Heavy Duty Tee Shirts

S

Shann

Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
5,249
What are some good really heavy duty tee shirts? I like to wear tee shirts on the weekend for casual and yard work but a lot of them now are kind of light weight and clingy. I'd prefer plain colors--no logo or branding.

I have seen Haynes that are like 5.5 oz cotton but don't really know if that is heavy duty.

Thanks.
 
I like Kirkland brand from Costco. They make a good boot sock too!
 
+1 for Duluth trading.
not cheap, but they don't shrink or stretch out of shape and they're cut long enough I can work overhead without having the shirt hike up above my belly. (they also call 'em crack spackle)
 
As cotton has gotten expensive, T-shirt quality has really gone down in general. I would suggest buying a T-shirt from the local shops from brands like Carhartt and Dickies and giving it a "test drive". Then factor in quality versus cost and buy what works for you. You could find a synthetic blend works best or could be a 100% cotton fan. It all really depends on where you wear it and how you wear it.
 
L.L. Bean's web site sale page often has cotton t-shirts marked down to $10–$13. The heaviest have raglan sleeves and long tails.
 
Gildan's Ultra-Cotton Heavyweight Ts fit me better than Carharrts or Hanes Beefy Ts, though all of them are ok. I haven't found Carharrts dirt cheap, but the Hanes and Gildans can be found places like www.cheapestees.com because they sell them for vendors to print stuff on.
btw, you mentioned weights. The Hanes and Gildans are 6.1oz per square yard, and Carharrt's heavy t-shirts are 6.75oz. They are all good quality, durable shirts, and I've used them all for work shirts in a rough, nasty environment. They may get stuff on them that ruins them, but none of them have shown much wear, been ripped, or worn thin, even after extensive use, and they last a long time.
 
One problem seems to be that cotton just ain’t what it used to be. Maybe it is the result of chemical fertilizers or genetic engenieering. Maybe global pollution. Maybe evil sprits. One “expert” told me that the fibers are now lts shorter then they used to be.

Whatever, most cotton seems to wear out lots faster than it did; as a kid I had hand-me-down t-shirts that got passed on after I outgrew them. Doubt if anybody can say that today. I have also noticed that modern corduroy looses it’s knap very quickly on points of wear like knees of work pants.

These days I buy my t-shirts at the Salvation Army or other thrift shops at a buck or so each. When they wear out, I use them as shop rags.
 
CARHARTT
light-medium-heavy-and "Arctic" thick or something like that.
I wear the Medium-thick, long-sleeve year-round...great for weed-eating in miserable conditions + warm enough to ditch the jacket in chilly weather.
 
Just put in an order to give the Duluth brand a try. We'll see how it goes.

My biggest problem with the Gildan heavyweight and Hanes Beefy-T is the wild variation in size from one example to the next. The quality of the cotton itself is usually pretty consistent, but torso length fluctuations of 3 inches or more, and sleeve length variations of over 2 inches are not uncommon.
 
I like the Carhartt pockets tees, their new tees with the designs on them are made of a thinner material. The Duluth tees are very heavy duty. The only problem with the Duluth tees is that I am short and the shirt ends up either half way to my knee or in a big bunch in me pants.
 
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