For extreme sun exposure, we prefer a hiking shirt rated to UPF 50, and that’s where the REI Sahara Shade Hoodie (shop now) comes into play. This is the kind of layer we would choose for activities like climbing a Cascade volcano in spring, backpacking through high altitude plateaus in the San Juans of Colorado, traversing a glacier in the Alps, or hiking in the Altiplano Desert of South America.

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• Price: $50
• UPF Rating: 50
• Weight: 7.5 oz
• Fabric: 92% Polyester, 8% Spandex
• Pros: Great value. Highest UPF rating. Comfortable.
• Cons: Slightly warmer & less breathable than lower UPF fabrics. Scooped hood exposes side of face, blows off in wind

Testing For REI Sahara Shade Hoodie Review

We recently took the Sahara Sun Hoody out on a 7-night backpacking trip at 12,000′ in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. It kept our tester’s upper body completely protected form the sun (aside from face), and was comfortable and pleasant to wear for eight consecutive days. Two thumbs up!

Features & Construction

When all day sun is amplified by high altitude or reflecting off of water, snow, or ice, we recommend an REI  Sahara Shade Hoodie because of its maximal UPF 50 rating. It is soft and pleasant to wear, constructed with 92% polyester and 8% spandex, so it’s stretchy and accommodating to all types of movement. It is very breathable and quick drying, though slightly less so than our top pick, the Outdoor Research Echo Hoodie.

As far as features, the hood has an internal drawstring to cinch down around your face. We love a hiking shirt with thumb loops, and we like how these fit and feel on the hand. While it’s not manufactured with recycled fabric, it is bluesign® approved, so the manufacturing minimizes harm.

What Could Be Better

The price, the fabric, and the fit of the Sahara Shade Hoodie are excellent. However, we do take issue with its hood in two specific ways. First and foremost, it is a “scooped hood” meaning that the fabric that covers the side of face and ear is pulled back. This is helpful in the sense that it improves side vision and potentially hearing, however, it is detrimental in that it exposes more side face and potentially even ears, to the sun.

What’s more, this hood did not perform marvelously in strong wind gusts. As there is no cinch or security mechanism, it tends to blow off in strong wind gusts. Light wind is fine though. And an easy solution we find to this problem was pulling the hood overtop of the brim of a cap to keep in place. See photo below.

REI Sahara Shade Hoodie Review Verdict

This is a great sun shirt for hiking in high UV exposure, sold at a great price, and we give the REI Sahara Shade Hoodie our seal of approval.

Compare this to more great options in our guide to the best hiking shirts of the year. And while you’re at it, perfect your layering system with our guide to rain jackets, down jackets, and fleece jackets.