go. It’s just too darn pretty.

The short-sleeve button-ups are made from synthetic, lightweight fabric. Early designs of the shirts included UPF protection as well, but Tonkin dropped that feature when his customers said they didn’t care about it. That also helped bring the price down, he said. The shirts have two chest pockets (another big positive for me) and are soft and stretchy.

I do think the shirts could be a little more stretchy in the shoulders, but for pure hiking, that’s unlikely to be a downside for most.

Sun Hoodie

I’m similarly in love with my trillium-themed sun hoodie. The sun hoodie, made from 88% polyester and 12% spandex, combines several features that are important to hikers. That includes thumbholes for the cuffs and a kangaroo pouch in the front.

It’s moisture-wicking and quick-drying, and it offers 50 UPF sun protection. My favorite part: It has a super-oversized hood with a button to prevent the wind from blowing it off.

Like seriously, this hood is deep enough for a Jedi Knight, which is exactly what I always want from any hoodie, but it’s hard to find. It’s the ideal garment for when you need full-body sun protection that still keeps you cool on the move. It tends to be my go-to backup garment for almost any activity, especially during the hot summer months.

Town Shirt: Final Verdict

This apparel doesn’t just function — it’s also likely to start a conversation with every experienced hiker you pass on the trail.

The Casa de Luna print is a perfect example. It’s a collaboration between Tonkin and the Casa de Luna refuge, which hosted weary PCT hikers for 21 years until its closure in 2019. This design, along with the Red Eft salamander, quickly became Town Shirt’s bestsellers. Tonkin pitched the idea to the refuge’s owners, Joe and Terrie Anderson, while staying with them during his 2018 hike of the PCT.

Dobson (the hiking guide) told me that he wore his Town Shirt sun hoodie for more than 1,700 miles on the PCT, and it’s still ready to go in his closet. He has also consulted Tonkin about various ways to improve the garments.

“Town Shirt is fully recognizable by its prints, but make no mistake — it is performance gear,” Dobson told me. “Dylan has been through countless fabric, cut, and manufacturer changes over the years. His being a thru-hiker and knowing what’s needed means these things are born from the trail.”

I love both my Town Shirt hoodie and my Red Eft button-up. The latter is probably the most comfortable button-up shirt I’ve ever had, and the sun hoodie’s cavernous hood allows me to attain a Zen-like internal focus. But I’d be lying if I didn’t also love the constant compliments I receive while wearing these — and not just from hikers, but also from random people on Atlanta bike trails or even from my Spanish-speaking friends.

There’s just something special about clothes that have a personal touch, and Tonkin’s designs seem to spark that recognition in everyone.