Best Safari style shirt for Expedition and Casual wear

REDrum

Aventurero de la Selva
For classic safari shirts Lost Worlds has patterned very authentic shirts and bush coats. A hand full of different materials are available (IIRC a poplin rip stop too) If someone were dressing the cast of move about 1970s Rhodesia, this would be the place to shop.

TAG (not to be confused with TAD) also make authentic safari shirts; old Willis and Geiger knock offs

I have a couple Filson "safari" shirts, one with and one w/o epaulets. I prefer w/o. (in Boston, shirts w/ epaulets can draw a lot of unwanted attention from guys who insist on being called by their full first name)

TADs Overland Shirt is very clever contemporary safari type shirt (epaulet less). Only problem is the pretentious zippered passport pocket on the tail, I have taken a stitch ripper to mine....

TADs Work Shirts (NLA) are my favorite shirts for wear in Central America. Heavy duty cotton, short sleeved, hangs correct length (for outside the pants wear), and has generous pockets with easy open buttons. Shirt is very low key and doesn't say tourist.
 

KWJohnston

Active member
I started this thread way back in 2015. Since then, I'm very embarrassed to admit I have only browsed the forum intermittently without posting. This is LONG overdue but thanks to everyone who responded.

I eventually settled on 2 different shirts I felt were close to ideal for my purpose.

For our Cooler months the Cabelas Serengeti Safari II shirt was great. Well, it was great after I had a local tailor remove the large shoulder epaulets. The shirt was comfortable, had nice pockets, held up great in the washer, has never torn, or shown any loose stitching. For casual wear the shirt had a nice quality look as well. The other great thing is they were available in Tall sizes, something I needed. Now the bad part. What has happened to Cabelas is a real Tragedy! Since the BassPro buyout they have discontinued almost everything that was sold by Cabelas including the Safari shirts. I have never been a fan of the BassPro stuff, most items have a cheap Wal-Mart feel to them. Thankfully, I bought three of the Cabelas Serengeti Safari II shirts in different colors before they stopped making them. One now has a bad stain from some splashed wood finish during a weekend project. The other two I hope last me a long time.

In the Warmer months here in the southeast temps climb into the 90's with a humidity to match! The Cabelas Shirts were just too warm for me to wear without sweating. So I swapped over to the Magellan Laguna shirt sold by Academy. The shirts are available in Tall sizes, are lightweight synthetic and quick drying. They are also very affordable and come in many colors. They are also great for fishing or the beach when sunscreen will cause a cotton shirt to stick to your skin. The only problems I have had is some fading on the colors due to washing. Also the threads in the stitching will sometimes fray a bit, but none have come loose. For the price they are a great value. I only wish they came in a version without the vented back. It may help a bit with range of motion, but I've never felt like they actually permitted much airflow.

If anything new has come on the market recently, feel free to post a suggestion. I plan to be more active as a forum member from now on.

.
 
Last edited:

bas157

Member
I like the Ex Officio air strip shirts. Found one for $4 with a stain on it at a thrift store....stain washed right out. Have since picked up 3 more on Ebay. I use them in the summer when hot instead of sun screen. Didn't think long sleeves in the summer would work, but it seems to be cooler than the sun beating on my skin with sunscreen all over. Dry really quickly and light weight. They did change the material at some point, as I have 2 different material composition percentages on my shirts.
 

tdferrero

Active member
I highly recommend the TAD Highland shirt for cooler weather, it's wool, breathes great, and wicks moisture well (it also just came along with me for a 3 week backpacking trip through Europe.) Then for warmer weather, the TAD Latitude Field shirt is great, super breathable, strong ripstop, vented mesh armpits, and also has buttoned rollup sleeves for when it gets really hot out. Perfect for the South Carolina summers here.
 

REDrum

Aventurero de la Selva
How do the TAD shirts fit

I have owned a lot of TAD shirts (due to sizing challenge), and, IMO, they are "flattery sized"....About half a size big. I.e same phenomena how my curvatous niece's jean size keeps getting lower but her curves keep getting, well, curvier....)

I'm 5-11, 200# 45" chest, 36" waist and XL are big on me. Large fit fine. I think some of the older Overland and Worksheets fit a smaller/truer. But late model (past 8ish years) are half size big.
 
Good info...hence why I used to be a medium and now I am a small. As much as I would like to think its because I chiseled, I'm not as lean as I once was but sizing is definitely different these days.
 
Hot and humid: NOTHING beats the Shimano fishing shirt for ventilation, dryness, comfort and convenience. Once it gets cooler: Bundeswehr shirt - comfortable and undestructible.
1586213398963.png1586213469849.png
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
I like these for that reason, among others.
There's a zipper pocket behind each bellows breast pocket that is perfect for a passport.
They come in long sleeve and tall also. I'm 5'11" and prefer the tall.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Clothing/Mens-Casual-Clothing/Mens-Casual-Shirts/Mens-Safari-Shirts|/pc/104797080/c/104746680/sc/104263380/i/104029380/Cabelas-Serengeti-Safari8482-II-Short-Sleeve-Shirt-150-Regular/733234.uts?destination=/catalog/browse.cmd?N=1102600
They seem to have limited the colors available in the short sleeve though. :(
That looks real comfortable. I'm not a tucked in shirt guy.
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
th


Don't forget the pith helmet!
Required. These shirts all look swell on young guys with flat stomachs.
 

REDrum

Aventurero de la Selva
FYI, Sale this weekend:
 

krick3tt

Adventurer
Looked at their stuff. Looked at the hats, all of their hats have such small brims. Want something with 4.5 to 5 inch brim, really difficult to get a decent wide brim hat.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,822
Messages
2,878,596
Members
225,378
Latest member
norcalmaier
Top