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UPF vs SPF: What UPF 50+ Actually Means (and Why Anglers Are Ditching Sunscreen)
Quick test: you know what SPF 30 means on a sunscreen bottle. But what does UPF 50+ mean on a shirt? If you spend real time on Florida water, the difference matters more than you would think.
SPF rates a lotion. UPF rates a fabric.
SPF (Sun Protection Factor) measures how long a sunscreen delays UVB burn - and only UVB. It assumes you applied a thick, even coat and that you reapply every two hours. On a boat, with sweat, spray, and fish slime, that assumption dies by 10 a.m.
UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) measures how much total UV radiation - UVA and UVB - a fabric lets through to your skin. A UPF 50+ fabric allows less than 1/50th of UV through. In plain English: it blocks about 98% of the sun, all day, with zero reapplying.
Why UPF wins on a boat
- It cannot sweat off. The protection is in the weave, not on your skin.
- It covers what sunscreen misses - the spots everyone burns: shoulders, upper back, forearms.
- No film on your hands - your grip, your line, and your bait stay clean.
- It is permanent. On a quality sun shirt the rating never washes out. Ours actually perform better after washing.
What to look for in a sun shirt
Not all UPF shirts are equal. Look for: a true UPF 50+ rating (the highest class), a light breathable weave (ours are 4.1 oz microfiber - a long sleeve that is genuinely cooler than bare skin in direct sun), odor control for multi-day trips, and a cut that will not cling when wet.
Every long-sleeve in our UPF 50+ sun protection collection checks those boxes - and each shirt is made with REPREVE® fabric woven from 16 recycled plastic bottles. Real sun protection, made from the stuff we are trying to keep out of the ocean we fish.
The honest answer: use both
Dermatologists say it plainly: fabric first, sunscreen for what fabric cannot cover. Wear a UPF 50+ long-sleeve, add a mesh-back trucker hat and a UPF neck gaiter, then put SPF on your hands, nose, and ears. That combination is how you fish 9-to-5 in July and still feel human at the dock.
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- The founders, Saltwater Brewery