[teeface]

Which do you guys prefer? I've had experience with both of these t-shirts for many years and I think the Fruit of the Loom Super Premium beats Gildan Heavy and Ultra hands down. Gildan's seem to be way popular and I often hear people slating Fruit of the Loom but the shape of Gildan Heavy is awful to me. It's so boxy with weak, flimsy sleeves that stick out too far. The FOTL Super Premium seems more sturdy, fits nicely with stronger sleeves that don't stick out as much as the Gildan Heavy. The FOTL also has a great neckline that keeps it's shape. Sometimes the neckline is slightly too tight but all you have to do is stretch it out a little bit and it's fine.

One Gildan shirt that really do like is the Gildan Premium Ringspun cotton T-shirt. It has a nice feel and fit to it. Sleeves don't stick out all awkwardly.. more of a fashion feel to it but not too thin and doesn't stretch and go out of shape like the Gildan SoftStyle does. The only thing I really dislike about the Gildan Premium is the neckline. The taped look is fine but I've found that it becomes loose very quickly, after only roughly two times wearing it! I have Fruit of the Loom t-shirts more than 10 years old with still a great neckline. This is what stops me from selling the Gildan Premium to my customers. Fruit of the Loom recently came out with a premium ringspun t-shirt similar to the Gildan Premium and i'd love to see what it's like. Would be great if it was just like the Gildan Premium but with a FOTL super premium neckline.

 

[Industryps]

Have you tried Hanes Beefy T's?
Of the thicker heavy-weight tees, it's pretty much our fave. Thick cotton with a fit that falls between slim and boxy. Only downside is the heat-transfer size labels, but that's only an issue when using these blanks for customers who wish to re-label their garments.
Gildan has a new Hammer tee which is their version of the Beefy T but with a tear-away label. In hand they seem really good, but have yet to send one through the wash and wear test.

 

[PatWibble]

Price wise and weight wise the Gildan Heavy isn't a precise comparison to the FOTL Super Premium - that would be the FOTL Valueweight.

I know what you mean though - both Gildan Heavy and Ultra have a bit of a 'lumberjack' cut to them. (I'm surprised they don't offer them in plaid). OK for men with bingo wings.

I offer the FOTL Valueweight as my standard shirt, with the Super Premium at an upgrade price. I list most of the Gildan styles, but they mainly sell only on the range of colours.

The light weight FOTL 'Sofspun' you mention is not a direct replacement for the Gildan 4200 Premium. The cut is much tighter, the weight is less and the surface is not as smooth. It is a nice shirt for a retail brand, but ideally it would need a tear out label.

 

[Ripcord]

I used to use FOTL Loftee as my standard shirt, but I found that they shrink more in the laundry than Gildans do. I realized this when I put on one myself. It was a large, which I wear for all my shirts but it felt a little too snug. (This was 15 years ago, so maybe it isn't the case any more. I never used them again after that.)

I use Gidan most of the time since Anvil quit making their standard shirts. They're good quality and come in a lot of colors. Also they are the most available of the shirts my supplier carries. I'm also quite happy with the quality of the Hanes 5250 tagless shirts.

(edit) The only time I've been disappointed in Gildan was for awhile some of the white shirts weren't heavy enough. You could almost see through the fabric. But that was also several years ago, it was only the white ones and I haven't noticed it recently...

 

[paradigmprint]

By the way .....

I found out recently (and maybe everyone else already knew) that Gildan and Anvil are apparently one and the same company.

I had a customer who wanted to order some prints Gildan Tri-Blend shirts that they'd found at Hobby Lobby. Since I don't allow customers to provide their own shirts, and I could not find them anywhere, I contacted Gildan direct.

The response was that "The Gildan Tri-Blend shirt is sold at retail locations only. Our Tri-Blend wholesale shirts are sold under the name Anvil."

 

[paradigmprint]

Which do you guys prefer? I've had experience with both of these t-shirts for many years and I think the Fruit of the Loom Super Premium beats Gildan Heavy and Ultra hands down. Gildan's seem to be way popular and I often hear people slating Fruit of the Loom but the shape of Gildan Heavy is awful to me. It's so boxy with weak, flimsy sleeves that stick out too far. The FOTL Super Premium seems more sturdy, fits nicely with stronger sleeves that don't stick out as much as the Gildan Heavy. The FOTL also has a great neckline that keeps it's shape. Sometimes the neckline is slightly too tight but all you have to do is stretch it out a little bit and it's fine.

One Gildan shirt that really do like is the Gildan Premium Ringspun cotton T-shirt. It has a nice feel and fit to it. Sleeves don't stick out all awkwardly.. more of a fashion feel to it but not too thin and doesn't stretch and go out of shape like the Gildan SoftStyle does. The only thing I really dislike about the Gildan Premium is the neckline. The taped look is fine but I've found that it becomes loose very quickly, after only roughly two times wearing it! I have Fruit of the Loom t-shirts more than 10 years old with still a great neckline. This is what stops me from selling the Gildan Premium to my customers. Fruit of the Loom recently came out with a premium ringspun t-shirt similar to the Gildan Premium and i'd love to see what it's like. Would be great if it was just like the Gildan Premium but with a FOTL super premium neckline.

When starting out, I allowed customers to make the call on what brand they would prefer and gave them options of Gildan, Fruit of the Loom, Anvil, Jerzee, and Hanes. Most chose Gildan, some chose Jerzees.

No one ever chose FOTL. I "think" the perception is that FOTL is a "cheap" shirt since people see it on the rack as underwear at Walmart.

Personally, I don't have a preference from a printing standpoint ......

 

[teeface]

Have you tried Hanes Beefy T's?
Of the thicker heavy-weight tees, it's pretty much our fave. Thick cotton with a fit that falls between slim and boxy. Only downside is the heat-transfer size labels, but that's only an issue when using these blanks for customers who wish to re-label their garments.
Gildan has a new Hammer tee which is their version of the Beefy T but with a tear-away label. In hand they seem really good, but have yet to send one through the wash and wear test.

I've never tried the Hanes Beefy T-Shirt. I've seen it pop up many times but never tried it. Might be worth buying a few

Price wise and weight wise the Gildan Heavy isn't a precise comparison to the FOTL Super Premium - that would be the FOTL Valueweight.

I know what you mean though - both Gildan Heavy and Ultra have a bit of a 'lumberjack' cut to them. (I'm surprised they don't offer them in plaid). OK for men with bingo wings.

I offer the FOTL Valueweight as my standard shirt, with the Super Premium at an upgrade price. I list most of the Gildan styles, but they mainly sell only on the range of colours.

The light weight FOTL 'Sofspun' you mention is not a direct replacement for the Gildan 4200 Premium. The cut is much tighter, the weight is less and the surface is not as smooth. It is a nice shirt for a retail brand, but ideally it would need a tear out label.

Ah yeah you're right about the valueweight being a better comparison. I've tried valueweights and really like them too. I think they're similar to the super premiums in how they fit and with the sleeves too. Still wear some that are over 10 years old! I mean I think the Gildan heavys will last just as long as the FOTLs but it's just the fit and sleeves that does it for me!

In my original post i wasn't actually talking about the Sofspun, but an even newer T-Shirt FOTL have come out with. It has the code '61-422-0' and goes by the name 'Ringspun Premium'. I've tried the Sofspun and it's not bad. You're right about it not being as smooth. It does have a nice fitted style to it but yes it is much tighter! The Medium I have is more like a small. That's what I don't like about it and also the sleeves are a bit too short for my taste. Great neckline though that seems to keep it's shape.

 

[teeface]

When starting out, I allowed customers to make the call on what brand they would prefer and gave them options of Gildan, Fruit of the Loom, Anvil, Jerzee, and Hanes. Most chose Gildan, some chose Jerzees.

No one ever chose FOTL. I "think" the perception is that FOTL is a "cheap" shirt since people see it on the rack as underwear at Walmart.

Personally, I don't have a preference from a printing standpoint ......

I've actually thought about allowing customers to choose their brand. I can see why some people might prefer the Gildans as many people like the boxy fit and big sleeves. It's become quite trendy as of lately.

Ahh yeah i've heard about places like walmart selling them. I'm from the UK so we don't have Walmart. I've never seen them being sold in any UK equivalent stores though.