hard use cotton t-shirts

Josh Muller

Josh Muller

Joined
Jun 22, 2003
Messages
3,049
my brother has a shirt from a company called "river trader"... after about 3 hours of searching online, i can only come up with random references to it, and never any stable sales location or information...
the shirt was double ply, and is pretty heavy. thing is, he's been wearing it for the past 7 years, and it still wears like its new. there are some holes in the hem and the cuffs, but all in all it could pass for what most shirts look like after 8 months of constant wear.

so i started looking for heaviest duty t-shirts i could find, and all i could really come up with through google was Gildan ultra's, of wich they have a 10.1 oz cotton version. the only thing i have to compare it to is my 12oz firm hand canvas carharts wich i know is totally different... right now im seeing if i can get 12 of them *the gildans* from a store in canada... they are the only place ive seen that carries them, and will take paypal.

anyone know of any other hard use heavy duty cotton t-shirts?
 
Just find a decent sporting good store and go through their rack of t's...

Pick the one thats the tightest knit, with the largest thread... that weighs more than the rest, and it'll be one hot tshirt!

I havent ever looked for a shirt thats marketed as hard use, just go by what feels the best made. :cool:
 
"Q: What makes a quality T-shirt?
A: There are a few factors that should be considered prior to deciding on a particular T-shirt. Ounce weight and materials should be your main focus. Look for shirts at an ounce weight of 9.0 to 10.1 ounces (Canadian Standards) or 5.4-6.0 ounces (US standards). "

from the site... interesting... makes me wonder if the standard for canada is simply heavier fabric, or wether the ounce rating is different (metric vs. british measuring)

http://www.t-shirt.ca/viewproduct.aspx?ProductID=45
is the shirt im refering to... nice to find out it was in canadian dollars when i went to pay for it... was expecting more by the numbers alone...

id be interested in hearing about any companies that use heavier weight cotton, or double ply the shirt material... i know that for survival use, there are better shirts, but ive never worn anything but t-shirts for personal day to day use....

i have an anchor blue shirt thats a really heavy material, and its comfortable, but river trader's shirts are really a notch above... just wish i could find out where to buy them
 
I wear Carhartt T-shirts.

I haven't found any T-shirts yet that beat their durability, and weight.
 
CODE 3 said:
I wear Carhartt T-shirts.

I haven't found any T-shirts yet that beat their durability, and weight.
Click to expand...
And that is the truth. Carhartt is hard to beat and they do have a very good reputation with all of their clothing. :) Cavelady luv 'em Carhartt
 
Havent tried a carharrt t...

But I do like their jeans! Especially now that sears is carrying more of the American made linuep... not just mexico!

I like jockey undershirts... but you can get sunburned through em, so they probably arent what your looking for. They make decent rags :cool:
 
nawwww.gotta buy yourself some UnderArmour T's!! You gotta be in shape to wear them cuz they fit like a glove but they are by far the most comfy t shirts in the world and If you work out like I do...Well...Chicks dig em.Get em wet and they dry in seconds.pricey though..get em cheap on EBAY.They make em for hot weather,cold weather and everything in between.NFL/MLB/LAPD SWAT and now Spec ops issued.I'm 45 and twenty yr old girls say hi to me when I wear em, and I'm ugly.
 
Investigator said:
nawwww.gotta buy yourself some UnderArmour T's!! You gotta be in shape to wear them cuz they fit like a glove but they are by far the most comfy t shirts in the world and If you work out like I do...Well...Chicks dig em.Get em wet and they dry in seconds.pricey though..get em cheap on EBAY.They make em for hot weather,cold weather and everything in between.NFL/MLB/LAPD SWAT and now Spec ops issued.I'm 45 and twenty yr old girls say hi to me when I wear em, and I'm ugly.
Click to expand...
How ugly? On a scale of 1 to 10 and comparing yourself to Billy Bob Thornton just how ugly?
 
id like to see how those react to welding spatter though...

they are nice looking, but i dont know how they would react to abrasion/fire/oil/grease... and its not something id want to wear inthe ghetto without something over it
 
I dont think the under armor t would work well for my 20 lbs I've picked up in the last 6 months...

Not saying thats all i've picked up, but just saying what I gained wasnt muscle! :D
 
Cindy Denning said:
How ugly? On a scale of 1 to 10 and comparing yourself to Billy Bob Thornton just how ugly?
Click to expand...
Newport Beach ugly is anything below a 9.
 
the hemptown 45/55 cotton/hemp shirts look pretty nice... the only reason im not going with those yet is because they are 7.1oz/yard, vs. the gildan's 100% cotton shirts at 10.1oz.... i wonder wich is stronger (material wise)....
 
Frank said:
Newport Beach ugly is anything below a 9.
Click to expand...
Shoot, if you have teeth and a build like that these southern girls will just love that, your in the wrong side of the USA buddy. :D
 
SethMurdoc said:
the hemptown 45/55 cotton/hemp shirts look pretty nice... the only reason im not going with those yet is because they are 7.1oz/yard, vs. the gildan's 100% cotton shirts at 10.1oz.... i wonder wich is stronger (material wise)....
Click to expand...

My understanding is that hemp is stronger than cotton. That originally blue jeans were made out of hemp based denim, and that they made the switch to cotton after hemp growing was outlawed.

Thats just what I remember reading...
 
well, i got the gildan ultra heavyweight 10.1 oz tee's - and im not really impressed...

you can only slightly feel the difference in fabric weight in the hand (when you runn your hand across it, firm hand being stiff(er) material) of the fabric, but not in the feel of it when you wear it. im sure that the construction is solid, but what i want moreso then that (i can sew, so the seams coming undone isnt a problem at all) i want a super durable fabric that feels like it...

so im going to go ahead and sell these 12 off and buy 6 hemptown hefty tee's... i figure - if its gonna feel exactly the same as every other t'shirt ive ever worn, id like it to at least be more durable...
 
Carhartt are very tough! I like the T's, sweats, and denim shirts for working in. Can't beat their overalls, and jackets either!
 
do not wear underarmor for welding without a coat/coverings!! ...unless you like little holes in your $30+ shirt:p, they're alright for abrasion but the purpose of underarmor is to fit tightly so it can wick up sweat so you feel cooler during the course of your day.

Kenny

SethMurdoc said:
id like to see how those react to welding spatter though...

they are nice looking, but i dont know how they would react to abrasion/fire/oil/grease... and its not something id want to wear inthe ghetto without something over it
Click to expand...
 
got my hemptown hefties, and man, they are pretty much exactly what i wanted. different, but close.


the gildan t-shirts are just like any other shirt on the market, just every so slightly (unnoticably) heavyer weight cotton. what i wanted was an almost canvas like cotton, something thick and noricably denser. something that when you wore it you thought "how this is higher quality (strenghth) then any other shirt ive ever worn. the gildans just didnt stack up to that.

i still would like to have a couple of shirts made of a cotton thats weighted like that, but until i find somewhere that has a backstock of river traders, i doubt that i will find them.


the hemptown t-shirfts weight 11oz each (sz lg), where as the gildans weigh 8.1oz (sz lg). the hemptowns are larger then the gildans, so that has a slight factor in the weight, but most of it comes from the fabric. instead of being your normal cotton style t-shirt material, its closer to a sweater type weave. instead of being a completely uniform blended pattern that becomes a solid sheet, it has very vsmall lines in it that make it much stretchier then normal t-shirt material, again more like a sweater, but to a much lesser degree. its thick and soft due to that, so its warm, but is less wind resistent as is inherent with a looser weave patter (sweater like rather then t-shirt like).

again, because of the weave pattern (and probably partly due to the hemp), they seem to keep water off a little better, the water resting on top of the fabric rather then instantly soaking in like it was a paper towl wich is common with all cotton t-shirts.

would i say that these feel more durable then the gildans? absolutely. are they more comfortable? depends on what your going for. id probably go with no for most uses, they are heavier and thicker, so you'll notice that your wearing them more then the gildans, wich will dissapear after a while. but thats what i wanted in a t-shirt - to know that im wearing it, so im happy with the way it turned out.


overal, im completely impressed with them. i bought 8 for myself, and 7 for my brother as a gift for christmas (early gift). and id buy them for anyone who wanted a good hefty durable shirt.

now i feel like i have a complete set of gear :D
danner acadia's
carhart duct canvas work pants
hemptown hefty tee's
langlitz goatskin pocket columbian with leather pockets (9lbs :eek: :D )
busse 1/4 saber ground le sj
busse modded NICK (satin jack sans choil)
leatherman charge ti
busse terror monkey battle mistress w/serrations w/special handle (hopefully)
windmill sp-3000 lighter
sure-fire aviator w/red led's
+a bunch of cheap survival stuff in my bag....

im a happy camper :D:D:D:D:D
 
:) Carhartt Carhartt Carhartt!! Jerzee used to make a heavy pocket tee, but I haven't seen any for years. I live and work in tee shirts and Carhartts are the best I've found. They've got pockets, no pockets, long sleeve, henleys, and everything in between. For formal occassions, tuck them in and make sure the tag ain't sticking up in back. Carhartt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top