I think that these days, with the internet being what it is, perceptions get exaggerated very quickly, and outlandish claims become accepted as facts. The old saying that if say a lie enough times it will become the truth, has always been true, but the time frame for becoming "truth" has accelerated exponentially with the internet.
There always tends to be a small bit of truth at the bottom of all these claims, but they are greatly exaggerated.
Wool is slightly more odor resistant than some synthetic fabrics, unless wet, in which case it smell like wet wool; it retains a bit more insulation when wet than cotton, but about the same as synthetic fabrics like fleece; wool is noticeably more resistant to sparks than some synthetic fabrics, even though both will be damaged by sparks and neither will combust into flame; wool is noticeably less durable than some synthetic fabrics in terms of abrasion, although wool-synthetic blends solve that issue to a degree.
For me, where there is a significant difference when out in the woods is the drying time. Backpacking Light did an experiment on t-shirts and found that the drying time for wool was 50% slower than for a synthetic t-shirt. The difference increases exponentially as the material gets thicker. That of course makes little difference when talking about t-shirts for warm weather, but it makes a huge difference when talking about thicker materials in cold weather.
So, I guess my answer to the OP is, when it comes to t-shirts in warm weather, it makes no difference at all. Get whatever you want or can afford. The differences are tiny. I use synthetic shirts because they are cheap, durable, and easily replaceable. If you start looking for clothing for more extreme conditions however, you have to look at the differences more carefully. For me drying time is the most import one. For you it might be something else.
There always tends to be a small bit of truth at the bottom of all these claims, but they are greatly exaggerated.
Wool is slightly more odor resistant than some synthetic fabrics, unless wet, in which case it smell like wet wool; it retains a bit more insulation when wet than cotton, but about the same as synthetic fabrics like fleece; wool is noticeably more resistant to sparks than some synthetic fabrics, even though both will be damaged by sparks and neither will combust into flame; wool is noticeably less durable than some synthetic fabrics in terms of abrasion, although wool-synthetic blends solve that issue to a degree.
For me, where there is a significant difference when out in the woods is the drying time. Backpacking Light did an experiment on t-shirts and found that the drying time for wool was 50% slower than for a synthetic t-shirt. The difference increases exponentially as the material gets thicker. That of course makes little difference when talking about t-shirts for warm weather, but it makes a huge difference when talking about thicker materials in cold weather.
So, I guess my answer to the OP is, when it comes to t-shirts in warm weather, it makes no difference at all. Get whatever you want or can afford. The differences are tiny. I use synthetic shirts because they are cheap, durable, and easily replaceable. If you start looking for clothing for more extreme conditions however, you have to look at the differences more carefully. For me drying time is the most import one. For you it might be something else.
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