Field Test: ACG Aireez Long-Sleeve

Blistering white heat. Cymbals of sun clashing on our skulls. We were testing the ACG Aireez sun shirt on a salt flat in the South of France, among the most UV-destructive environments we could think of. Unfettered blasting light from above, beamed directly back onto our body by the bone-colored earth at our feet. We were surrounded.

They used this place to bake salt brine, withering it away until nothing was left but white flaked mineral. We’d see what was left of our spirits after today.

We ran. We ran, and ran, and ran and ran. Constant pace in a constant environment. The lab kept pace in some old jalopy with its gear strapped to it, occasionally handing us some hydration to make sure we were feeling as best we could.

Our bodies were baking, but the shirt was working; UPF 40 sun protection like a beach umbrella strapped to our torsos, all in the shape of a button-down shirt. We were professionals, after all.

And the shirt breathed, thank goodness. Heat simmered on the horizon, literally warping our view of the future. It was total punishment, but the Aireez kept us moving. No reason to stop, even in this place. Run ‘till the sun sets, run forever and ever.