If you’re the kind of guy who knows a good tee is a rare thing, you’ll want to stock up when you find the right one. Most multipack tees are where you’d expect them to be—in a big box store full of low-quality goods (Kirkland as one notable exception). But 3sixteen’s heavyweight T-shirt ain’t messing around. The fabric is knit in Canada exclusively for the brand and weighs in at a chunky 260GSM that would satisfy any menswear nerd. The fabric itself has a silky hand and a dense, structured feel that breaks down and gets softer with each launder. On top of that, it’s built with a sturdy triple-needle coverstitched collar, so while the fabric will get softer with age, the collar will retain its shape over time. Oh, and it’s entirely resistant to shrinkage, too.
Best Cropped Heavyweight Tee: Abercrombie & Fitch Premium Heavyweight Cropped Tee
Material: 275gsm cotton | Fit: Oversized and cropped | Beefiness: Pub-style sliders
These days, fashion’s most stylish men operate on the golden ratio, whereby your top equals about one third of the total length of your outfit and your pants take up the remaining two thirds. It’s a simple and nearly infallible rule, but finding the right cropped T-shirt to pull it off is easier said than done, especially when you narrow down your parameters to heavyweight tees. This Abercrombie tee is the answer. It’s boxy and cropped to sit right at the hips, and the hefty all-cotton fabric weighs in at 275gsm (out-beefing many options on this list). It comes in a ton of colors, each with a lived-in vintage-inspired wash that’s begging for some thrashed baggy jeans and beat-up sneakers.
Best Oversized Heavyweight Tee: Uniqlo U Crew Neck T-Shirt
Material: 100% cotton | Fit: Relaxed, slightly boxy | Beefiness: Chicken Fried Steak sans gravy
If you wandered into the GQ office on any given day of the week, there’s a good chance you’d spot a handful of folks wearing this exact tee. The Christophe Lemaire-designed sub-label is a reliable source of thoughtful menswear at prices that belie the quality involved, and its tee consistently tops our list. It’s made from a substantial all-cotton jersey with a dry hand and a boxy fit, along with a thick, vintage-inspired bound collar. At just $20, it ain’t the cheapest option out there, but it’s probably one of the best values. If our word isn’t enough to convince you, maybe the fact that Tyler, the Creator swears by ’em will.
Best Streetwear-Favorite Heavyweight Tee: AIStyle Apparel AAA Plain Blank Short Sleeve T-Shirt
Material: 6.1-ounce cotton jersey | Fit: Classic | Beefiness: Bowl of pho
Graphic tees are the backbone of every budding streetwear brand, and the biggest names in the game have built their lore on AIStyle Apparel’s AAA blanks. They’re as beefy as the old-school Hanes Beefy Tees, clocking in at a respectable 6 ounces—and like many sought-after vintage labels, they’re built with seamless, tubular knit construction. Ask any streetwear obsessive and they’ll tell you that, way back when, streetwear royalty used the AAA blanks to churn out countless box logos. So whether you’re looking to start up your own empire or just need a solid tee for a low price, these are some of the most reputable on the market.
Best Under-the-Radar Heavyweight Tee: Pro Club Heavyweight Cotton Crew Neck T-Shirt
Material: 6.5 ounce 100% Cotton | Fit: Relaxed | Beefiness: All-beef hot dog with the works
You might not be familiar with Pro Club’s tees, but their chunky 6-ounce fabric—in tandem with their old-school, no-frills design—says you care about your style, but not in an obsessive kind of way. Think of of its long-sleeve T-shirt as a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that doesn’t bother catering to the cool kids, but inevitably ends up attracting them anyway.
More Heavyweight T-Shirts We Love
Gildan Hammer G2000 T-Shirt (2-Pack)
Carhartt Loose Fit Heavyweight Short-Sleeve Pocket T-Shirt
Whitesville Crew Neck T-Shirt
Comfort Colors Adult Short Sleeve Tee Style 1717
Camber 302 Max-weight Pocket T-Shirt
What Makes a T-shirt ‘Heavyweight’?
So you’re that guy—you want the hard numbers. Well, this is where things get a little hazy. Fabric weight is measured in ounces per square yard. (For reference, the average pair of jeans is made from denim that weighs around 12-13 ounces; a standard T-shirt usually weighs somewhere around 4-5 ounces.) The confusing thing is weight classes are sort of left up to interpretation and vary from brand to brand. Some brands classify 6-ounce tees as heavyweight, while others might bill them as merely midweight.
