USVI-On-Line

Hi again - Need to buy rash guards for the kids as they will not fit from last time. I really do not want to pay the price of Lands End but not sure if I can get them for less anywhere else. Any suggestions? Our kids are 15 and 12 so really in adult sizes.

Walmart had a them last year for a reasonable prices. I have seen them in Target if you have then near you. Also there are a ton listed on Amazon.com and the prices Ive seen for boys were about 15.00.
Good luck...

Not sure what chain is convenient for you, but here in Houston it is Academy. They have some that are like a "house brand" in addition to the major surf wear companies. Not sure if Dick's or Sports Authority might have something similar.

My husband got white ones at Dick's but I don't think they were cheaper than Lands End.

I just did a quick search, and didn't find anything that would work, for less than $30s, at Amazon, Dick's, Walmart and Target.
Lands' End is having a great sale on kids sizes - could they fit in kid's XL?

We got ours from swim outlet.com. They were nice. Just make sure to read reviews for sizing. We both had to size up.

The regular synthetic lightweight "quick dry" workout gear/shirts from Nike, Champion, Old Navy, or other store brands are not advertised with SPFs or as rash guards, but I have used them all the time in the islands snorkeling swimming hanging out etc and all day long down the shore and poolside in the summer and have never gotten a sunburn or, any significant color through the shirt on my back or shoulders. The exception here would be if you are very fair skinned and spend mega hours out in the direct sun you could get some degree of UV exposure though shirts like this.

The good thing about these shirts is they can be much less expensive than the so-called rash guards, come in more colors, are more breathable than the Lands End rash guards, you can pack a bunch of them and they take up very little room and weigh very little, and come in my preferred sleeveless muscle shirt version which is much cooler than a T shirt.
And, you can wear them to the gym.

I got a great one on Ebay (New with Tags) for less than $15 and free shipping. I had to order a larger size than I usually wear. I got a small, and returned it for a large (I'm 5'3" 115 lb) which fit fine.

Just be careful not to choose a bargain priced one without reading the fine print. The rash guards should also have SPF in them to protect the kids from sunburn or they will burn through the rash guards. They last thing you want on vacation is a cranky sunburned kid.

Check here:

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/s~rash-guards/

If they or you get a chill, I would recommend one with a light fleece linings I use mine all the time. Yu can get it from
www.mysterios.com or just google fleeced lined rash guard and a couple to her sites come up!!

Since I don’t want to be giving out spurious advice here, I did some additional Googling to ascertain the legitimacy of my claims that its OK to use or substitute non-SPF gear for the sun protection that the SPF rash guards provide.

Apparently light colored natural fabrics are pretty ineffective, but darker colored tighter woven synthetics can be fairly effective, and I guess that has been my experience using the Champion or similar quick dry workout shirts as substitutes for rash guards.

That said, I am not fair skinned, and indeed agree that it would be advisable to only use legit SPF gear for children or anybody who burns easily. Just pointing out that there may be other options worth considering – you just have to know yourself.

jmq wrote: Apparently light colored natural fabrics are pretty ineffective, but darker colored tighter woven synthetics can be fairly effective, and I guess that has been my experience using the Champion or similar quick dry workout shirts as substitutes for rash guards. .

I have been reading these claims for years and find them baffling. I have never in my life gotten a sunburn through a cotton t-shirt, nor do I know anybody else that has (that's why "farmer's tan" refers to people with snow-white torsos but deeply tanned forearms). I know that the tropical sun is more intense, and it is probably possible to get some sun through a t-shirt if you are out in the midday sun for hours and hours. However, my "farmer's tanned" husband always snorkels in an ordinary t-shirt for 2-3 hours at a time and has never gotten burned through his shirt (although he sure did get sunburned the time he went shirtless wearing 2-year-old sunscreen!!).

I used an ordinary t-shirt the first couple trips, then bought a rashguard. I haven't noticed any difference at all in sun protection. The main advantage of the rashguard for me is that it dries so much more quickly. It's also not so heavy and draggy in water.

Are any of you so sun-sensitive that you have actually burned through a cotton t-shirt?

I bought a few at Kohl's (a bit less expensive) and a couple from Land's End....I stayed with the LE shirts and took the others back, they fit really well and came rated at SPF 50.

My husband does exactly what JMQ does. Light weight quick dry athletic shirts. Just RINSE them...if he doesn't remember to rinse with non-salt water, they get FUNKY. But rashguards would too!

Also, Costco had rash guards in a variety of colors and sizes in the $20-30 range a couple of weeks ago.

I buy from www.coolibar.com for my daughter. It's expensive but worth it.