We’re no strangers to Vollebak’s uniquely technical garments, with each release seemingly topping the previous one in terms of capabilities. Their latest, the Vollebak Planet Earth Shirt, is no different, touting itself to be “the most technical shirt ever built.” Really.
Designed for travel, the shirt is billed to be “engineered for anywhere on Earth,” allowing it to perform equally as well wherever you go, from mangrove swamps and arid deserts to peaceful country roads and busy city streets. Suffice to say, it’s the kind of shirt you can slip on whether you’re exploring a historic city, hiking up an alpine trail, or racing side-by-sides in the dunes, confident that it will protect you from whatever conditions are on hand.
The Vollebak Planet Earth Shirt looks like any regular button-down travel shirt that you can slip on from home to the airport all the way to your destination. Unlike most travel shirts you’ve encountered, though, it’s made from a fabric that can repel water and dirt, all while being resistant to bacteria and drying fast, making it ideal for wearing even in muddy environments in the middle of the rainy season. According to Vollebak, the shirt comes with 62 meters of stitching that’s further reinforced with a welding seal, ensuring all the seams will hold up to every manner of abuse it’s likely to experience.
It has a reinforced double collar that can folded for a stylish look, as well as folding way up and fastening tight to completely cover your neck to help keep the sun and bugs out. The collar uses heavy-duty zig-zag stitching, which should allow it to completely hold its shape even when you’re completely wet in the rain. There are also seven concealed air vents at strategic sections (two out front, three in the back, and two in the hem), each of which can be opened separately. The vents are lined with a lightweight mesh fabric to enable proper airflow, all while allowing sweat to easily escape.
Like any well-designed travel shirt, the Vollebak Planet Earth Shirt has a generous selection of pockets for holding valuables and essentials, including a right chest pocket sized to fit a smartphone and a concealed zippered pocket sitting behind it sized to hold a passport, as well as any other valuable you’d like to conceal. There’s a left chest pocket that’s designed to serve as an EDC pouch, so it’s outfitted with eight stitched loops that you can use to secure multi-tools and other clip-on gear.
The fabric, by the way, is made from a blend of heavyweight cotton and elastane, which, the outfit claims, is calm and gentle on the skin, while getting a four-way stretch to help you move in every direction. It uses buttons made from corozo nuts, which can withstand impact, scratches, and extreme temperatures, all while being threaded onto a woven polyester tape that’s stitched into the shirt, making them near-impossible to pull out of the garment.
Available in four colors, the Vollebak Planet Earth Shirt is priced at $345.