The Ability to Conceal Carry Well in a Warm State Requires Intentional Clothing Choices
Central Florida gets hot. Today is July 28th, and the forecast is most likely to be in the mid 90s. However, I know Florida isn’t the only place this is the case, the entire United States can have pretty warm days. When it gets hot, no-one wants to be wearing multiple layers. Florida dress code in the summer, statewide, is oftentimes T-shirts, shorts, and flip flops. Anything more than that and you’ll collapse of heat exhaustion. Anything less, completely culturally acceptable.
I’ve had a concealed carry license for over a decade now at this point. For most of that decade, I lived in Wisconsin, where it is winter seemingly 90% of the year (I know this isn’t true, but if often feels that way). Concealed carry was easy in Wisconsin, you just needed to throw more layers on for most of the year.
Being a Wisconsin native for most of my life, I didn’t realize just how difficult concealed carry can be living in Florida. I myself am not very tall, but I’m also not a small boy. For my size I have fairly broad shoulders. Yet at the same time, being in my early 30s, I’ve been forming progressively more and more of a gut that I need to (and am actively working on) combating.
The problem with concealed carry with a T-Shirt is that unless you’re scrawny as a stick, you have to wear oversized clothing to conceal well. There is a sacrifice that must be made in terms of form, fit, and function in order to not print when carrying a handgun plus whatever else you might be every day carrying.
True Classic in my opinion makes the best shirt for concealed carry
My wife knew I was struggling with my wardrobe when we moved down to Florida. My long sleeve flannel shirts and blue jeans would not work down here. It was just too hot outside. She got an Ad for True Classic T-Shirts online, and she showed me these. At first, I was like why would I spend that on a T-Shirt, I can buy a 3 pack from Walmart for $10. If you haven’t already seen, cheap Walmart shirts print like crazy and they only last like 3 laundry cycles at best. I saw the problem but I didn’t understand the solution.
However, my wife liked the way these shirts were cut. They specifically are cut to stretch around the arms, complimenting and accentuating a man’s biceps and chest, while being a little looser around the waist, helping us guys who aren’t in our twenties anymore a little around that area. I was like okay, if my wife likes it, I’ll give it a try, but I was skeptical.
Then I actually tried the shirts. I was sold.
True Classic Crew Neck T-Shirts
True classic tees are ideal for concealed carry. They show off the gun show, while hiding the real guns.
- Extra space around waist line ideal for concealed carry
- Cut to fit your arms and torso well
- High quality, long lasting. I’m going on 2 years with my first pack
- A little more expensive than big box brands
A T-Shirt Cut Perfectly for Concealed Carry (5 out of 5 for Concealability)
Classic T shirts are cut to accentuate your arms and torso. At the same time, these T-shirts are cut to give you a little extra room around the waist. They are made for a man’s body. As a side affect, they are the perfect cut for concealed carry, and especially appendix carry. Clothing that fits you well is critical, and it actually is more concealable in a sense than having incredibly baggy clothing (which can call unwanted attention in and of itself).
An Everyday Shirt for Warrior Poets (Grayman No branding 5 out of 5)
I’m a big fan of John Lovell. In the firearms community, he’s a man that many of us look up to for a myriad of reasons. In many ways, the Warrior Poet Society ethos is something that resonates deeply with me. In fact, I am currently on Chapter 7 of 10 of John Lovell’s new book, the Warrior Poet Way. I’m having trouble putting the book down, it is that good.
On the Warrior Poet Society YouTube channel, and in John’s new book, right in the second chapter, John embraces an idea of being the “greyman”. It is a bad idea to stand out too much. The most dangerous man in the room is a man who has the right values, who has the right training, and who dresses the right way (not calling too much attention to himself).
I have my share of Glock shirts. You’ll see me dawning this gear when at the range, when taking a class, or when shooting a competition match. I’m wearing this stuff in most videos because I like to showcase the brands that I love. However, you won’t see me wearing these shirts at the grocery store or on Tuesday night Bible study (unless I haven’t done laundry in a while). Wearing shirts plastered with tacti-cool is not tactically smart. It makes you an instant target for any bad guy on the prowl. It screams “I’m carrying a gun”.
True Classic T-Shirts have no branding. They are just plain, solid color shirts. Take a look through their product pages, their shirts only stick out because they fit the man well, but there is nothing about them that would set off a radar for the bad guys.
Twisted Steel and Sex Appeal (Aesthetics 5 out of 5)
With these shirts, the only attention you’ll be calling to yourself is your wife’s. You’ll be well concealed, and yet your wife will look at you like your twisted steel and sex appeal. These shirts accentuate your arms and torso, probably the two most attractive areas of the body to any woman.
Here’s the thing, I am not the same guy I was in my teenage years. Gone are the washboard abs. More aptly in my early 30s, I have a little extra dinner table flab. I still have some arm muscle, but not to the extent I had in my younger years. I am keenly aware that I am no longer 20 and that the “dad bod” transformation has hit me hard. I know this is true of a lot of my brothers. We still do our push ups, but we haven’t said no to the ice cream after dinner either.
These shirts do make me feel more confident though. Not only do they conceal a gun well, they also do a good job at accentuating your arms and your chest without drowning them. They are cut to make your biceps look their best. At the same time, they can conceal that you’re putting a little bit of extra cushion around your waist line.
Guys I am doing my absolute best, as a man who loves his wife, and as a man who wants to be around a long time for his children, to get back into the shape of my youngest days. I am not where I want to be on my fitness journey, but I am absolutely committed and motivated to be working on that. God willing, I’ll have a blog post out hopefully in the next 6 months outlining my journey back to fitness. Being in shape is part of being a good protector. Moreover, being in shape is one way we can show love to our wives.
However, these shirts are helping me still feel more confident, even though I know i’m not in the shape that I once was.
True Classic Shirts are great, even if you’re a bigger guy
Source: True Classic
A Quality T-Shirt that Lasts (Durability 5 out of 5)
I think the thing that surprises me the most about True Classic Tees is how well they’ve stood up. I am still on my original five pack of T Shirts, and its been over a year and a half. The shirts in this sense have completely paid for themselves. If I went with the cheap multi pack of plain white shirts from Walmart, or even the $6-8 singles T shirts made by brands OEM in mass by brands like Gilden, these shirts last maybe a couple washes before they shrink in weird ways or form holes.
I am still rocking the original 5 pack of shirts, and I rotate these every single day. My half of the closet has a very small footprint. It is mostly full of guns and gear to be honest. I have a few pairs of clothes for business for the few times of year I step into an office. A few button up shirts that I wear for church on Sunday. A couple of gun brand T-Shirts for the range, and lastly, My original 5 T shirts from True Classic.
These shirts are crazy durable. The fabric has no holes and they fit just like they did on day 1. I’ve washed each shirt at least a few dozen times. The colors have not faded. Only now is the fabric on a few of the shirts that I wear most often (the grey and blue are my favorite colors) starting to pill in any noticeable way. I estimate that a 5 pack of shirts will last a man about 2 years with regular usage. The quality is unparalleled.
Price (3 out of 5)
My only gripe with True Classic is the price. Instead of paying $6-8 per shirt, like you can get at Walmart, True classic T-shirts run for $14.97 per shirt to $19.99. This really isn’t crazy expensive, especially given the quality and the cut of the shirt. They also run frequent promo codes.
If you use my referral code, you’ll get 25% off of your order, at the time of the writing of this blog post, bringing the cost of a T-shirt down to $11.22 – $15. You can use any of the affiliate links in this blog post to get that discount. I’ll get 10% back to put towards my next order of shirts (which truthfully, I’m coming up on in perhaps the next 6 months).
That said, while this brand is a little more expensive, the quality speaks for itself.
True Classic Crew Neck T-Shirts
True classic tees are ideal for concealed carry. They show off the gun show, while hiding the real guns.
- Extra space around waist line ideal for concealed carry
- Cut to fit your arms and torso well
- High quality, long lasting. I’m going on 2 years with my first pack
- A little more expensive than big box brands
Conclusion
I love True Classic for making a good quality shirt that works well for concealed carry. It isn’t an obnoxious tactical brand. It’s perfect for the greyman who is looking to blend in, yet stand out when it comes to spending time with your lady. I’m really glad I found this brand overall, it’s been a game changer in terms of my every day carry.
