UV Swim Shirt :: reviewed by Noah

I was excited on Noah's behalf to be chosen by The Beach Factory to review a UV swim top - he's eleven you see, and therefore far too cool to be excited by anything...or is he?

First impressions

When the Tshirt arrived in the post my initial thoughts were that it was very lightweight, and beautifully silly and smooth.  The design on the front was bright and clear, and the seaming left no raw edges inside that might rub.  The sizing and washing info was printed inside, at the nape of the neck, so thought had clearly been applied to ensuring the wearer was comfortable and not stabbed by scratchy labels at an inopportune moment!

Fit

Noah is the tallest in his school year, wears size 6½ shoes and either 12/13 or 13/14 clothes (taking after his 6'3" dad it seems!), and we'd been sent the 13/14, which fitted really nicely.  Noah has a comparatively long torso, and often finds that tops which fit comfortably across his shoulders are too short in the body, but not the case with this top at all.  The sleeves were a reasonable length too - something else Noah often finds to be a bit on the short side.

Features

I should draw your attention to the fact that while it's a UV protective top (UPF 50+), wearing it to the beach will not necessarily result in sunshine...  Although it clearly wasn't an issue on our holiday, I love the idea of a top that offers protection from the sun - no fuss, no mess, just so so easy.  I don't know about anyone else but (a few years ago) trying to smother three under-threes in sun screen for a day at the beach was a nightmare for me, so being able to trust an item of clothing to take care of this for you (for the whole day, not just for a couple of hours or until they get wet!) would have been fab!  For authoritative information and advice regarding staying safe in the sun please check out  SunSmart.  It also occurred to me that for children/young people or even adults that struggle with the physical sensation of cream on their skin these would provide the protection they need from the sun without risking a sensory meltdown - there are long sleeved versions in a range of sizes that would be perfect for individuals with tactile sensitivity or sensory integration disorder.

Although the protection from the sun feature may be one of the Tshirt's principle selling points, it certainly doesn't restrict its use - Noah is happily wearing it all over the place: rockpooling in the rain; putting a tent up in the garden; walking Eli and getting caught in a thunderstorm; the glorious unpredictability of early summer in the UK!

Over to Noah...

• I like it, it's a good top.
• It doesn't stuck to your body, even if you're running around and you get really hot.  Ordinary tops are difficult to take off sometimes if you've got all sweaty, but this one was easy.
• I don't like Tshirts that are just black but this one had cool writing on the front and on the back with other colours on so it looked good.
• It's easy to move about in, so when you're stretching and stuff it doesn't get in the way, and it doesn't feel tight anywhere on me.
• I had it on in the paddling pool and it got soaked but it dried really quick, so I could still wear it later.
• I wear it when it's sunny and when it's rainy too, and it feels nice on my skin.

Final thoughts

Judged 'cool' and much beloved by my pre-teen - not an easy feat.  

Dries unbelievably fast, on a child or on the line, which is always going to be a big plus!

Comfortable, suitable for any dry activity as well as a multitude of wet ones.

Provides a level of peace of mind when out in the sun, and saves on time and money on suncream.

Definitely worth having in your parenting arsenal this summer, and this Quiksilver Tshirt as well as other (equally snazzy) designs available from here.  Delivery is free if your order comes to £30, and there's swimsuits, googles, sun hats, picnic blankets and plenty of other sunshine essentials from which to take your pick.  Word to the wise, check out their beach bags - important to have a bag big enough to put the towels and drinks and books and sunscreen in after all...

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Thank you, Beach Factory, for giving Noah and I the opportunity to try out this item from your range!

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The Tshirt was provided to us by the Beach Factory free of charge to review.  All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post by myself and Noah are genuine.

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