Note: If you’re looking for a 84/16 Nylon/Spandex performance shirt, like the one issued in the Marines, checkout the Execwear CoolNylon undershirts.
Here’s a fun success story.
Back a couple months ago I received the email below from a U.S. Marine looking for a specific undershirt he wore in the military.
He couldn’t locate it anywhere, so he decided to email yours truly to see if I could help.
Original reader email (M)
I have been looking everywhere for a specific kind of military shirt.
ADVERTISEMENT In the Marines, we called them “Tacticals” but Im not sure what they are actually called.
I have the NSN number for it (8415-01-533-9807).
The shirt doesn’t have a tag, its printed on the shirt and it reads;
- T-Shirt, Tactical
- Marine Corps
- Fiber Content; 84%meryl nylon, 16% lycra spandex
- Contract number SPO100-06-D-0434
- SMALL
- NSN: 8415-01-533-9807
- Machine wash cold etc…
would you happen to know where I could find this?
– M
Reply (Tug)
hey m,
thanks for writing in with your question.
I don’t know off hand, but I can look into it to see if I can find something out. can you tell me a little bit about the fit, feel, performance – the things that you really like about it.
best,
tug
Reader reply (M)
yeah, its stretchy…not quite like underarmor.
Its cool and breathes really well. Its not as tight as underamour, and there’s no cotton in it.
Its a godsend in hot weather environments.
Its also pretty inexpensive if i do remember correctly.
But its also authorized (or at least it was) to be worn in uniform.
Reply (Tug)
hi m,
sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
I was in the process of moving to southern california when you first emailed me.
I did a little research and I found a contact at the manufacturer. I’ve emailed him and will see if he will return my inquiry.
if we are able to get some, do you know any other marines who would be interested in ordering them?
sometimes the manufacturers require some minimum order amounts.
does this look like the undershirt/t-shirt you were looking for?
Email sent to the manufacturer (Tug)
Hello J,
I run a fairly popular men’s undershirt blog in the U.S. and a reader wrote in who wanted to find out if there was any way to purchase the Tacticals t-shirt he was issued in the Marines.
In doing some research, we found that your company manufactures them.
here are the details of the t-shirt:
- T-Shirt, Tactical
- Marine Corps
- Fiber Content; 84% meryl nylon, 16% lycra spandex
- Contract number SPO100-06-D-0434
- Size: SMALL
- NSN: 8415-01-533-9807
it would be a great success if we could help this marine out and get him some more of these undershirts/t-shirts.
also, if we had to order some minimums, I could probably collect a bunch of guys who would like to order them.
is there any way you can help?
best,
tug
Reply from the president of the manufacturer that makes the undershirt/t-shirt (J)
Hello Tug,
Thank you for contacting us.
Please allow me to request permission from DoD, since specifications belong to them.
I will let you know within the week.
Thanks,
J
President
Second reply from the undershirt manufacturer (One month later..)
Hello Tug,
Hope everything is great!
I apologize for taking so long to answer on the Marine Tactical T-shirt, but the government took some time.
Please have your reader contact us and we will gladly sell him the T-shirt.
Thanks,
J
President
Well, I’ve emailed the original reader and provided J’s contact information to him so he can get his t-shirt!
I’ve excluded the manufacturer’s direct contact information from the post so they don’t get spammed, but if you’re also looking for the same military tactical undershirt as mentioned above, email me and I’ll make an introduction.
In writing this post, I just remembered there is another nylon undershirt that may be suitable alternative.
Coincidentally (or maybe not-so), the nylon undershirts made by Execwear have the exact same fabric blend (84% meryl nylon, 16% lycra) as the Tactical t-shirt noted above.
I reviewed their black undershirt about a year ago, and overall, I thought it was a pretty good undershirt.
I’ll have to email M and let him know!
Looking to Purchase A Similar Tactical T-Shirt?
Update 2/2013:
So, it looks like the manufacturer above doesn’t have any remaining 84/16 USMC Tactical T-shirts.
A few readers have reached out to them over the last few months, but they haven’t been able to purchase any.
If you’re looking for something similar, post a comment below and let me know.
Hopefully a company will offer something similar in the not-to-distant future, and once they do, I’ll let everyone know.
I’ve been searching for these for years. Best damn shirts ever. These Duke Dri Duke 80/20 Nylon/Spandex Tight Fit Shirt
Item: #7454191 come close. They’re sold by the PX. Shopmyexchange has them.
I picked one up today at a thrift store. First time I have seen these shirts.
They sell them here but they don’t seem to ship to Canada :(
http://www.militaryclothing.com/U-S-Marine-Corps-Tactical-T-Shirt-OLIVE-DRAB.aspx
heya james — good find, and thanks for sharing info about that meryl nylon / spandex blend marine tactical t-shirt!
looks like that item is on clearance, so the size selection will become limited pretty quickly i suppose.
if you’re looking for a 84/16 performance t-shirt, check out this coolnylon undershirt.
that website ships all over the world, including canada (:
I also have 3 of these shirts and cannot find them anymore. I would love to have a few more if anyone finds a company. I wear these everyday and they are the best.
I’ve had 3 of these shirts for 6 years. I wear one every day, they are very comfortable and I’d love to find some more.
Those were the best USMC t-shirts. Definitely interested if you come across something similar.
Update: So, it looks like the manufacturer doesn’t have any remaining 84/16 USMC Tactical T-shirts to sell individually. A few readers have reached out to them over the last few months, but they haven’t been able to purchase any.
If you’re looking for something similar, post a comment on this article, click “Notify Me of Follow-up Comments”, and let me know.
Hopefully a company will offer something similar in the not-to-distant future, and once they do, I’ll let everyone know.
If u find a simmilar one let me know
http://www.newbalance.com/75th-Ranger-Special-Troops-Battalion-T-Shirt/MIL713ST,default,pd.html
I’d love the contact info as well! My husband’s been looking for these since boot. Thanks.
Hey Tug can you email me the contact info as well i would like to purchase more of these amazing shirts.
just emailed you maxwell! good luck and let me know what happens.
perfect (:
Contact never came through. I think he is looking for wholesale quantities.
thanks for getting back to me rgpnyc! you’re probably right. are you in search for that specific color, or if there were a white or black version of a similar shirt, would you want it? which is your preferred color?
i recall seeing something similar in different, but i’ll have to check back through my history to find it.
Yea, I would be interested!
USMC TACTICAL T-SHIRT MARINES made for DSCP DRI FIT
Ebay item # 140901897380
84% MERYL NYLON 16% LYRCA SPANDEX
CONTRACT NO SP0100-06-D-0434
NSN: 8415015339888
CONTRACTORS NAME KANDOR MANUFACTURING, INC
hey brock, great stuff here and thanks for sharing!
yep, that’s the right tactical t-shirt and based on the location of the seller (09593, APO/FPO) it would appear someone in the military is selling their extra, size large, kandor tactical t-shirt.
did you by chance ask the seller if he has more than one to sell?
maybe someone from here will be picking it up.
Random reply, I am from Canada, I found one of these exact shirts in a thrift store and picked it up for about $5
I agree these shirts are fantastic!!
lucky man (:
Undershitguy Can you please provide me with the contact information?
I was issued these shirts in boot camp in 2007. I still wear my original 3, and have been looking for more for a few years. All of the numbers are exactly the same except the last 2 digits of the NSN are 90 instead of 07. I love these shirts and desperately want more. Could you please provide me with whatever info is needed to acquire more?
cooper, i’ll email you privately with the information.
i also have been looking for this shirt but only in large can u email me the info
There is a company called Duke Clothing that sells them. I believe their website is dukeathletic-tactical.com
hey d. thanks for stopping by and providing that information about duke athletic.
unfortunately, that company does not make the same tactical t-shirt that is being discussed in this post.
they don’t offer any nylon short sleeve t-shirts, and the poly/spandex one on their website has raglan sleeves. maybe they used to, but they don’t anymore.
Tug,
I am an active duty Marine who is looking the exact shirt that is described in this blog. Can you please email me the contact information for the manufacturer so I can order some shirts?
Thanks,
Adam
I tried the execwear black t shirt and found them to be great but much heaver than the marine tactical type, I to am look to buy the green tactical type but cant find them anywhere on line, I have found two in surplus stores and now I always look for more stores! they are a great workout running shirt and would work great as an undershirt, by the way I think ececwear has gone.
hey pete! appreciate you stopping by and sharing your thoughts about how the original meryl nylon tactical t-shirt compares to execwear.
i checked the execwearonline website and it’s still online, so that would lead you to believe they are still in business. but i guess you’d have check with them directly to know for sure.
as for finding a replacement, i don’t have anything specific in mind, but here are some ideas.
there are a lot of military/tactical t-shirts/undershirt companies around that may have suitable replacements like: http://www.proxgo.com & polarmax.com, drifire, glen iii, 5.11, smartwool, etc.
the one type of performance base layer shirt that i’ve been introduced to lately was a carbon-based one from epropper.com. feedback from one police officer is that it’s the best performing base layer he has worn undershirt his kevlar – the problem is – propper discontinued it.
if i find or hear of something similar, i’ll post it here and you’ll get notified if you stay subscribed to this thread.
Pete,
We are back better than ever! Try our standard shirt versus our performance. It is softer and lighter.
execwear.com
Use the contact form on our website to reach out to us and I’ll reply back with a coupon code.
Thanks Again!
Is this the Elite Issue clothing made by Danskin? Same combination of materials, and USMC-spec. It’s hard to find now.
not sure eddo. the manufacturer i am referring to in this article is not danskin, it’s a supplier that manufactures clothing based on a manufacturer’s specification. in this case, i believe the “manufacturer” was the department of defense.
Oh oops, I had assumed it was Elite Issue, the shirt in this article-
http://www.lejeune.usmc.mil/mcb/topStoryEliteIssue.asp
hey eddo, that’s a great resource link for others looking for that product. thanks for stopping by and sharing the link.
based on what i can tell, the danskin undershirt product was released around q3/q4 2005 and their product certification for the dod/military lasted 3 years. this article was originally written in 11/2009, and based on the information the reader provided from the label, i tracked down the manufacturer who was registered/associated to the information on the garment label, and as far as i could tell it was not danskin.
that said, i contacted the president of the manufacturing facility who did the actual production of those undershirts and it is possible that was danskin’s manufacturing supplier. in my email exchange with him, he did not refer to danskin, but rather just said he needed to get the department of defense’s permission.
i’m guessing if you and others looking for these undershirts, they are no longer available at the exchange on base?? if they are, maybe i can ask my in-laws to see what’s available next time they visit the base.
Well I’m not in the service anymore, so I don’t know if they sell Elite Issue in USMC PX or not. They probably do in the USMC olive green color. I used to buy them online and in a different color (black and army sand) from vendors like quanticotactical, but they don’t have it in stock anymore.
Hello, could you please send me the website/contact info for the manufacturer. I can’t find this t-shirt anywhere.
They are made by Rothco.
thanks natalia! i’ll check them out.
I would also like to acquire a few of those t-shirts as well but i really don’t feel like paying $35 a shirt for them. How much will this manufacturer sell them for and how long will it take to get them?