I’ve tried white sun sleeves in the past and don’t really care for them in the heat of Texas summers (feels much hotter to me compared to bare arms). But I have pretty fair skin, spend a ton of time in the sun, and my dermatologist is saying sleeves are much better than sun screen when I’m out on the bike all day. I don’t want skin cancer, so figured I’d give them another try.
I’ve got some old Sugoi’s that are really thin, probably the coolest I’ve tried. But I haven’t tried many. Anyone have a recommendation? Again, all I really care about is the cooling aspect. Thanks.
I’ve used Pearl Izumi in NM summers. I like them better than sun screen.
I also like their Sun Knees.
I’ve had white Sun Sleeves and eventually they aren’t so white. I just couldn’t imagine using the black ones on my arms. I do have black Sun Knees which turn my bibs into lightweight knickers.
I always thought of just getting some super light weight summer long sleeve jerseys but never found the right one.
2nd vote for Pearl. I have them in white and black and like both. If you have access to cool water to waste, dousing them over time can aid cooling and is rather refreshing.
I had the same problem with Houston heat. Sun sleeves just made me hotter. Pouring water on them makes them cooler, but my water bottles always have sugar in them. If you find a solution, please do share it!
I have pearl izumi sleeves and also rule 28 sleeves. Both are ok. Rule 28’s are made for pencil arms. I’m 158 lbs and the size large are still too tight.
My best suggestion is a long sleeve jersey that’s thin but has an spf rating. Less overlap of materials and in my opinion, a bit cooler in general. I wish rule 28 made one that’s the same material as their short sleeve.
I hate sunscreen, but had skin cancer in my 20’s so pretty OCD about sun protection. My biggest qualm is that I shave my head so I have to wear a skull cap. I imagine sunscreen on my head may end up in my eyes. I do use sunscreen on my face/neck/legs. Everything else is covered.
I also have the Pearl Izumis. I have not tried dousing them with water, but without water on them, my impression is that they are hotter than bare skin. Not by a lot though and not having to hassle with as much sun block is great.
I have an ornot long sleeve that is thin and works great. I just ordered a pearl izumi attack long sleeve (same fabric as their short sleeve). 20% discount through Wednesday at competitive cyclist. I paid like $72 shipped.
Haha! The Ornot is one of the few long sleeve summer jerseys I wear. I also have an old Maap that’s Ok. Rapha has a light weight one but I’ve been moving away from overly branded kit.
Like others I have some Pearl Izumis. I have white and navy, interestingly another pair of white ones I bought as NOS recently are a fair bit thicker than the more recent ones (but I think they’re discontinued anyway??). I am going to buy a MAAP long sleeve jersey next summer.
I have Voler sun sleeves and skull cap. They work well. Yes they are best when wet but even after they dry they are barely warmer than naked arms.
In fact, I wear the skull cap not primarily for the sun protection but rather because I’m a heavy sweater and I need it to wick away the sweat so it doesn’t run down into my eyes. I already wear a headband but it gets drenched and stops working in warm weather if I don’t also wear the skull cap.
I tried Billa-Bong rash guards. They are thin, and don’t seem to be overly hot. The white ones seem to be ‘super white’ and are very cool. I’ve used them doing outside yard work and occasional riding on these unusual scorching hot days we’ve had. I’ve got several that I use. Give them a look. Some have an SPF rating too. If they only made a version of them that have jersey style back pockets.
And on surprising sun exposure, I have a channel cut wedding ring, and one particularly sunny day saw that I had sun burn dots under my ring where it appeared that the diamonds focused the sunlight into small dots. I mention this because when looking for possible skin cancer, you have to look EVERYWHERE! My dermatologist started looking in more places on the last visit. A local dermo had a patient develop rapid skin cancer in the top of their butt crack. Just a small lesion, and it was the right type of cancer. It’s not unheard of to find lesions in between toes, behind ears, out of the way places. Having a sister that has fought skin cancer for years, I do try much harder to try to avoid excessive sun exposure.
My skin cancer when I was 27 was a very small skin colored bump between the inside corner of my eye and the bridge of my nose. They ended up taking a huge chunk of skin out. Never would’ve noticed it if my finger nail didn’t hit it occasionally and oddly cause it to bleed just a little and seemed like it took longer than it should have to stop. My primary doctor thought it was nothing but told me to get a second opinion.
Summers on the gulf coast get so miserably hot and humid there isn’t any way to stay cool or dry. The only window of time I find to be even bearable is between 5am-10am, and even then it’s not enjoyable once the sweat starts dripping out of your shoes. I have done sleeves, but the black ones are in fact too hot and they tend to not breathe well. Breathable long sleeve jerseys seem to work the best, as long as they are lighter like white, light blue, pink, etc. Avoid black shoes, socks, bibs, etc.
There are some decent ice vests that provide a fair amount of cooling, but usually lose their effect after a couple of hours. Ok for a daily spin, but not long rides.
One trick I learned was to buy one of the bottles shaped to go in your jersey pocket. Freeze it full and put on your back. The ice will melt quickly, but then I just start occasionally pouring the melt water inside the neck of my jersey. Could pour it on sun sleeves too now that I think about it!
Not really a sun sleeve recommendation, but I’d recommend a mineral sunscreen (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide), as opposed to a chemical sunscreen (most likely avobenzone). The mineral sunscreens tend to last significantly longer.
Bonus for Texas: a mineral sunscreen won’t turn the collar and sleeve cuffs of your kit reddish (effectively rust from the interaction of the avobenzone and iron in the water) in the laundry.
Downside: you might need a different soap for your shower to break down the mineral sunscreen in order to wash it off.