The first time I pitched a performance flannel review to an editor was a little over six years ago. In the pitch, I made some snarky remarks about how the term felt like a light oxymoron. Like saying high-tech wool or hydrophobic down, talking about a flannel being a badass performance piece felt like an oversell. Well, sometimes even veteran gear reviewers eat their words. After diving deeper into the category, I discovered that they can indeed deliver the best of both worlds in terms of performance and style. Half a decade later, performance flannels make up about 45 percent of my wardrobe in the wintertime. I love that a single shirt can be perfect for a date, an on-camera work meeting, or a sweaty mountain bike ride. But which ones do it best? To help you choose, I tested more than a dozen options and rated the top eight.
At a Glance
- Best in Test: ($119)
- Best for Travel: ($95)
- Best for Mountain Jocks: ($95)
- Best Trail-to-Tavern: ($100)
- Most Versatile: ($89)
- Most Classic: ($65)
- Best Value: ($45)
- Quickest Drying: ($120)
If you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active and outside. Learn more.
Best in Test
DUER Performance Flannel Button Down
Performance: 5/5
Comfort: 5/5
Style: 4/5
I’m used to DUER’s pants and shirts performing well stretch-wise, but I was shocked (in a good way) by how supple and soft the DUER Performance Flannel Button Down was. Next to skin, it was the softest of the bunch. At first look, the Button Down looks like a thick-weight wool, but thanks to its 40-percent synthetic content, it moved like a lightweight wicking layer in the gym and on my mountain bike ride. And even after I worked up a sweat on the ride’s big climb, it dried within the seven-ish minute descent. The Button Down was almost too thick for most other aerobic activities, though: I overheated while riding in temps above 55 degrees. But for slower-paced activities, it shone. The 60-percent cotton, 36-percent Lyocell, and four-percent Elastane fabric is some magic amalgam of stretch that felt unrestrictive during yoga stretches but still maintained a nice tight, clean-looking fit for days spent at my desk. It’s almost like an optical illusion: If you put it on with closed eyes, you could almost think it was some type of a soft-pile fleece rather than a flannel shirt. Between the fabric’s considerable stretch and next-level softness, it scored top marks both in comfort and performance.
Best for Travel
Stio Miter Stretch Lightweight Flannel
Performance: 4.5/5
Comfort: 4.5/5
Style: 5/5
I wrote “feels like an old friend” in my notes after my two days of wearing the Miter Stretch pretty much nonstop. That includes falling asleep in it at least once while reading my kiddo books at bedtime. The double-brushed weave—made of 97-percent organic cotton and three-percent elastane—really did wear like a beloved cotton shirt that you’ve washed 200 times. It toed the line between casual t-shirt and dressy button-down. That’s in large part thanks to its cut, which was trim enough that it never felt sloppy, but boxy enough that it never constricted my back or shoulders on mountain bike rides. The small elastane content in the otherwise organic material was enough to boost the fabric’s flexibility—something I appreciated during heavier physical activities, like digging a trench in my yard. This high level of comfort and versatility make it an ideal travel piece. In fact, this was the flannel I packed for a rainy work trip in Washington, and I’m glad I did: it’s really lightweight, was comfortable to fly in, and didn’t overheat under a rain jacket. It definitely looked more casual than the other flannels on this list due to its cut and cotton-like finish, though, so I wouldn’t choose it if you’re looking for something to wear to an office.
Best for Mountain Jocks
Flylow Handlebar Tech Flannel
Performance: 5/5
Comfort: 3.5/5
Style: 5/5
As an aging mountain jock, I can say with authority that the Flylow handlebar is aimed directly at my demographic. I particularly loved the arched cut at the sides of hem, which made the shirt easy to tuck in, but still looked handsome untucked. I also found the tailored cut flattering on my body, which trends on the Marge (medium-to-large) side of medium. On the practical side, I loved the two buttoned chest pockets, which each fit a pack of gummy bears—a perfect snack for my kiddo on errand runs, or for me on a longer ride. This was the only shirt in this test that had snap buttons, which made donning and doffing super easy (I also personally love how snaps look). The sleeves are a little longer than the other flannels on this list—ideal for when my arms were extended on the mountain bike. It’s not the stretchiest of flannels, but it’s built with some extra length in the arms and some articulation in the elbows. That permitted effortless, unimpeded motion both on the bike and in the gym. In terms of next-to-skin feel, the Handlebar definitely trends more synthetic and less cozy than the Stio or Outdoor Research options, earning it a slightly lower comfort score.
Best Trail-to-Tavern
Royal Robbins Lost Coast Flannel
Performance: 3.5/5
Comfort: 4/5
Style: 4.5/5
I had extremely high hopes for this offering from Royal Robbins since the Thermotech Drake I tested for this publication five years ago remains an all-time favorite of mine. The Lost Coast did not disappoint: its crisp lines made it wear like a fancy dress piece, and it was incredibly lightweight. It was breathable enough for warm afternoons but cozy enough for cool mornings and evenings. Extra material in the sleeves delivered a few extra degrees of movement in my arms on the bike, and it looked the nicest tucked-in of all the options in this test. That made it my go-to for important meetings. However, it’s a polyester-cotton blend, limits stretch. I felt the lack of elastane in the gym and during yoga sessions, but the fact that it got high marks on the mountain bike and could be worn in a boardroom kept me from getting too mad about it.
Most Versatile
Outdoor Research Ravenna Flannel Shirt
Performance: 4/5
Comfort: 4.5/5
Style: 5/5
Fit-wise, the Outdoor Research Ravenna’s cut straddles the line between a boxy and tailored, making it an ideal date-night top in a mountain town. I found myself grabbing for the Ravenna for mountain bike rides even beyond the testing period because its 8.6-ounce weight was enough to give me a slight thermal boost on brisk fall rides, but the 47-percent recycled polyester material moved moisture incredibly well when I broke a sweat on my climbs. The other 53 percent of the fibers are cotton—which means it felt organic and super-soft next to skin, particularly after the first couple of washes. I really appreciated the light weight and moisture-moving qualities when I got into heavier yardwork jobs like raking or moving wood around. However, though it was a perfect weight for fall here in the Pacific Northwest, I’ll definitely need to layer over it as the days get colder. I also might be too thin for late fall in colder climes like the Rockies. If you live somewhere truly frigid, opt for the thicker Dickies or DUER flannel instead.
Most Classic
L.L. Bean BeanFlex All-Season Flannel Shirt
Performance: 5/5
Comfort: 3.5/5
Style: 4/5
OK, can we just stop for a second and love on L.L. Bean for naming a shirt the BeanFlex? The name is adorable (and almost even cool?) in a way that only a heritage brand like L.L. Bean could pull off. Everything about this shirt surprised and delighted me in a nostalgic way. The colorway I tested (Barley!) reminds me of looking through L.L. Bean catalogs in my childhood. And while nostalgia led me to love this shirt while testing, I was also happy with the pre-inflation look of the $65 price tag. The fit is definitely a classic flannel cut, but the flex is anything but retro. It lived up to its cute moniker during every arm exercise and yoga move I put it through. It also felt downright nimble on the downhill portion of my mountain bike test, despite clearly not being cut for cycling (there’s not a ton of of articulation in the sleeves or body). Next to skin, it skews more synthetic in feel and doesn’t have the softness of a classic cotton flannel like the Stio or Outdoor Research do. Still, this is a great lightweight, straightforward flannel, especially if you like a classic boxy cut.
Best Value
Dickies FLEX Long Sleeve Flannel Shirt
Performance: 5/5
Comfort: 3.5/5
Style: 3/5
Of all the flannels I tested, the Dickies FLEX had the largest, most relaxed fit in both the sleeves and in the cut of the torso. I had to double check that this top was a medium because the top was so boxy, but I ended up not minding the extra fabric because it gave my arms and shoulders some more room to move on the mountain bike and in the gym. Its heavyweight, 4.6-oz stretch flannel was woven with one-percent spandex which made it flex really well (as the name would suggest). That said, I didn’t end up testing that flex too much: unlike other shirts in this review, the FLEX was too heavy to wear for vigorous exercise. I sweat completely through it on a mountain bike ride on a 60-ish-degree F morning and it proved slow to dry; it was still soggy when I took it off to shower 45 minutes after my ride. I will be grateful for that extra weight in the winter, though, and will likely be reaching for this when I harvest firewood during the first snowfall.
Quickest Drying
Fjällraven Fjällglim Shirt
Performance: 4/5
Comfort: 3/5
Style: 4/5
The Fjällglim has some of the smartest design details of any of the options in this test. Take the zippered pocket that hid underneath the regular chest pocket and fit my phone, which I loved for mountain biking. Or the button on the arm that allows you to fold it up into a short-sleeve shirt—adding to the versatility of this piece. I found it to be a great travel shirt because of the extra pockets as well as the fact that it can pull double-duty as a short-sleeve shirt and a long-sleeve shirt. Its 100-percent polyester material didn’t have as much stretch as the elastane- and spandex-infused tops above, but it moved better than a 100-percent cotton shirt of a similar weight would have. It also wicked moisture away from my body like a thick technical base layer so I rarely felt clammy. I also didn’t feel much impediment to my movement during the arm exercises, though I did notice some constriction along my back in downward dog.
How I Tested
As a longstanding flannel enthusiast, I started by researching the companies that have traditionally made great flannels. I looked for currently available offerings that had some technical fiber woven into them—usually some type of elastane or a stretchy polyester blend. These fibers enhance a flannel’s flexibility, durability, and drying time, making them a dead-giveaway that a shirt is going to be able to keep up with active outdoor pursuits. I ended up testing 13 flannels and whittled them down to the eight below.
The main factors that caused flannels to get cut from the roster were weight, lack of durability, or lack of stretch. Once I had my eight flannels to focus on, I wore each of them for two full days doing my everyday fall tasks like playing with my kiddo at parks, raking leaves and obsessively tending to my compost, and working in coffee shops. I also rode my out-the-front-door mountain bike route, Lower Wasabi, which is just shy of six miles round-trip from my yard. The ride has about a half mile of a technical climb and a fun, flowy descent (It’s both a great workout and downright hoot!).
To get a more distinct view of how each shirt moved, I also put together an exercise routine that included push ups, dips, and curls. I also did an extended downward dog-based stretching session in each of these flannels to see how the back flexed. At the end, I tallied the scores, reviewed my notes, and collated it all into the reviews you’ll see below.