This review is a piece of our Great White T-Shirt Review series, in which we tested nearly two dozen plain white t-shirts to help you understand what’s on the market today. In it, we tested for qualities like fit, construction quality, fabric density, shrinkage, and see-through-ness, amongst many others.
If you’re going to buy t-shirts in the same quantities that you buy beer, I can recommend nothing better than the Kirkland Signature Crew Neck 6 Pack. That’s right, the Costco brand. At a price of $4.17 per shirt, these punch up well into the $30/tee range. What they lack in pedigree they more than make up for in quality and fabric.
By The Numbers
- Fabric: 100% combed ringspun cotton
- Made in: Vietnam
- Postwash Fabric Density: 2.03g/LI (Heavy)
- Postwash Total Weight: 224g
- Construction: Tubeknit
- Postwash Measurements (inches):
- Front Length: 26.75
- Pit to Pit: 21
- Shoulder to Shoulder: 18.5
- Hem Width: 21.5
- Neck Width: 5
- Sleeve Length: 8.25
- Sleeve Height: 9.5
- Sizing Recommendation: Size down!
- Shrinkage: 5.35%
- Weight Loss: 3.45%
- Price Per Shirt: $4.17
- Available for $25 at Amazon
Fit
Ok, let’s get the worst part out of the way first. I would generously describe the fit on this shirt as forgiving (remember, it’s designed to fit the average Costco shopper) but more accurately call it unstructured and lumpy. This is also due to the fact that it is oversized by at least one letter.
A size large hung off me like a garbage bag, and I imagine a medium or maybe even a small would have fit me better but still leave something more to be desired. The sleeve height is super high, so unless you’re curling two plates, expect your arms to be draped in flapping fabric. The pattern also widens by half an inch from the pits to the bottom hem, meaning it has a slight pear shape rather than a slimming taper (remember, Costco customer).
Fabric
The thick hand feel on these shirts is ridiculously soft. It mops the floor with anything else in its price range and I’d put it ahead of almost everything except for Glad Hand, Whitesville, and Merz B.
These tubeknit beauties also had the honor of being the overall heaviest tee we tested. Out of the box, a single shirt weighs in at 231 grams — that’s over half a pound! To be fair, the Kirkland Signature is also the second biggest t-shirt we tested with 110.5 Total Linear Inches, but the fabric just edges out 3sixteen to be the densest.
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That density also means it passes the sheer test with flying colors. I can’t even tell our logo is lurking under there.
Construction and Details
We’re not totally done with the bad because that collar — oof. Remember those weird Michael Jordan Hanes commercials where they tried to make the term “bacon neck” happen? This is what they were referring to, all that bunching up on a ridiculously large piece of ribbing that doesn’t shrink or expand evenly with the body of the tee.
Other than that, it’s fine. There’s nothing to complain about and nothing to laud. The Kirkland special doesn’t do much exciting but it really doesn’t do anything wrong construction wise either, which is about all you can ask for at this price point.
Verdict
Our video director, Ryan, is wearing one of these shirts in black roughly 80% of the time I see him (here he is wearing one in our Item Number One feature). Now I understand why.
So it fits like a tent and the collar wrinkles like crazy, but the fabric is superb and there’s really nothing to complain about in terms of construction. It also holds up really, really well. Costco is famous for taking returns on pretty much anything, no matter the condition. I would expect this shirt to last longer than pretty much anything on this list. It’s DENSE and sewn WELL. If you’re looking for a hawt slim fit, look elsewhere, but all that also makes for the best sleep shirt I’ve ever found. Just buy it for that. One shirt is the price of a Big Mac, how can you go wrong?
Consider if:
- You want something cheap, consistent and long lasting
- Good fabric is more important to you than good fit
- The ideal sleep tee has eluded you for decades
- You like buying t-shirts at the same time as tires for your Subaru, 32oz. of ketchup, and season 4 of Game of Thrones on DVD
Avoid if:
- You’re looking for a slim fit
- “Made in Vietnam” makes you uncomfortable
- “Bacon neck”
- You pay extra for name brand ibuprofen
Available for $25 at Amazon
As mentioned, this was just one of many other reviews of plain white tees. Have a look at the full comprehensive review including all the other t-shirts.
