Compression Sleeves

ISO opinions on best compression sleeves. Main use case is for groveling in OW's but also plenty of other general applications. I'm calling them compression sleeves because that's what most people know them as but i'm not looking for performance enhancement, just trying to protect skin from abrasion and sun mainly.

Main features to consider:

 - durability

- SPF rating

-Style because why not

I would suggest getting sun hoodies instead of just sleeves, especially if you are looking for SPF ratings and style. I am cheap so I buy a lot of my athletics shirts from target for like $9/ shirt and they have help up better than the expensive shirts I have purchased from other outdoor brands. All clothing has an SPF factor to it, generally around 30SPF (color, fabric density, knit or weaver pattern depending) and the brands that advertise the SPF rating have spent the money to get them tested.

If you are just planning to use them for OF climbing, buy the cheapest ones you can find on amazon to save yourself some money and get as many pairs as you can.

Look into McDavid compression support (elbows and knees). I've had good luck with these and they're durable. 

If you want full length sleeves, Pearl Izumi makes cold weather cycling sleeves that some people like to use. 

Cosmic Hotdog wrote:

If you want full length sleeves, Pearl Izumi makes cold weather cycling sleeves that some people like to use. 

They also make summer weight sun sleeves - they are signifcantly thinner and lighter and probably won't last a long for crack climbing but ymmv:

https://www.pearlizumi.com/products/sun-arm-sleeves-14371833?variant=40648894185643

Thomas Worsham wrote:

I would suggest getting sun hoodies instead of just sleeves

On a long route with a variable sun/shade aspect, sleeves are quite nice to take off and stow inside your walkoff shoes.

For such applications, I have a sun hoodie that I cut into short sleeves. Adding sun sleeves, it's quite versatile.

 Now if only someone made a cotton button-down sun hoodie so that you could fully unbutton for max ventilation when the sub is at your back, and also have built-in neck protection.

 But that would be dorky, and it seems that most gear manufacturers would rather market something svelte and Grammable for the apres-climbing crowd.

My Pearl sunshades lasted several seasons of granite trad, but my off-brands ones held up just as long. It's just polyester, no need to feed the ego of road bikers any further. ;-)

F r i t z wrote:

Now if only someone made a cotton button-down sun hoodie....

There are a couple on the market that almost meet your spec - jolly gear and orvis come to mind - but they are not cotton...

Greg Steele wrote:

There are a couple on the market that almost meet your spec - jolly gear and orvis come to mind - but they are not cotton...

Synthetics are great for the mountains, but in hot and dry conditions, cotton is unparalleled. 

When Underarmour launched their "cotton kills" marketing campaign in the early 2000's, it was clear they had never visited the desert. ;-) 

Git some of them Arm Chaps