It’s time to put another undershirt through Tug’s patent-pending fit, feel, function and affordability undershirt review process. This time I’m reviewing the Coolmax moisture-wicking v-neck undershirt from CoolClothingUSA.
In mid-July I was contacted by the owner of CoolClothingUSA.
He found the reviews I posted on their compression shirts a couple of months ago and he asked if I’d be willing to take their Coolmax® moisture-wicking v-neck undershirt for a spin.
If you’re not already aware, Coolmax® is a moisture-wicking product formally owned by INVISTA, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of integrated fabrics.
They are also the creators of other popular fabrics such as Lycra®, Stainmaster®, and Thermolite®.
Coolmax is offered in three different “performance” levels:
- Everyday fabric
- Active fabric
- Extreme fabric
The undershirt from CoolClothingUSA is made from their Coolmax Extreme fabric, which offers the highest level of moisture management, specifically targeted for use in athletic apparel.
Considering this is an undershirt, I’m not exactly sure why they [CoolClothing] opted to use the Extreme fabric over the Everyday or Active fabrics. Seems like both of those would be completely suitable for that type of application — I guess we’ll have to ask them.
Now, on to the review.
Fit
This undershirt falls in the standard fit category. The cut and shape is similar to what you’d get in buying a Hanes, Fruit-of-the-Loom, or a 2xist undershirt.
The overall dimensions (pre-wash) are pretty typical for a large undershirt:
- 6″ shoulder strap length
- 1″ wide flat collar
- 7.5″ sleeve length
- Shirt bottom falls about 9″ below my waist line
- Laying flat the overall length is 28.5″ and overall width is 23″
The large provides plenty of room in the shoulders, torso and waist and will fit a wide variety of body shapes and styles. Since I’m a bit on the thinner side (btw 170-175), I could probably fit into a medium.
There are a couple of things I thought worth mentioning.
First: The v-neck is cut a little deeper than other undershirts. Measuring from the top of the back collar to the tip of the “v”, the opening measures 8″. To compare, that’s about 2″ deeper/lower than other v-neck undershirts I’ve reviewed recently such as the Jockey 3-D and the 2xist.
The good thing about deeper v-necks like this is that you don’t typically see it when wearing open collared shirts. On the flip side, they don’t do a good job in covering up your chest hair.
So depending on your needs, this deep v may or may not work for you.
Second: The second item is not something specifically good or bad about this particular undershirt but it’s an observation that I wanted to share.
The overall length is about average and comparable to other undershirts in the same class. But, I’m finding that undershirts like this are a little too short for people with longer torsos and tend to come untucked more easily.
So if you’re on the taller side and have a longer torso, this shirt won’t likely stay tucked in any better than other undershirts.
Wash Test Results – No shrinkage whatsoever! Looks, feels and fits the same as when it came out of the package.
Feel
I’m not too surprised to find that this undershirt, priced at $13.95 per undershirt, is pretty comfortable right out of the package.
Generally, undershirts in this price range are more comfortable than the ones under $5 — and they should be considering their price. As mentioned above, this shirt is made from the Coolmax Extreme fabric, which is a moisture-wicking 100% polyester blend.
It’s a little thicker/heavier than this 2xist undershirt, but comparable in weight to the 100% cotton undershirt from Campbellsville Apparel, the 5.11 Tactical from LA Police Gear, or the Hanes Lay Flat Collar cotton undershirt.
Comparing this moisture-wicking undershirt to the one from Vdri, I’d have to say the fabric on the Vdri is a slightly softer on the skin than this one, but from an overall fit and design point of view, I prefer this v-neck over Vdri.
Function
It’s hard for me to honestly address function of this undershirt because it’s main selling point is it’s moisture wicking capabilities.
Since I really don’t sweat very much in general, it’s hard for me to tell whether or not this shirt keeps me any cooler than other, non moisture-wicking undershirts.
I’ll wear it during my next workout and see how it performs.
Other than that, I don’t see this undershirt addressing any other functional areas such as staying tucked in.
Affordability
If you include the flat shipping charge of $6.99, one of these shirts would cost you about $20.94.
Of course, as you order more, your per shirt cost goes down. It’s comparable in price to other moisture wicking undershirts like Vdri, Under Armour, and Duluth Trading Company’s Crewneck “Better” undershirt.
Would I happily throw down $20+ for a moisture-wicking undershirt?
No, probably not.
But if you’re someone who suffers from excessive sweating or are specifically looking for a moisture-wicking undershirt to address some other issue, I’d say this undershirt is fairly priced.
Overall, if you’re looking for a reasonably priced performance moisture-wicking undershirt, I’d say it’d be worth trying this one out.
I’m not a big fan of the heat, and always appreciated Coolmax for the comfort it provided.
At one point, I was given a gift certificate for Under Armour, so I bought what I believe was the lightest fabric shirt that they make. I have to say that I was very disappointed: I don’t think the UA was any better than the discount performance shirts you can buy at Marshall’s.
Since that time, I discovered Outdoor Research’s Echo shirts: as my dad says, it’s possibly better than wearing no shirt at all. If you can find them at STP, and have a coupon, you should be able to purchase for ~$15. Highly recommended.
heya charlie, good to hear from you buddy and thanks for stopping by my site!
good info on the outdoor researcher’s echo shirts. i checked stp (sierra trading post) online, and could only find some women’s echo shirts, and they were priced around $24.95.
i also checked the company’s website (outdoorresearch), and they retail for $39.
really amazing that the weight is light @ 3.1oz / 88g (L), though my guess is the (l) means linear yard, so unless we know how wide the fabric rolls are, 88gsm or 3.1oz doesn’t really mean too much. that said, with the fabric having those low numbers, i suspect it’s pretty darn light, and possibly lighter than these super thin undershirts.
maybe as i get a chance to try out more performance t-shirts, i’ll be able to test one of these guys out.
Hi Tug,
You can often find coupons for 30-40% off, either right on their site, at online coupon places, or if you sign up for their email.
OR is great stuff, and I’ve seen these shirts here for months at a time, but I guess you need to keep an eye open for them. Or get a gift for the woman in your life with a 30% coupon?
As far as UA, maybe I’m missing something, but I can’t begin to tell you how unimpressed I am with their product, esp with all the hype.
I’ve already ruled out their hot weather clothing, and I bet that for the cold, anything made with a Polartec fabric over the last 10 years is superior to anything UA makes today.
One thing about the Coolmax shirts, I usually find crew neck too tight, and I like the venting that a v neck provides, but the v neck on some of these shirts is a bit too deep for me.
Looks like some interesting shirts on that list you provided, I’ll need to take a look, although I did stock up on the OR shirts already.
Thx
A.so, the l refers to size large, thx.
I did send them an email yesterday and will be returning the shirts. I’ll let you know if I get a response.
Just found your website while looking for reviews of CoolClothingUsa to see if my experience was typical.
I ordered two of their Woman B-dry T-shirts, excited to have found an inexpensive source of workout clothes that is also made in USA.
Their website specifically states that ALL of their shirts are made in USA. The picture of the woman-B-dry shirt on the website shows a woman wearing a shirt that has a bit of a scoop neck and regular shoulder seams. I received two very manly looking crew-neck shirts with raglan sleeves. The tag says Badger – made in Nicaragua.
The shirts appear to be good quality shirts, but they are not what I ordered. I’m thinking that something may have changed at CoolClothing.
heya laura, thanks for stopping by my site and posting your feedback about your experience with coolclothingusa.
it’s a bit disappointing to hear that you received a made-in-nicaragua badger athletic shirt instead of a made-in-usa scoop neck shirt. i’m curious — did you contact coolclothingusa, tell them you received a product you didn’t order, and ask for a return/refund?
off hand i don’t know of any made-in-usa manufacturers that are making inexpensive workout clothes, but you might want to check out this made in usa t-shirts article for some possible leads.
keep me posted and let me know what happens with coolclothingusa.
I’ve seen the first negative review on a number of websites and find it suspicious. Coolmax undershirts are comfortable and wicking period. I still wear UA undershirts at times but they discolor easily and the logo shows through white dress shirts. Coolmax undershirts stay white and have the appearance of a traditional cotton undershirt. They are a proven performer when it comes to heat and sweat management and the Coolmax Extreem is even better at both. I heat up easily so I’ve tried most wicking undershirts and the Coolmax, right now, is as good as it gets.
heya dj — good to hear from you buddy and thanks for stopping by my site and posting your comments/feedback about mark’s coolmax undershirt review.
not sure what would be suspicious about mark coming here and posting his feedback — he provided a good amount of detail about his purchase (when, how many, and where he lives) so it doesn’t really present itself to be illegitimate in any way. trust me, because i pretty much know spam comments when i see them.
keep in mind that mark was talking about wearing the coolmax undershirt from coolclothing in a very specific use case — that is under kevlar body armor. i can tell you from all of the feedback i have heard over the years, that not many undershirts perform well in that situation, even under armour or 5.11.
my guess is that he prefers to wear something more form fitting and lightweight under his kevlar, which would make sense to me, and the coolmax undershirt is not either of those.
now in an everyday wearing undershirt use case, i think the coolmax undershirt from coolclothing would probably be a decent replacement for some other non-fitted undershirt. i also like that it’s made in the usa.
anyway, i’m not really defending either product here — just pointing out that i don’t think mark’s feedback is suspicious in anyway. plus, if he’s a police officer, i would expect him to be pretty honest (:
thanks again for stopping by and sharing you personal (and positive) feedback about coolclothingusa’s coolmax undershirt.
Tug,
Thanks for being the voice of reason.
The only reason I can think of that DJ would call my review “suspicious” is because he works for or has some other reason to support Cool Max or CoolClothingUSA. That would make his review even more suspicious to me.
My review was my HONEST opinion. I have absolutely no reason to post any other review. Whether or not you agree with it is your choice. There is absolutely no reason to bash another person’s review unless you have an ulterior motive.
All I’m saying is do your own research and make a decision of what type t-shirt you need for your specific situation. For “me”, the Coolmax shirts just didn’t cut it. Good luck all and stay safe…
hey mark,
couldn’t tell you exactly what motivated dj to suggest that your review was suspicious, but there is always a possibility that people from brands or affiliated (directly or indirectly) will come to sites like mine and plant positive feedback about products they have an association to.
though, i’m happy to help keep the conversation open and honest (:
I bought 6 of these shirts about 6 months ago to wear under my bullet proof vest. I live in Florida, where it can get very hot. I tried to save some money over buying Under Armour or 5.11, which I normally wear. I must say it was a definite mistake. These shirts are nothing more than a heavy tech shirt. In my opinion* they are Not very comfortable, do Not keep you cool, and definitely are Not dry wicking. I know this review is going to upset people that are loyal to Coolmax, but it is a very honest review. I will spend the extra money and go with either Under Armour or 5.11 in the future.
heya mark! thanks for dropping by and sharing your feedback about the coolmax undershirt from coolclothingusa. i really appreciate it.
if you want an undershirt specially designed to be worn under kevlar body armor, try this one:
http://www.undershirtguy.com/cooling-undershirt-from-coolcop/
a cop created it after trying nearly every other wicking/performing undershirt on the market.
if you decide to buy it, let me know how it performs for you. ok?
I bought a moisture wicking dress shirt. After I get it, I can tell it is not moisture wicking material and it is not wrinkle Free as they mentioned on the website. I will never bought anything from Coolclothingusa again.
This is a professional, committee-vetted, ad-agency kind of blog, isn’t it?