The best women’s hiking tops 2024: smart, comfortable shirts for backcountry adventures

Our selection of the best women's hiking tops features a wealth of stylish yet functional shirts designed to fit the female form. Boasting advanced fabrics, these shirts will keep you cool and comfortable on the trails, while many are good looking enough to wear in the bar afterwards.

We've narrowed down the best women's hiking tops to this final nine. Our expert reviewers have tested them in their intended habitat, whether that's dusty paths in warm climes or snowy winter trails. There's everything from lightweight polyester offerings for summer hiking to warmer Merino and fleece-lined tops.

We rate The North Face Bolt Tech T-Shirt as the best women's hiking top of all, though each product in this round up is included on merit and has its own strengths. So button up, lace up your hiking boots and hit the trails.  

The quick list

This is the quick list, a brief overview of the best women's hiking tops available today. To delve deeper into each top, see our more detailed write ups further down the page.

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The best women’s hiking tops 2024

This is a no-nonsense, technical polyester top for dynamic activities from The North Face. Our expert tester Julia Clarke said that it's "a great choice as a first layer on cool mornings or on its own when things heat up on the hiking trail." It's lightweight, has great moisture wicking capabilities and has a flattering, slim fit. Better still, the perforated back is ideal when wearing a daypack.

As you'd expect from polyester, it's extremely fast drying too, so if you're caught in a sudden shower on the trails, it'll recover in no time. There's no stretchy elastane here, which means it should be pretty durable and it's design means that movement isn't inhibited. The main downside is that it gets a little bit smelly after a sweaty hike.

Read our full The North Face Bolt Tech T-shirt review

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The best women’s hiking top for repelling insects

This hiking shirt has a secret weapon up its long sleeves: insect repellency. It's woven from Craghopper's propriatary NosiLife material, which boasts permanent insect repellent treatment that's ingeniously woven into the fabrics. As our expert tester Sian Lewis points out: "If you’re heading to a climate where mosquitoes and other biting nasties may lurk, a hiking shirt impregnated with insect repellent can be a very clever shout."

As well as all this, it's a hard-wearing shirt that's perfect for exploring scrub or dealing with rock abrasion. Sian found that the top was also "impressively breathable in hot and humid weather", while the fit was flattering too. You get a hidden security pocket for items like keys and twin front pockets too. All in all, an impressive hiking shirt that won't let you down.

Read our full Craghoppers NosiLife Adventure II Shirt review

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The best women’s hiking top for durability

"If quality is top of your list when you’re shopping for hiking clothes, look no further than Fjällräven’s Övik," says our expert tester Sian Lewis. The brand are renowned for quality and durability and it's no surprise that this shirt is both hard-wearing and gorgeous to wear too. 

It blends eco-friendly hemp with recycled polyester to achieve an overall fabric that feels light, breathable, yet also reassuringly solid. Up front, you get two chest pockets and there's also a handy zippered pocket for valuable items. Sian tested the Övik during a summer hiking trip to the Pyrenees and was suitably impressed with how breathable it was on hot days. To sum up, she says "this is a great quiver-of-one outdoor shirt for daily use."

Read our full Fjällräven Övik Travel Shirt review

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The best women’s hiking top for breathability

The Expedition Pro fits the female body beautifully, looks the business and doesn't crease even after several days spent exploring the backcountry. Better still, thanks to its polyester fabric and multiple vents, it's highly breathable, making it perfect for trips to warm climes and hikes in summer. 

Our expert tester Sian Lewis recommends the khaki and black colorways, as they hide the unavoidable dirt collected during outdoor adventures. She's a fan of the top, saying that it's "worth investing in to wear for many adventures to come," and "one of the top shirts in this guide."

Read our full Royal Robins Expeditions Pro shirt review

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The best Merino women’s hiking top

EDZ's smart but simple 135gsm T-shirts are wonderfully versatile and boast all the benefits of Merino wool. This means it's soft against the skin, moisture wicking, has a high warmth to weight ratio and doesn't smell after a sweaty day on the trails. It's versatile enough to both hike and run in and smart enough to wear casually for everyday use too.

Our expert review Pat Kinsella tested the men's version of the top and was full of praise: "Supremely comfortable and high performing, this full-merino T-shirt-style hiking and running top has done me proud on many miles of trail running and hill rambling." As well as all the other benefits, the material is also resistant to creases, so you can put that iron away! 

Read our full EDZ 135gsm T-shirt review (men's)

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The best women’s hiking top for comfort

Columbia have crafted a sustainable shirt here: the Silver Ridge is woven from 100% recycled polyester so you can wear it with a clear conscience. The polyester wicks moisture away effectively, making this a very breathable top for those long ascents. It also weighs very little and is wonderfully comfortable to wear too, with neat touches like the extra padding on the shoulders to protect against wear from backpack straps.

Our expert reviewer Pat Kinsella tested the men's version and found it to be "a very versatile, great-looking shirt that can definitely be comfortably worn both out on the trails and also in the pub garden at the end of the day."

Read our full Columbia Silver Ridge shirt review (men's)

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The best insulated women’s hiking top

"We love the flannel-like looks of the Marmot Ridgefield," says our expert tester Sian Lewis. She rates it as a great looking shirt that pairs beautifully with both jeans and hiking pants. Compared to other shirts in this guide, the Ridgefield is very heavy, weighing in at 600g / 21oz. This is because it's insulated with a lining of Sherpa fleece, making it a great option for colder weather. However, this level of insulated warmth does mean it will probably stay in the closet during summer.

However, despite its thick fabric and weight, Sian didn't feel overly constricted in the shirt, saying that it "still offers great range of movement when you’re walking." If the heavens open, fear not, as the Coolmax EcoMade fabric dries twice as quickly as cotton, so you won't be wet for long.

Read our full Marmot Ridgefield shirt review

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The best lightweight women’s hiking top

"You might be mistaken for thinking this was from a work wardrobe," says our expert tester Sian Lewis. The minimal, smart and tailored Mammut Aada looks just as at home in the boardroom as it does on the mountain summit. It's excellent fit means it is a joy to wear beneath mid-layers and it's polyester fabric is light enough to be supremely comfortable when hiking in the summer months.

Although it doesn't neutralize odors quite as effectively as a Merino shirt, the Aada does boast an antimicrobial treatment. Whether it's the impending presentation or a narrow arête that's making you sweat, at least the smell won't hang around on the shirt. The shirt is also easy to wash and care for, as well as being resistant to creases.

Read our full Mammut Aada shirt review

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The best cotton women’s hiking top

Cotton hiking shirts aren't ideal for wet weather as they're quite slow to dry. However, if you're trekking in dry climates, Columbia's Camp Henry could be a great shout. Don't be fooled by its flannel appearance, it's actually remarkably light and breathable, making it a breezy choice for summer hiking forays.

There are plenty of useful features, such as tabs that allow you to roll the sleeves up quickly and easily, while the shoulders also sit nicely under the straps of a daypack. Our expert review Sian Lewis points out that it's a "hiking shirt we’d recommend sizing up in to make sure you get a loose and unencumbered fit," which is obviously something to bear in mind before a potential purchase. 

Read our full Columbia Camp Henry shirt review

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The best women’s hiking tops comparison table

How we test the best women’s hiking tops

Our reviewers test hiking tops in a range of environments and conditions, from wintry hills and peaks to warm hikes along the coast, mixing day hikes and longer expeditions. Features (including breathability, odor-resistance, ventilation, materials, style, weight and overall comfort) are tested against claims made by the brand, and we assess factors such as value for money, durability, functionality and environmental impact.

Meet the testers

Sian Lewis

Sian is a passionate hiker and all-round lover of the outdoors. She adores being out in the backcountry, whether hiking, wild camping, wild swimming or mountaineering and is an expert when it comes to testing outdoor kit.

Julia Clarke

Julia's first big backpacking trip was to Turquoise Lake, just outside of Vail, CO about fifteen years ago. She can still remember every detail of preparing, hiking in and camping in the beautiful bowl of Mount Jackson. These days, she's a veteran and one of Advnture's experts when it comes to outdoor clothing.

Choosing the best women’s hiking shirt for you

There is a huge number of women’s hiking shirts to choose from. Following are some factors it’s worth considering before making a purchase.

What materials are best for a hiking top?

There’s a bigger variety of hiking and travel shirts on the market than you might think, and different materials are best suited to different kinds of adventure. Synthetic shirts made with fabrics such as polyester are quick drying and good for humid conditions, while lightweight, natural cotton is ideal for the heat, but doesn’t dry fast when wet and offers no thermal qualities, so should never be worn in alpine or winter conditions. 

Blended materials such as those that use spandex are slightly stretchy and very comfortable to wear for long periods. Tencel has been around since the 1970s but is suddenly very popular in the outdoors market, and is delightfully cool and comfy to wear as well as being an environmentally-friendly choice. Hemp is also a great material to keep an eye out if you’re trying to make planet-friendly purchases, as it has low carbon emissions and is better for the environment than cotton clothing. 

What design features should I look for in a hiking top?

You’ll see both button-down and t-shirt style hiking shirts on the market. We recommend button-downs, as they’re easy to pop on and off and double up as an outer layer when worn unbuttoned over a tank top (for more on layering, see Why is layering important?). You can also choose whether to go short- or long-sleeve. Short-sleeved tops are cooler and often easier to layer, while long-sleeved shirts will protect arms from the sun when you’re hiking. We reckon a long-sleeved shirt that can easily be rolled up, ideally with buttons to secure the sleeves easily above the elbows, is the most versatile choice for walkers. When it comes to color, while white looks very smart it also tends to look dirty very quickly. Beige, sand and darker tones are ideal for travelling and hiking, as they disguise dirt and sweat. Plaid shirts are bright and fun to wear, and there are even smart striped shirts available that will double up as a work wardrobe when you aren’t hiking. 

How should a hiking top fit?

We’re sure you don’t need us to tell you how to check that a shirt fits you properly, but if you’re going to wear your new purchase for hiking for long hours at a time, it is worth getting the fit bang-on. Your new shirt shouldn’t feel restrictive anywhere when you move or lift your arms. If you want to wear it with a backpack, check that there aren’t seams on the shoulders that could dig into your skin when worn under rucksack straps. A looser fit tends to allow better ventilation and keep you cooler, and we recommend checking a shirt is long enough to tuck into your hiking shorts or trousers comfortably. 

Should my hiking top provide insect and sun protection?

A technical hiking shirt can be more than just something to pop on your top half – some of the best are designed to effectively block the sun’s rays or even to repel biting insects. All shirts will block some sunlight, but some have a high UPF rating and are made with a dense material that is UV-protective – these are a great choice for hiking in hot countries and for trekking at altitude. Some shirts, such as Craghoppers’ NosiLife range, have built-in insect repellent properties that will keep biting bugs away – ideal for tropical trails. If you’re choosing a shirt specifically for hot weather and sun exposure, make sure the fabric is light and breathable enough to keep you cool.