I'm traveling to Costa Rica in May and Thailand in December. I need a few shirts, some shorts and maybe a pair of convertible pants -- I'm looking for stuff that dries quickly. Are Ex Officio clothes worth the money?

I stopped by their store in Bellevue, Wash., today and while I like the look, fit and usefullness of the clothes, they are pricey. Like $50-70 for a shirt and $50 for nylon convertible pants. I've found some items cheaper online.

Are there any other brands I should look at? Or will I be fine with the regular cotton shirts and cargo shorts already in my closet?

You have a couple questions to consider. Are you sensitive to the sun? Do you want protection from bugs? If the answer to either is yes, consider ExOfficio.

If not, wear what you have.

If you are sun sensitive and/or have had bad skin problems from the sun, consider www.coolibar.com for sun protective clothing and www.sunprecautions.com for the same.

A cotton t-shirt gives you almost no protection from the sun.

Thanks for the advice. I'm no more sensitive to the sun than is typical, so I don't need anything out of the orinary. The Buzz Off shirts seem to be a bit heavy to wear somewhere tropical -- anyone have any experience with this?

I like to pack light, so I like the quick dry stuff. I've got Ex Officio boxer briefs and like them just fine. I also have some Mountain Hardwear shirts and REI-brand trousers -- all also quick dry.

Were I you, I'd head over to REI and try some stuff on... see how you like it.

I have a lot of Ex Officio Buzz Off pieces that I wear in malaria+ areas. I love them for that as they do keep the mosquitos off. I really like a scarves that I can tie around my neck because I dislike putting insect repellant on my face.

The pieces come in all different weights, from little T's to heavy sweatshirts. I have some very light-weight shirts and pants that I wore in Cambodia in the summer and also heavier things that I wore in Africa when it was quite cool. A lot of the pieces have zip venting and such and will keep you quite comfortable in warm weather.

I have not felt the need to wear them in Thailand or Costa Rica as I wasn't in malaria+ areas and the protective coating does wear off after so many washings.

www.exofficio.com has a sale now. Sierra Trading Post and Campmor are other sites you might want to check.

I wouldn't get any ex-officio if I were you. They are extremely goofy looking. Whenever I see somebody wearing those long sleeve shirts with the convertible pants all I think is, "safari dork".

I concur with sinanju and l'etoile. REI carries Ex Officio as well as their own in house brand, and several other product lines. All are high quality, and the staff there is very knowledgeable.

My wife and I took a combination of REI and Ex Officio clothes traveling through South Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand last year, and were grateful to have them every day. We will use them in North Vietnam, Laos and Northern Thailand this year.

We are light travelers, and each got by with one pair of pants, one pair of convertible pants, two tee-shirts, two briefs, two shirts and two pairs of socks, having laundry done every day or two, or when necessary, doing our own. Quick-dry fabrics are a wonderful thing!

I had REI pants and Ex Officio shirts, as those were what suited my size and shape. Try everything on, make no assumptions. Pick up a good hat, too.

Twenty years ago when I was backpacking through the region, I sweated my ... off in cotton t-shirts and jeans, because I didn't want to look like a dork, but I would rather feel good than look good these days. YMMV.

I agree with the previous poster. REI and Ex Officio are great. Sometimes the Ex Officio is worth it and sometimes REI is fine.

FWIW, I've done the t-shirt and jeans routine too. Not only did I sweat and walk around in soggy laundered clothes that refused to dry, I still looked like a 'dork'. Now at least I'm a comfortable 'dork'.

I wasn't really advocating wearing jeans and a T-shirt in SE Asia. I'm just saying that, in my humble opinion, people who wear those long sleeve shirts with the pockets and the convertible pants with those big hats look ridiculous. I mean how often do you really unzip the pants to make them into shorts?

I think you would be fine bringing a couple of thin short sleeve button down shirts, some shorts, and thin pair of pants. You don't need to spend $100 for an ex-officio shirt that screams tourist.

And you've trekked where?

Some of the clothes may look silly on the street, but you'll look silly without them in the bush.

I'm going to backtrack and say that I would not get convertible pants. I never zipped the legs off mine, ever. My wife got use out of hers, but for me, just plain long pants are better. I'm not comfortable in shorts in SEAsia, anyway.

Also, there is one photo of me on the Mekong with my bush style Ultimate Hat that makes me laugh for all its safari dorkiness, so I know what parasky is referring to. My wife calls the photo the "Bwana shot." I am not a big wearer of hats, but I can honestly say I don't regret buying it and wearing it.

Sometimes it can be a good idea to buy clothes in the region, but I am big enough these days that it isn't a great option for me. When I lived in Northern Thailand, I dressed in light cotton pants and silk shirts and it felt appropriate, but I was also staying in one place, and had plenty of changes and access to daily laundry.

For travel, I will take synthetics for the comfort, light weight and fast drying qualities.

I agree with you Hiyo that light synthetics are better up to a point and I know its just my personal opinion but just know that if you do wear those shirts and pants with the hat, people will be making fun of you. It always cracks me up when people go trekking with all of these expensive clothes and hiking boots when the local guide is usually wearing 10 cent flip flops.

L'etoile, I've solo backpacked through SE Asia, most of Africa, and throughout Nepal so I think I'm allowed to have an opinion. And those clothes most definitely do look silly "in the bush". I think somebody has seen "Out of Africa" one too many times.

The best thing about synthetic fabric is that it dries quickly, so you can wash them and they'll dry within a few hours if you hang them up. That said, a lot of clothing items sold at REI are cotton or blends, even if they're marketed as for 'traveling'. I'd becareful.

What I'd recommend is to dig through REI-Outlet, I've found some thin synthetic shirts for undre 10 dollars each on clearance, and polypro socks are must-haves.

Form vs function. You must be a very sensitive person to go around worrying about people making fun of you.

As for me, I'd prefer not to sweat my guts out, get sunburned and bitten up. Of course you are allowed to have an opinion here, but your attitude isn't helpful nor kind.

I live in a place that is extremely hot in the summer. We were Ex Officio shirts and pants all summer for very good reason. We want to stay as comfortable as possible. We also have the REI brand and others, whatever we can get on sale.

You want to field test hot weather clothing? Come out to west Texas. Plenty of chances to do so. We won't charge you much.

Mostly parasky I wonder if you have much familiarity with Ex Officio clothing. You have called them all "goofy looking", while endorsing thin button-down shirt and thin pants - these are all things Ex Officio makes (their lines are very extensive). I suspect you might see a lot of Ex Officio and have no idea that that's what it is. I'm surprised also that you've never been in places where you've found great temperature swings that would cause you to want pants in the morning and shorts by mid-day. You may consider people with big hats dorks, but they may be wisely protecting themselves from skin cancer.