Best Heavyweight Tees for Men
Add Weight to Add Style & Prepare Yourself for the Fall
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We’re in that weird in-between stage of the year, caught between summer and fall, when the days are still warm but the nights are chilly. Sure, you could pack a sweater and just rely on layering to keep you warm, but you can also opt for a more versatile clothing choice: the heavyweight t-shirt.
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First, a history lesson: most t-shirts defaulted to “heavy” in the not-too-distant past, when fabric options were limited and people spent a lot more time outdoors, but as we’ve made fine-spun fabrics cheaper and easier to work with, t-shirts have dropped in thickness and weight. But don’t think that lighter is always better.
Sailors, soldiers, farmers and workers of all trades have known the importance of heavyweight fabrics for a long time, so they most definitely have a place in your wardrobe, especially if you live somewhere with cold temperatures. But what is a heavyweight t-shirt? In America, shirts over six ounces are typically classified as heavyweight, whereas in Europe and Britain, they use a metric called GSM (grams per square meter) to compare shirt weights, with shirts over 200 grams-per-square-meter being classified as heavy.
To simplify your life and perhaps inspire you to put on a weighted shirt this fall, we’ve put together a handy list of some of the most stylish and comfortable heavyweight tees for men:
Carhartt University Script T-Shirt
Carhartt
Carhartt is famous for making tough, durable clothing for rugged, hard-working people, and their University Script T-Shirt is no exception. It’s made from 100% cotton, but with a weight of 230 grams per square meter, it’s definitely going to feel weighty.
$55 at Carhartt.com
Banana Republic Heavyweight Cotton T-Shirt
Banana Republic
If you’re gearing up for fall and want a heavy, long-sleeve t-shirt that’s both stylish and comfortable, look no further than this Heavyweight Cotton T-Shirt from Banana Republic. It’s made from 100% machine-washable cotton, with extra-dense knitting to add weight. The straight hem and chest pocket add a little flair, and help make this shirt versatile enough to dress up or down.
$22.97 at BananaRepublic.Gap.com
Everlane Premium-Weight Crew
Everlane
Available in 13 colors and made from dense and durable 6.2-oz cotton, the Premium-Weight Crew from Everlane offers a stylish cut and relaxed fit without being billowy or shapeless. The knitted construction feels heavy to wear but doesn’t chafe or irritate the skin, and prolonged wear and washing only makes this shirt softer, so you can look forward to future comfort as well.
$45 at Everlane.com
Taylor Stitch The Heavy Bag Tee
Taylor Stitch
Rugged, stylish and sustainable, the Taylor Stitch Heavy Bag Tee is the perfect triple-threat shirt for sliding into the cooler weather of fall. It’s made from upcycled fabrics, shredded and respun into something gloriously weighty and soft (and saving about 1,200 gallons of water per shirt in the manufacturing process), making this the ideal rugged shirt.
$45 at TaylorStitch.com
Dickies Short Sleeve Heavyweight Crew Neck
Dickies
Dickies is known for making quality apparel at affordable prices, and their Heavyweight Crew Neck shirt is no exception. It’s available in four colors and 12 sizes, so it’s easy to find your perfect fit, while the heavyweight jersey construction adds heft and comfort. Quality of life details, from the tagless back to the tapered neck and shoulder seams, make this shirt comfortable for long-term wear.
From $14.99 at Dickies.com
Buck Mason Field-Spec Cotton Heavy Tee
Buck Mason
Built from the same cotton used in ultra-rough rugby jerseys and then pre-washed to soften the fibers, the Buck Mason Field-Spec shirt is available in five colors and seven sizes, each offering a comfortable and stylish fit with a clean design.
$48 at BuckMason.com
3Sixteen Heavyweight T-Shirt
3Sixteen
If you’re after a value buy that doesn’t sacrifice quality, check out this two-pack of heavyweight shirts from 3Sixteen. The 225 gsm jersey fabric is knit in Canada while the shirt itself is assembled in the United States, where careful triple-needle stitching is applied to the flat collar. This is a stylish choice, but beware that it is designed to shrink after a first wash (1” in the chest and 2” in the length), so consider sizing up.
$76 (2-pack) at 3Sixteen.com
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