Let’s Compare a $391 Japanese Sweatshirt to a $17 Amazon One!

One of the best sweatshirts for men on this list is from a brand I had never heard of before – it’s a brand called American Giant. When I opened this massive tank of a monster from the box, I just was like, “Oh!” What happened, Reigning Champ? It’s time to show off!”

I’m going to show you what’s the difference between a $391 sweatshirt I got from Japan and a $17 sweatshirt I got from Amazon. And about everything else in between. Both of these sweatshirts are in the internet’s top 10 list of the greatest sweatshirts available right now.

How We’re Gonna Do This Thing

What I did was craft a poll to figure out what brands the internet loves the most. I got about a billion different suggestions from all of you, then I tallied up all the most popular brands, converted it to a number, then to a percentage, and bought all of them.

You people are not cheap! Then I wore them, washed them, steamed them, ironed them, and my girlfriend, Taylor, stole some of them. Then, I took them back and wrote down my thoughts for this article. So, without any further ado, welcome to the coziest Iron Snail article in Iron Snail history.

I’m eating grapes, I’m at home, I’m in my sweatpants. I’m talking about the best sweatshirts for men. This is the life! This article is going to be ordered from least popular to most popular by the number of votes.

I wanted to keep it to the top 10, but I thought that the bottom three sweatshirts were also very important. I bought 15 sweatshirts total – I couldn’t stop myself.

Quick Stats – All The Sweatshirts At A Glance

Poll Ranking: 13 | Iron Snail Ranking: 1 | Weight: 10oz | Origin: Japan | Price: $$$

The Real McCoy’s Shrink Percentage: 5% in width, 4.35% in length.

Ah, the Real McCoy’s Loopwheel sweater. It is 10 oz, and it’s loopwheel. Non loopwheel knitwear is pulled – it’s very tense as it’s being knit, and if you think of me pulling this sweatshirt for 3 hours or 4 hours, what’s going to happen when I let go? It’s going to be a little bit stretched out.

Loopwheel is basically gravity-fed. There’s not a lot of tension motors and things pulling the yarn to do a faster form of production.

So what you get from that is a sweatshirt that is inherently not stretched out and will also probably not stretch out as much over time because all of that tension that’s being done by the machines isn’t something you’re going to replicate naturally with your movement because you fit inside the fabric. That’s why it holds its shape, that’s why people like it so much for T-shirts and sweatshirts.

Anyway, though, Real McCoy’s is known for its very accurate reproductions. This is no different. You will see the Dorito (the upside-down triangle at the center of the collar) on the front and on the back.

So it’s ribbing all the way through. There’s an actual cut in the sweatshirt, so this stretches easier and catches sweat easier. We have a wide neckline, which is a bit more old school, as you’ll see later. The real benefit for me with Real McCoy’s is that everything they do feels finished. There is a group of people that say this is perfect, send it out the door.

Poll Ranking: 12 | Iron Snail Ranking: 9 | Weight: 8-ish oz | Origin: Vietnam | Price: $ |

Uniqlo Shrink Percentage: 3.4% in width, 0% in length.

Uniqlo also technically didn’t make the list. Still, I thought it was very important to put it on the list because Abercrombie did make it on the list at a shockingly high number. It’s very important to see the difference in philosophy between a brand like Uniqlo and a brand like Abercrombie.

Overall, though, this is a big reason why Uniqlo is so successful. To me, they chose all of the right things to prioritize with a budget $40 sweatshirt. There’s no leaning in crazy comfort or crazy durability – it’s just a pretty decent sweatshirt like what Uniqlo always does.

Two things to note, though: I really care about a bound neck collar on T-shirts; on sweatshirts, not so much. It’s a heavier fabric, so I’m not as worried about a bacon collar, distorted collar, or anything like that, and I like the look of both.

Poll Ranking: 11 | Iron Snail Ranking: 5 | Weight: 12oz | Origin: USA | Price: $$

Camber Shrink Percentage: 12% in width, 3% in length.

I was just digging through the trash trying to find the tag that came with this sweatshirt – I can’t find it. Taylor must have taken the trash out yesterday and not told me about it. Either way, though, this is one of the best greatest sweatshirts on this list.

I never heard of this brand before – this is a brand called Camber. It’s a made-in-USA brand. This sweatshirt feels like it was teleported from the ’90s. I have a specific memory in my head of hugging my aunt, who I think had an Arizona sweatshirt on, and it felt exactly like this sweatshirt: great!

It’s very coarse, so if you don’t like coarse sweatshirts, you won’t like this. The neck hole is also very tight, so if you have a big head – not trying to be silly – you will not make it through this sweatshirt.

You will probably get stuck. They’re doing the same reverse weave cutting on the cross grain for the body fabric, so it will shrink. We’ll talk about that when we get to Champion, but I cannot recommend this sweatshirt enough.

This sweatshirt, this heathered one at least, is 10% polyester. Typically, I do not like polyester. I wish this was 100% cotton, but polyester does add strength. It will aid in how fast the sweatshirt will dry.

It does have a very storied history in sweatshirts and hoodies and that world. Champion was making nylon fleeces for a very long time, so it’s not out of the ordinary, but it’s something to know.

Poll Ranking: 10 | Iron Snail Ranking: 13 | Weight: 8oz | Origin: Not listed | Price: $$

Abercrombie Shrink Percentage: 1% in width, 2% in length.

This Abercrombie sweatshirt has the cuffs rolled and a toothpaste stain right on the front. The reason for that is that my girlfriend, Taylor, stole this sweatshirt immediately after it arrived.

Abercrombie is prioritizing softness over absolutely everything, and they do that with a variety of washes that kind of beat this sweatshirt down over time.

It’s not a bad quality sweatshirt – it is a $60 sweatshirt, and I think that is because they’re using higher quality cottons so they can beat them down more.

The thing that’s kind of interesting, and the reason I said Uniqlo should be on this list, is that Uniqlo’s approach seems to be more “let’s make a basic sweatshirt that will last a very long time that has some oomph to it” and Abercrombie is “let’s make the softest sweatshirt of all time.”

I probably wouldn’t recommend this sweater just for the 30% polyester count alone, but washing it incredibly heavily is something I like to do myself over time.

This feels like a sweatshirt that you bought that was worn already for like 10 years out the door.

Poll Ranking: 9 | Iron Snail Ranking: Disqualified because I got it for free for this video | Weight: 24.3oz | Origin: Japan | Price: $$$$

Wonder Looper Shrink Percentage: 0% – pre-washed.

And now, a sweatshirt that could not be more different than the Abercrombie sweatshirt but is ranked immediately after that is the Wonder Looper double heavyweight Fox fiber crew neck T-shirt. Wonder Looper was ranked really high.

I should have shown you one of their more regular offerings and not a limited edition $391 sweatshirt. They have other things – they’re just always sold out, so I will try to snag one of those. I’m friends with Bahzad, and he gave me this sweatshirt for free. I’ll try to get a regular one to show you ’cause I never show regular Wonder Looper products.

This is four, maybe even five times heavier than Abercrombie – two Champion sweatshirts in thickness. This is an absolute monster. If you’ve never felt a 24 oz sweatshirt, you probably don’t understand how heavy this actually is. You could see that it holds its shape when I hold it out like this.

Now, interestingly, as I’ve said so many times before, this uses Fox fiber, which is the first ever naturally colored cotton that is a long enough staple to be easily spun into yarns and then made into garments like this. That being said, it is small batch, it is expensive, and it’s still not a long-staple cotton fiber, so it needs to be blended with an extra long or just long stable cotton fiber so it’s still strong. Otherwise, it wouldn’t hold up; it wouldn’t be tough enough to put on sweatshirts like this.

It’s pest-resistant, I think fire-resistant and has a ton of insane qualities. Fox fiber is very interesting because this is Coyote 80, which is the darkest Fox fiber can get. But since it is so dark, if you wanted to dye this sweatshirt black, I think you would use something like 30 to 40% less dye to achieve a darker black than you could if you were just using regular cotton.

Poll Ranking: 8 | Iron Snail Ranking: 3 | Weight: 12-13oz | Origin: Canada | Price: $$$

Reigning Champ Shrink Percentage: 2.2% in width, 3% in length.

Oh, what happened, Reigning Champ? This is when you’re supposed to show off! I opened this sweatshirt from the box and said, “Oh no!” We got a pretty bacony collar on this Reigning Champ sweatshirt.

I don’t think that’s a typical thing – I think it was a miss-sew, so I bet if I reached out to support, I can get a new one. The collar is tight enough that it’s not super apparent. For some reason, it drives me absolutely nuts – if the collar is a little wiggly all day, I just keep rubbing it with my finger, trying to smooth it out.

That being said, I’m not going to judge the sweatshirt just based on that because I don’t think that’s a typical thing. The first thing I will say is that I should have sized down on this. I should have gotten an extra small Reigning Champ instead of a small one.

Besides all of that being said, this is an awesome sweatshirt – one of the best on the list. If the collar was not as bacony and I sized it right, it would be right up there with Camber and another brand that we have to talk about in a second.

It has a really nice, dry feel. I think this is 12 to 13 oz – nice and heavy. This is their original fleece. I also like that with the ribbing on the side, the gusset goes up into a triangle into the arm, so you get some more mobility. Oh, I feel like if someone from Reigning Champ is going to see this, they’re going to be like, “Okay, great YouTube guy got the one out of 800 that isn’t right.”

A Tale of Vintage Champion and Russell

Poll Ranking: 7 | Iron Snail Ranking: 11 & 12 respectively | Weight: It depends | Origin: USA | Price: $$

Vintage Russell And Champion Shrink Percentage: I don’t know. These were probably washed 800 years ago.

Good old Mikey fell for the eBay dupe! There’s just a really good deal on a vintage Champion sweatshirt. It says size small – I’m a size small. I think it’s women’s.

Vintage Champion and Russell – Russell is also on this list. These were great made-in-USA reverse weave, which I guess we can talk about now.

Champion got really famous for two things. One: reverse weave, where they cut the main body fabric on the cross grain so it’s to the side instead of up and down. The reason it’s like that is because when Champion sweatshirts were a football jersey, the players and the coaches didn’t like that they shrank a lot lengthwise.

So Champion switched it this way, and now they shrank a lot in width, and Champion remedied the width shrinkage and the tightness ’cause there’s less stretch horizontally by adding ribbing on the side. Those two things make up reverse weave, and that is part of the reason Champion became Champion. The other part is they put a hood on these crew neck sweaters – all of a sudden you had the hoodies.

All in all, though, the vintage ’90s Champion is absolutely fantastic, very dense, and has a very nice feeling. Still has polyester in it. That’s still a thing, but I have no complaints there. I did get eBay duped on the Champion sweatshirt, but luckily, we also have the Russell.

Mikey baby got duped again on the Russell! It fits me okay, but I think this is a child’s sweatshirt, or men were very small, or this is a women’s – I don’t know.

I’m not going to yuck your yum if you like Russell for a specific reason. It is probably because they’re well – first off, they’re the original sweatshirt maker. Ben Russell, I believe it was, was playing football, had an itchy wool jersey on, and then made the sweatshirt.

From what I see, Russell went one way, and Champion went the other way. Champion kind of prioritizes quality more. They do make cheaper things that may feel more like this Russell, but the reverse weave is really, really nice.

Russell seems like they went, “How cheap can we go throughout?” If you were choosing between vintage Russell or vintage Champion, I’d probably say splurge for Champion – it’s just a different beast.

The Russell pills a lot. I don’t think you’d be super excited if you got it in the mail no matter how old – well, maybe older ones are different, but I just don’t think you’d be really excited if you got this in the mail.

If we do part two of this, I’m actually going to buy four or five vintage Russell just to see if maybe the one I got isn’t the best quality. So I want to see because there’s a lot of hype around vintage Russell – going to try and get to the bottom of it.

Poll Ranking: 6 | Iron Snail Ranking: 6 | Weight: 12-13oz | Origin: Japan | Price: $$$

Whitesville Shrink Percentage: zero – pre-washed.

We’re back to one of the best sweatshirts on this list! There’s one thing I don’t like about it – it’s aesthetic, but this is a fantastic quality loopwheel sweatshirt from Japan. It has kind of a messed up thread at the cuff and a messed up stitch.

The really interesting thing about the Whitesville sweatshirt is its loopwheel, like we talked about before, but it uses a 5×1 rib knit on the cuff, on the hem, and on the collar. You either like it or you don’t – it’s not my favorite. I wish it was a 2×1 or 1×1 or something like that. It’s also very, very loose and very, very soft.

If you’re looking for a very, very soft high-quality sweatshirt (not soft as in silky, soft as in like kind of fluffy and cozy), you go Whitesville, or you go this next brand.

Poll Ranking: 5 | Iron Snail Ranking: 7 | Weight: 13oz | Origin: USA | Price: $$$

American Giant Shrink Percentage: 1.8% in length.

American Giant – when I opened this massive tank of a monster from the box, I just was like, “Holy crap, this is the craziest sweatshirt I’ve ever felt in my life!” First off, reinforced arms and rib knitting on the shoulders for more flexibility.

The hood is also just a freaking monster. The way it’s sewn around here feels very American. If you wear this, you probably wear – which is not an American brand – Iron Heart denim, you wear PMW boots, you just want the epitome of incredibly heavy overbuilt products.

It’s one of the best sweatshirts on this list, especially if you’re a bigger guy, especially if you’re tall, actually.

Poll Ranking: 4 | Iron Snail Ranking: 10 | Weight: 8.5oz | Origin: Not listed | Price: $

Russell Shrink Percentage: 1.25% in width, 2% in length.

Here’s Russell part two. This is the cheapest sweatshirt on the list, so it’s hard. I can’t compare it to a $150 sweatshirt and be like, “It’s lightweight. It uses polyester.” – that wouldn’t be that fair, would it?

It looks like Russell kind of stayed with the philosophy of, like, these are basically football jerseys, they should be cheap, so we’ll start to use polyester, or we’ll do this to make it cheaper.

It feels like the old Russell sweatshirt, to be honest. I bet this will pill over time. I splurged – I got the fancy premium cotton cotton-rich blend, which is 35% polyester, 65% cotton. It’s a very polyester-feeling sweatshirt. If you go out into the sun or catch it at the right light, you can see the shine of the polyester actually on this sweatshirt.

Someone who buys a Russell probably wants the cheapest sweatshirt possible that will hold up that they can just wear around the house or throw out and not really care about that much – that’s who Russell goes after.

Poll Ranking: 3 | Iron Snail Ranking: 2 | Weight: 12.4oz | Origin: Korea | Price: $$$ |

Brut Shrink Percentage: 2.2% in length, 0% in width.

Next up, we have a small French brand called Brut. I really like them, and they make a great sweatshirt – but I can’t pronounce their name perfectly.

Brut’s marketing is very interesting because they just named their stuff “the best” – the best down jacket, the best sweatshirt, the best hoodie. And if you say you’re the best, you have to at least be pretty close to the top of being the best, and I would say they are. I’d say they totally back it up.

This is a great sweatshirt. I got it on sale. I will say it is very high quality, has a very modern fit, and is very highly cropped. A lot of Brut’s stuff is very cropped. If you’re tall, you’re probably going to want to size up. I’m 5’9″, wearing a size small, and the sleeves are spot on – usually, sleeves are a little big on me.

The ribbing feels excellent to the point where I wonder if it’s a synthetic blend. It has a bit of that dry feel I usually feel with synthetic blends. No complaints – one of the best on this list, maybe number two, maybe number three.

Poll Ranking: 2 | Iron Snail Ranking: 8 | Weight: 10oz | Origin: Japan | Price: $$$

Buzz Rickson Shrink Percentage: 1% in length.

Buzz Rickson – not a company I expected to be second on the list, 6.19% of the vote. I can see why the Buzz Rickson made it to the second most popular on the list – it checks every single box, probably for the widest amount of people. It’s a nice heavy weight, but it’s not too heavy. It’s soft but not crazy soft.

Really, its main competitor is owned by its parent company, Whitesville, and to me, it would come down to whether you like the 5×1 rib knit cuff. If you do, go Whitesville. If you don’t, Buzz Rickson. Really fantastic value for the money, great fit, and a little more constricted than the Whitesville.

Poll Ranking: 1 | Iron Snail Ranking: 4 | Weight: 12oz | Origin: Honduras | Price: $$

Champion Shrink Percentage: I’ve had this for forever so I don’t remember, so sorry!

And finally, at the top of this list with almost double the amount of votes as Buzz Rickson – 11.14% – is, of course, Champion. Champion is a brand where I feel like they did you good, you know? They’re that one guy that was super successful but then came back to the neighborhood and was the same guy as before and was like, “What’s up guys? How’s it going? I’m super successful now, but it doesn’t bother me.”

The ’90s sweatshirt feels a little rougher and a little bit more robust than the modern Champion that I’m wearing right now. I will say that. So what – the guy came back to the neighborhood, and he changed a little bit!

Just kidding – Abercrombie is $60, this reverse weave hoodie is $70, and to me, they’re light years different in quality and feel. Champion still has that durable knitwear thing in their bones, and I think they really make it clear with the reverse weave series specifically.

When I was first getting into clothes, that was the top thing on my Christmas list. I told my parents that I just wanted a reverse weave Champion sweatshirt, and it was the one I still have today. Nothing to really complain about – that’s why Champion is so high up on this list because what they are making is a great value compared to what we are seeing in the general landscape.

Would I say it’s $40 better than Uniqlo? With the reverse weave, yeah! It seems like Champion knows from a marketing perspective or a brand perspective why they are Champion, and they hold that up with reverse weave, which is why they’re staying at the top and getting so many votes. Great, great.

Watch This Review

That’s It!

That’s it on the best sweatshirts for men. It’s very hard to rank things because it’s my opinion – you may differ on weight and feel and stuff like that. Either way, if you want to do part two, let me know – it will be called Michael’s Revenge, and I will wreak havoc on the world of sweatshirts. Okay, bye!

This article was adapted from Michael Kristy’s video on The Iron Snail, with edits from FashionBeans, and was reviewed by Michael to ensure the integrity of his original content. Watch the full video here.

The Iron Snail is a men’s fashion vlog (and now article series!) starring a young man named Michael and featuring a snail no bigger than a quarter. The two are set on taking over the world of fashion by creating a clothing line to end all clothing lines. Until then, we’re here to tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about the best clothing out there, from the highest quality raw denim jeans to the warmest jackets to the sturdiest boots…the Iron Snail has got you covered.