Review: First Ascent Nueva Shirt

The First Ascent Nueva long sleeve shirt is the most comfortable hiking shirt I’ve worn. With a slight stretch in the fabric, high breathability, abrasion resistance, and a UPF rating of 30, the Nueva has become my go-to shirt for multi-day hikes. The ladies’ version is called the Luxor.

Specs

Fabric: 90% Polyester; 10% Elastane
Sun protection: UPF 30
Weight: 100g
Price: R899 (at time of writing)

Photo credit: First Ascent

Comfort

Historically, one had to choose between comfort and durability when it came to outdoor clothing. Modern fabric technology has negated the rough texture and rigidity generally associated with durability, allowing manufacturers to give us the best of both worlds. The 90% Polyester, 10% Elastane mix of the Nueva’s fabric makes for an extremely comfortable shirt. I almost took a smaller size than usual because of the freedom of movement created by the extra stretch. Even after wearing the shirt for six days in a row under very hot, sweaty conditions, it retained its comfort.

All-day comfort in the Nueva, whether hiking or brewing a cup of tea in a cave.

Durability

The fabric has a very soft feel, which makes it super comfortable, but I was concerned about its durability. I wore the shirt while guiding on the Rim of Africa mountain traverse, where walking is 95% off-trail — wading through head-height protea fields for more than two hours and scrambling over coarse sandstone boulders — and the shirt showed no signs of wear. I was amazed!

An example of some of the conditions the Nueva endured on the Rim of Africa.

Breathability

I’ve always opted for short-sleeve shirts for the obvious reasons of freedom of movement and greater breathability, but hiking in more than 30°C, the Nueva kept me more comfortable than a lot of short-sleeve shirts I’ve worn in the past. Even the slightest breeze passes easily through the shirt, cooling you down and drying it in no time.

Comfortable and relatively cool, even in the Cederberg during summer.

Sun Protection

With its excellent breathability, I was concerned I might burn through the shirt, but once again it performed perfectly, keeping the sun’s rays at bay. The collar did a great job at keeping the sun off my neck as well. On windy days, I was able to hike with the sleeves rolled down, reducing the chance of sunstroke on those high-UV mountain days.

Photo credit: First Ascent

Features

I was pleasantly surprised by the little patch of microfibre cloth stitched onto the inside edge of the shirt — designed for wiping spectacles or sunglasses. If you’ve ever tried cleaning your lenses with tech fabric, you’ll know how useless it is, so this detail is gold.

As amazing as this shirt is, it isn’t without quirks. The collar has an extendable flap for extra sun protection, but the stitched-down corners force it flat, rendering it useless. The sleeve tabs for rolling up are also reversed — the button is on the tab, not the sleeve — which makes for a slightly awkward attachment method.

These are absolute minor details and shouldn’t dissuade anyone from getting the Nueva — they just stand out in an otherwise flawless design.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a super comfortable, breathable long-sleeve shirt that you can wear for multiple days in varying weather conditions, look no further.

This shirt was provided for review purposes by First Ascent and can be purchased from their website.