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October Is Still Tank Top Weather: How to Pick, Wear and Wash a Saltwater Tank
September closes tonight, and the calendar says fall. The thermometer in Delray Beach does not. NOAA’s 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals for the West Palm Beach station put October’s average high at 84.7°F and its average low at 72.6°F, down only a little from 88.0 and 75.8 in September. October also dries out, with 5.90 inches of rain on average against September’s 7.96. So the second-best beach month of the year is starting, and it is still tank top weather. Here is how to pick one from our lineup, when to wear it, and how to keep it looking right.
How to pick: two cuts, then the art
Every tank in the tank top collection runs $24.95 to $34.95, and every product page describes the same thing underneath the art: a light, breathable tank. The pages do not list a fabric blend or a sun rating, so we will not either. The real choice is the cut, then the design.
- Unisex tank. A relaxed sleeveless cut. The 2022 designs (Knot Water and Deadly Pineapple among them) come in white or black, XS to 2XL. The older logo tanks (Florida Flag, Sea Cow, LocAle, USA, Rasta, Ocean Blue) run S to 2XL in up to nine colors, and a few of those colors have sold out, so the product page is the word on what is live.
- Women’s racerback. A sportier cut, XS to XL, in two heathers per design. The product pages describe the shape as one that “frees your shoulders to move,” which is the point of a racerback.
Five designs worth a look this month:
- Knot Water (unisex, $24.95) puts a skull-shaped coconut drink, straw and paper umbrella on the chest. The pun is for anyone who would rather be fishing. There is a racerback version too.
- Deadly Pineapple (unisex $24.95, or the racerback at $24.95) is a pineapple crown over a skull. The listing calls it “tropical on the outside, a little dangerous underneath.”
- Eco Turtle (racerback, $24.95) is a teal sea turtle across the chest, “a love letter to the sea turtle” in the listing’s words. It is timely: the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s sea turtle lighting page puts the end of sea turtle nesting season at Oct. 31, and Monday’s post covers what that means on a Palm Beach County beach.
- Sunken Dreams (racerback, $27.95) is a ship in a bottle, “for the ones who love what lies beneath.” Its sibling, Surfboard, is also $27.95.
- Florida Flag (unisex $24.95, or the women’s cut at $24.95) reworks the state flag into the Saltwater wave logo, printed on the back, with the Saltwater Brewery wordmark under it. Nine colors on each cut.
When to wear it: an October day here
Go early, again. On Oct. 1 the sun rises at 7:13 a.m. and sets at 7:07 p.m. in Delray Beach; by Halloween that is 7:29 a.m. and 6:39 p.m., according to the U.S. Naval Observatory’s one-day sun and moon calculator set to Delray Beach. That average low of 72.6°F is a dawn number, so a tank and shorts is the sunrise-walk outfit. Carry a layer only if a front comes through late in the month; November’s average low drops to 66.1°F in the same NOAA normals.
Treat it as a sun-shade-and-sunscreen garment. A tank leaves shoulders and arms open, and none of these pages claims any sun rating, so the sun plan is shade and sunscreen. The EPA’s UV Index Scale says that from a UV index of 3 upward you should seek shade during late morning through mid-afternoon and use a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher on exposed skin, and at 8 and above it adds a simple test: “If your shadow is shorter than you, seek shade.”
Keep one eye on the tropics. NOAA’s National Hurricane Center puts the Atlantic season at June 1 through Nov. 30 on its climatology page, so a fall beach or boat day still starts with the forecast.
Take everything home. The nests are still in the sand through Oct. 31. Pack out the chairs, the towel and the tank you took off, and keep lights off the beach at night.
How to look after it
The product pages do not carry care instructions, so read this as a routine that keeps a printed tank looking right through a South Florida fall, not as a care label.
- Rinse it the same day in fresh water to get salt and sunscreen out of the fabric.
- Wash it cold and inside out, away from anything with a zipper or hook-and-loop that can scuff the print.
- Skip the bleach. Colors and a chest print do not need it.
- Hang it to dry, or tumble on low. High heat is the fastest way to age a print.
- Put it away dry. A damp tank in a gym bag or a boat bag is how a good one starts to smell like a bad one.
Ordering, and where to wear it first
Tanks run $24.95 to $34.95. We offer free U.S. shipping on orders over $75, so three tanks clear that line. We ship merch within the USA only, and we do not sell or ship beer online.
When you are done with the beach, the taproom is at 1701 W. Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach, the first building off the I-95 Atlantic Ave exit. On Wednesdays we are open 12 to 10, and food on site comes from the rotating food trucks out front. The events page lists what is on this week.
Pick the cut, pick the art, and treat the sun with the respect a tank top asks for. Then come find us in the beer garden.