ExOfficio is an outdoor and travel clothing company.  The company began in 1987 in a garage and is now an internationally recognized provider of innovative performance wear.  ExOfficio offers a number of technological features in all of their products.  With each product description a series of Icons guide you through their clothing line to ensure all of the features you are looking for match a particular item.  For this review I searched for a shirt that was: lightweight, quick drying, wicking, had ventilation, and offered protection from the sun.  The result was the Reef Runner Shirt.  


The Reef Runsner Shirt


 When looking for a fishing shirt I generally encounter way too many over-engineered products.  Shirts with velcro ventilation flaps, ten different hooks and loops for hanging tools, large billow pockets for fly boxes, removable lower sleeves etc... Trying to utilize all the features can be as complicated as understanding Izaak Walton.  The ExOfficio Reef Runner Shirt is different.  It has all of the technology and design elements that one comes to expect from performance wear without the gimmicks. 

Here are a few of the features:

The Reef Runner has two zippered chest pockets.  Both pockets are sewn flush so there are no billows to get in the way when wearing a vest.  The pockets are large and can easily accommodate fly boxes and multiple tippet spools. On the right side pocket the Reel Runner features a small Velcro pocket that is perfect for keeping indicators and weight.


The Reef Runner does include one gear loop, which is located next to the left chest pocket.  The loop is perfect for clipping forceps and when not in use you hardly notice it.



The entire Reef Runner shirt is vented through a embedded mesh that runs the length of the arms and down each side.  It does a fantastic job of keeping you cool without over complicating the process.  The mesh is the same color as the shirt so unless you really look for it, it blends in and is hardly noticeable.


Finally, the Reef Runner features roll-up sleeve tabs, which allow you to quickly and easily convert the shirt from long-sleeve to short.


In Sum: The ExOfficio Reef Runner shirt bar none the best fishing shirt I have found.  It is ultra-light and has all the right features without the excess.  It looks great and can easily go from the river to the company picnic without


Disclosure- ExOfficio provided the featured products free of charge for me to review. I was not compensated in any other way for this blog post.