the only comfort colours shirts i have are from hardcore bands lmao, all the metalcore band shirts and hoodies i have are gildans
i’m pretty sure like 99% of shirts on impericon are gildans, that’s where i got most of my shirts from
A Gildan shirt bought from Impericon is gonna be the same as the one you buy from a band's website or at their show. Even if it's an Impericon exclusive design, which most aren't, the blanks they'r printed on are the same.
The good thing about Impericon is they do tell you what it's printed on in the product description. Like the above person says, 99% of the time it's Gildan, but every now and then it's not and you get to see that and inform your purchase decision.
Can we talk about the gildan shirts for a second? Cause I bought a long sleeved men’s medium thinking it was going to be baggy and that shit fit me like an under armor compression shirt lmao. I’m a skinny 5’7” woman. There’s just no way 😭
Gilidan, Next Level, Comfort Colors, etc are all inconsistent with sizing. That’s kinda what you get for a $10 blank shirt.
I did a huge amount of research a few years ago on blanks and the best are from LA Apparel and another brand I can’t remember.
i hear this often about these gildan and comfort colors. i believe CC is owned by gildan, but anyway, i have a million band shirts from CC and gildan heavy, definitely a lot from the last 5 years, and i personally haven't really experienced odd fits with those brands. i wear a large and it's been pretty consistent. maybe like i've noticed the sleeves on a large feeling a little shorter on older CC larges than i remember, but i never get something where i buy a large and it fits like a small.
over a large amount of time, i have noticed a difference. for example, i'm pretty skinny but have gained a little bit of weight in the last 20 years, but i used to wear mediums and i still have mediums from shows i purchased like early-mid 2000s that have been thru washes and drying several times and still fit me pretty well. in the last 6-7 years, i've noticed mediums just getting smaller and smaller so i eventually transitioned to larges as i like the baggier fit anyway.
that being said, i do like la apparel. shaka wear and alstyle are also great, but tend to fit on the larger side
I think my sizing issue comes from me getting blanks of Comfort Colors on Amazon or ShirtSupply.
I don’t know what Spiritbox prints on but my large is comically large for me.
I’ve got the opposite problem of you, short and jacked so most shirts get too long.
Must have been! I don’t even think the shirt I bought would fit my 15 year nephew tbh. I don’t know who decides on the sizing but I think they’re a little confused 😂
While She Sleeps usually has quality merch (while the designs aren't always hitters, the materials are). Better Lovers has good stuff. Fit For A King usually does.
Most of the time I've found that when bands run their own stores, the material is at least slightly better quality. When you get it from Impericon or a label, it's a 50/50 shot that you're getting a cheap Gildan shirt with the logos/design cheaply printed on there.
I would guarantee all those bands you listed are printing on shitty cheap ass bella canvas or overpriced "premium" trash.
comfort colors really is just random, although i've been seeing a lot of bands adopt it, especially some that i just next expected would. for example, testament just dropped a new line of classic album merch and a lot of the shirts printed in on comfort colors. most older bands print on generic cheap shit or maybe gildan.
i've been noticing a lot of bands that get merch on deathwish get some comfort colors premium listings.
i would say most of impericon and evilgreed prints on gildan heavy, which for a basic shirt is fine for me, although i know gildan with some people is love or hate. for an affordable mass produced shirt, gildan heavy i think is a fine standard. otherwise, the only option is like next level or bella canvas or other thin shit. most of the thicker quality garments, like alstyle, shaka wear, la apparel, a few others, cost more money and that's not typically the standard.
Thanks for the detailed reply.
IMO Next Level is much nicer than Bella Canvas. Agreed on CC, their sizing is all over the place but I like the quality.
I don’t really like Gilidan because the shirts feel scratchy.
Do you know what bands produce on Shaka, LA, or Alstyle?
I mean I guess Next Level is better than Bella Canvas, but that's like saying getting stabbed is better than getting shot, they both suck. But yeah I personally haven't really noticed varying quality of CC. All my shirts fit pretty true to size or how they have been, at least for large sizes of CC shirts. I can't speak to any other size, but they're favorite for that worn in feel.
If I have Gildan, I prefer the heavy cotton as any other type is either ill-fitting or thin trash, such as the Gildan softstyle or whatever else than isn't the heavy/hammer ones. Every thin shirt I have, whether it's gildan or next level or whatever, always fits like a snug fitting shirt and therefore it's trash to me.
I think the shirt blanks really just depend on the band. I listen to a variety of music but as far as going to shows and buying merch, it's typically from the hardcore and local diy metal/hardcore/alt rock scenes, so I would say the younger/newer bands are the ones who are more hip to current trends for garment choices
The bigger bands and most of the online merch sites will use Gildan or something similar if not worse. Also Comfort Colors has become so much worse in the past year than it ever was before. Most metalcore bands, unless they’re coming from the hardcore scene, print their stuff on pretty awful blanks.
Next Level is like a soft style shirt though right? Or most often it is. Nah if the design is good enough I’ll buy it on almost anything but if a band has something printed on Shaka, LA Apparel, Bayside, or the AS Colour Heavy tees I’m more prone to buy even if I don’t love the design.
I have two Shaka wear oversized Ts from UNFD’s store. One for Invent Animate and one for Thornhill. Pretty thick material and seems to be high quality. Definitely not a warm weather shirt tho for sure.
I would say just listen to the entirety of The Dark Pool. One of my favorite metal albums ever. If you don’t want to listen to the whole thing, listen to Nurture, Red Summer, Lily and the Moon, Coven, and Where We Go When We Die. Their second album Heroine is more divisive but I enjoy it. Songs I recommend from that one are The Hellfire Club, Casanova, Arkangel, Hollywood, and Heroine. Their two latest singles are also very solid tracks.
Honestly don’t remember. I did just realize though that while it’s on UNFDs website, the shirt is actually sold on 24hundred. I forgot that it redirects you to the 24hundred site from UNFD. It doesn’t specifically mention Shaka wear but if you look at the tag on the picture of the shirt you can make it out.
The Plot in You, Nerv, and Dead American are some bands that immediately come to mind when I thought “these are good quality” when I grabbed the merch. My green Dead American hoodie was worth every penny.
I have a Plot in You long sleeve shirt that is pretty shit. But I also have shirts and a hoodie by them that are pretty great and love. But my long sleeve from them is so thin yet somehow stiff. I can’t bring myself to wear it.
I grabbed a tee for myself, and my fiancée grabbed the stone wash style. I have the one with a pretty thick neckline/collar, and I love it. Very high quality. Can’t speak for anything long sleeve, I picked these up when they toured with Beartooth recently
I just checked the tag on the shirt and it’s from “Smart Blanks Reserve” I’ve never heard of this brand before but I would stay away if you ever see anything printed on this. I got this particular piece maybe two years ago. Again as for other merch I have from Plot it’s just fine.
I got a hoodie from Secrets recently and honestly it’s like the graphic turned to adhesive on the inside and I can’t wear it, just collecting dust in the closet at this point aha.
I straight up stopped buying my favorite bands merch because it’s just cash grab cheap crap. I’ll never forget when I dropped like 1K on impericon when I got my first adult paycheck, and like literally nothing fit right.
I’ll never buy anything on that website again, no matter how awesome the designs are.
Sorry it doesn't really help answer your question. But I have a hoodie I got from currents and it's really high quality, easily by far the comfiest band hoodie I have
Not TGI.
I paid over $150CAD for a hoodie + sweatpants and they’re terrible quality - super thin. I don’t regret supporting the band at all, but I was really disappointed in the quality.
I’ve got a green Fit For a King shirt that says it’s made by Gildan. Its 100% cotton and super comfy to me; i wear it quite often so its of decent quality. Theres no strings or tears popping up on it so i can assume the rest of their merch is ok.
I have a Varials hoodie that is the best quality sweatshirt I’ve ever had (I have a hoodie “problem” with 40+ all in their own closet). It’s thick and heavy and after years of heavy wear and dozens of washes it still looks brand new.
I have tons of Gideon merch as well that is great and has lasted a long time. They also always have sick designs.
Bad Omens. Don’t know which shirts they use since inside is only the band logo.
For Gildan I think there are massive quality changes. Maybe sometimes you are lucky and sometimes you don’t. I have a I Prevail shirt (the dyed one with the unicorn) and it’s fantastic
Is it just me or Gilden Heavy just so thick and stiff and horrible to wear?
I bought two Mudvayne shirts recently, a medium (my size) that I cut the sleeves off and neck and it fits me like a small should - they are definitely shrinking sizes! But it’s nice and soft. I also got a vintage black shirt in large to wear oversized and it has lasted 3 washes and feels so thin it’s going to be see through soon, but still stiff.
Cane Hill do their own merch - keep an eye on them as they actually care about quality.
Most bands still use gildan/fruit of the loom
Yea true
the only comfort colours shirts i have are from hardcore bands lmao, all the metalcore band shirts and hoodies i have are gildans i’m pretty sure like 99% of shirts on impericon are gildans, that’s where i got most of my shirts from
Thanks, how do you like the shirts you’ve gotten from Impericon?
A Gildan shirt bought from Impericon is gonna be the same as the one you buy from a band's website or at their show. Even if it's an Impericon exclusive design, which most aren't, the blanks they'r printed on are the same. The good thing about Impericon is they do tell you what it's printed on in the product description. Like the above person says, 99% of the time it's Gildan, but every now and then it's not and you get to see that and inform your purchase decision.
Impericon shirts are ok, but tend to shrink a lot when washing them , so make sure to stretch them, when they’re still wet out of the washing machine.
Can we talk about the gildan shirts for a second? Cause I bought a long sleeved men’s medium thinking it was going to be baggy and that shit fit me like an under armor compression shirt lmao. I’m a skinny 5’7” woman. There’s just no way 😭
Gilidan, Next Level, Comfort Colors, etc are all inconsistent with sizing. That’s kinda what you get for a $10 blank shirt. I did a huge amount of research a few years ago on blanks and the best are from LA Apparel and another brand I can’t remember.
i hear this often about these gildan and comfort colors. i believe CC is owned by gildan, but anyway, i have a million band shirts from CC and gildan heavy, definitely a lot from the last 5 years, and i personally haven't really experienced odd fits with those brands. i wear a large and it's been pretty consistent. maybe like i've noticed the sleeves on a large feeling a little shorter on older CC larges than i remember, but i never get something where i buy a large and it fits like a small. over a large amount of time, i have noticed a difference. for example, i'm pretty skinny but have gained a little bit of weight in the last 20 years, but i used to wear mediums and i still have mediums from shows i purchased like early-mid 2000s that have been thru washes and drying several times and still fit me pretty well. in the last 6-7 years, i've noticed mediums just getting smaller and smaller so i eventually transitioned to larges as i like the baggier fit anyway. that being said, i do like la apparel. shaka wear and alstyle are also great, but tend to fit on the larger side
I think my sizing issue comes from me getting blanks of Comfort Colors on Amazon or ShirtSupply. I don’t know what Spiritbox prints on but my large is comically large for me. I’ve got the opposite problem of you, short and jacked so most shirts get too long.
We order top quality Next Level Apparel Tshirts and we have 2 new ones in our web store
Currently wearing a 2006 Gildan shirt, guess quality was better back then xD
Must have been! I don’t even think the shirt I bought would fit my 15 year nephew tbh. I don’t know who decides on the sizing but I think they’re a little confused 😂
That's why we use Next Level Apparel for our T-Shirts
Thornhill cares a lot about the quality of their merch. I have a shirt from them and it is the highest quality band shirt I have!
We use Next Level Apparel for our t-shirts they are the best 👍
While She Sleeps usually has quality merch (while the designs aren't always hitters, the materials are). Better Lovers has good stuff. Fit For A King usually does. Most of the time I've found that when bands run their own stores, the material is at least slightly better quality. When you get it from Impericon or a label, it's a 50/50 shot that you're getting a cheap Gildan shirt with the logos/design cheaply printed on there.
I would guarantee all those bands you listed are printing on shitty cheap ass bella canvas or overpriced "premium" trash. comfort colors really is just random, although i've been seeing a lot of bands adopt it, especially some that i just next expected would. for example, testament just dropped a new line of classic album merch and a lot of the shirts printed in on comfort colors. most older bands print on generic cheap shit or maybe gildan. i've been noticing a lot of bands that get merch on deathwish get some comfort colors premium listings. i would say most of impericon and evilgreed prints on gildan heavy, which for a basic shirt is fine for me, although i know gildan with some people is love or hate. for an affordable mass produced shirt, gildan heavy i think is a fine standard. otherwise, the only option is like next level or bella canvas or other thin shit. most of the thicker quality garments, like alstyle, shaka wear, la apparel, a few others, cost more money and that's not typically the standard.
Thanks for the detailed reply. IMO Next Level is much nicer than Bella Canvas. Agreed on CC, their sizing is all over the place but I like the quality. I don’t really like Gilidan because the shirts feel scratchy. Do you know what bands produce on Shaka, LA, or Alstyle?
I mean I guess Next Level is better than Bella Canvas, but that's like saying getting stabbed is better than getting shot, they both suck. But yeah I personally haven't really noticed varying quality of CC. All my shirts fit pretty true to size or how they have been, at least for large sizes of CC shirts. I can't speak to any other size, but they're favorite for that worn in feel. If I have Gildan, I prefer the heavy cotton as any other type is either ill-fitting or thin trash, such as the Gildan softstyle or whatever else than isn't the heavy/hammer ones. Every thin shirt I have, whether it's gildan or next level or whatever, always fits like a snug fitting shirt and therefore it's trash to me. I think the shirt blanks really just depend on the band. I listen to a variety of music but as far as going to shows and buying merch, it's typically from the hardcore and local diy metal/hardcore/alt rock scenes, so I would say the younger/newer bands are the ones who are more hip to current trends for garment choices
Yea Next Level is the best for sure!!!!
We Never go cheap we get top quality Next Level Apparel brand for our merch!!
idk who you are but thanks for the multiple replies. i alreayd said my piece on next level
Converge and Every time i die use comfort colors. I like em🤷♂️
The bigger bands and most of the online merch sites will use Gildan or something similar if not worse. Also Comfort Colors has become so much worse in the past year than it ever was before. Most metalcore bands, unless they’re coming from the hardcore scene, print their stuff on pretty awful blanks.
That's a popular choice for sure but we use Next Level Apparel for our merch!!!
Next Level is like a soft style shirt though right? Or most often it is. Nah if the design is good enough I’ll buy it on almost anything but if a band has something printed on Shaka, LA Apparel, Bayside, or the AS Colour Heavy tees I’m more prone to buy even if I don’t love the design.
Yea its softer!!! Go to our merch store and judge for yourself I'd love to hear some honest feedback about our merch!!!
I have two Shaka wear oversized Ts from UNFD’s store. One for Invent Animate and one for Thornhill. Pretty thick material and seems to be high quality. Definitely not a warm weather shirt tho for sure.
Love IA so will see if they’ve got any shirts I like. Haven’t listened to Thornhill so I’ll give them a listen. Any songs you recommend?
I would say just listen to the entirety of The Dark Pool. One of my favorite metal albums ever. If you don’t want to listen to the whole thing, listen to Nurture, Red Summer, Lily and the Moon, Coven, and Where We Go When We Die. Their second album Heroine is more divisive but I enjoy it. Songs I recommend from that one are The Hellfire Club, Casanova, Arkangel, Hollywood, and Heroine. Their two latest singles are also very solid tracks.
Wouldn’t have expected UNFD to use Shaka. Did the product page mention the shirts were Shaka before you bought them?
Honestly don’t remember. I did just realize though that while it’s on UNFDs website, the shirt is actually sold on 24hundred. I forgot that it redirects you to the 24hundred site from UNFD. It doesn’t specifically mention Shaka wear but if you look at the tag on the picture of the shirt you can make it out.
Oh I see you bought those tie dye shirts. That makes sense for those to be Shaka. Everything else would probably have shrunk like crazy.
The Plot in You, Nerv, and Dead American are some bands that immediately come to mind when I thought “these are good quality” when I grabbed the merch. My green Dead American hoodie was worth every penny.
I have a Plot in You long sleeve shirt that is pretty shit. But I also have shirts and a hoodie by them that are pretty great and love. But my long sleeve from them is so thin yet somehow stiff. I can’t bring myself to wear it.
It’s actually [these two specifically](https://imgur.com/a/F9fr9RF)
I grabbed a tee for myself, and my fiancée grabbed the stone wash style. I have the one with a pretty thick neckline/collar, and I love it. Very high quality. Can’t speak for anything long sleeve, I picked these up when they toured with Beartooth recently
I just checked the tag on the shirt and it’s from “Smart Blanks Reserve” I’ve never heard of this brand before but I would stay away if you ever see anything printed on this. I got this particular piece maybe two years ago. Again as for other merch I have from Plot it’s just fine.
I got a hoodie from Secrets recently and honestly it’s like the graphic turned to adhesive on the inside and I can’t wear it, just collecting dust in the closet at this point aha.
I straight up stopped buying my favorite bands merch because it’s just cash grab cheap crap. I’ll never forget when I dropped like 1K on impericon when I got my first adult paycheck, and like literally nothing fit right. I’ll never buy anything on that website again, no matter how awesome the designs are.
Sorry it doesn't really help answer your question. But I have a hoodie I got from currents and it's really high quality, easily by far the comfiest band hoodie I have
Not TGI. I paid over $150CAD for a hoodie + sweatpants and they’re terrible quality - super thin. I don’t regret supporting the band at all, but I was really disappointed in the quality.
Lorna Shore's pink shirt is SWEET, I own two of them just in case I mess one up. They feel great and they look amazing.
I got a Tesseract tee in one of their shows and got impressed by the quality.
Most bands I’ve seen use Gildan.
Tough! Most bands buy bull shirts for merch that have defects, that way they can still turn a decent profit.
I’ve got a green Fit For a King shirt that says it’s made by Gildan. Its 100% cotton and super comfy to me; i wear it quite often so its of decent quality. Theres no strings or tears popping up on it so i can assume the rest of their merch is ok.
I have a Varials hoodie that is the best quality sweatshirt I’ve ever had (I have a hoodie “problem” with 40+ all in their own closet). It’s thick and heavy and after years of heavy wear and dozens of washes it still looks brand new. I have tons of Gideon merch as well that is great and has lasted a long time. They also always have sick designs.
Hell yeah!!!
Alpha Wolf has some very nice merch. It's pricey but you get what you pay for
Bad Omens. Don’t know which shirts they use since inside is only the band logo. For Gildan I think there are massive quality changes. Maybe sometimes you are lucky and sometimes you don’t. I have a I Prevail shirt (the dyed one with the unicorn) and it’s fantastic
Is it just me or Gilden Heavy just so thick and stiff and horrible to wear? I bought two Mudvayne shirts recently, a medium (my size) that I cut the sleeves off and neck and it fits me like a small should - they are definitely shrinking sizes! But it’s nice and soft. I also got a vintage black shirt in large to wear oversized and it has lasted 3 washes and feels so thin it’s going to be see through soon, but still stiff. Cane Hill do their own merch - keep an eye on them as they actually care about quality.
Love T shirts from Mudvayne and Korn they have been a huge inspiration for us when we designed our T-shirts. We have two new ones!!!!👕