Quick Summary if You are Short of Time
Sweatshield Undershirt vs Thompson Tee? The ultimate sweat proof undershirt review. Who wins? See this Sweatshield Undershirt Review and Thompson Tee Review side by side.
Both Thompson Tee and Sweatshield Undershirts are very effective at completely eliminating sweat marks as advertised so we wanted to do a head to head comparison to see if one is ultimately better than the other.. Sweatshield wins overall based on the fit and comfort and one huge overriding factor as follows: The biggest single problem with Thompson Tees is that they quickly turn a very nasty yellow colour after a few washes (see above picture) rendering them unusable in my opinion (washing and care instructions were closely followed).
Introduction
I am a 43 year male who works in an office environment in London in the UK. This my first attempt at a website/blog which is something I have always wanted to try. I wanted to write about something I feel very passionately about and that has had a huge impact on my life which is why I have chosen to write this review of Sweatshield Undershirts vs Thompson Tee undershirts in a side by side comparison.
I hope this review helps you to make your decision and I hope you don’t mind indulging me in my first attempt at writing a blog review.
Background
I am Caucasian but I am sure the problem of excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis affects all people and genders. I suffer from axillary hyperhidrosis in the right armpit and excessive sweating in the chest, upper rear thighs and left armpit. Weird right but there you go!
As someone that suffers from excessive sweating and hyperhidrosis I can tell you that there is a very big difference. Hyperhidrosis is relentless and the sweat just keeps coming all day long regardless of temperature or nervousness or other external factors. Excessive sweating comes and goes depending on if you are hot or not or nervous or anxious or whatever the case may be.
From the perspective of hiding the sweat marks then excessive sweating is much easier to handle because often an undershirt or t-shirt will be sufficient to absorb the sweat. However with hyperhidrosis it does not matter how many layers of fabric you wear the moisture will always soak through no matter what. The only way to stop it is with specialized fabrics which I believe is what both Thompson Tee and Sweat shield Undershirt use.
Sweat Proof Undershirts literally changed my life when the first ones came on the market 5 or 6 years ago because it has completely eradicated the problem of having embarrassing sweat marks. I mean I still sweat the same but now no one else needs to know about it.
Testing Process
Over the years I have read so much nonsense about people testing undershirts while doing a 30 minute run or doing a workout at the gym to try and simulate a heavy sweating situation. These tests give absolutely no reflection of the real situation whatsoever and should be completely disregarded.
Running for 30 minutes will produce sweat but a normal day is simply not like that. Different events will promote different levels of sweat. Some sweat will dry up before sweating is encountered and then how does that new round of sweating impact a shirt that has semi dried out from a bout of sweating a few hours ago. What about hyperhidrosis where the sweating is continuous and no stop for the entire day? Get on that running machine all day and then tell me how the shirt or undershirt works! Run then stop then run then stop and then go and have lunch and sit down in a chair and then come back and run again if you really want to test a sweat proof garments effectiveness.
Quite simply to test the undershirts I just wore them all day and let nature takes it course. I know I am the perfect Guinea pig for this testing as I am pretty sure none one else sweats quite like I do (especially from that right arm pit). Essentially these were tested by a hyperhidrosis sufferer and I can assure you that if these worked for me then they will definitely work for you too.
To give you some idea the picture below is of me wearing a sweat proof undershirt and another of me not wearing a sweat proof undershirt. In those pictures I have not day any exercise or anything else. That is after a normal walk up the road coming home from work. You can see why I am saying these undershirts have changed my life.
Comfort
Sweatshield Undershirt
The undershirt is made of MicroModal fabric and has some stretch to the material. The first time I tried these out was the first time I had ever tried MicroModal fabric and I was amazed at how soft and comfortable the fabric is. Since then I have always purchased MicroModal underwear where possible. (Marks and Spencers do MicroModal boxer shorts and I am sworn on them now). So for comfort it would be pretty hard to beat these in terms of the softness and overall luxury feel of the fabric when you are wearing them.
Thompson Tee
The Thompson Tee is made of a soft cotton fabric. The fabric is really nice and very lightweight and comfortable as far as cotton goes. It’s not the top level soft combed cotton that you see on some luxury brands but never the less it is plenty comfortable enough and the lightweight feel is welcome.
Winner
Sweatshield Undershirts by a long way. Thompson Tee are comfortable undershirts no doubt about it but the cotton cannot compete with the softness of the Micromodal.
Stay Tucked Capability
Sweatshield Undershirt
Sweatshield Undershirts seem to have a kind of slightly tapered fit at the bottom of the undershirt and have some extra length compared to a normal undershirt. This tapered fit and additional length mean that the undershirt stays tucked in very nicely. This was a strange feature to me at first but now it makes a lot of sense. You tuck these in deep and the tapering and extra depth keeps the undershirt tucked in all day. It’s a pretty neat feature that I had never thought about before but I am glad it is there.
Thompson Tee
The Thompson Tees I have been using are a fairly standard box cut t shirt with no tapering and no additional length. There is nothing wrong with that per se as that is what you would expect of a standard undershirt. However these do come untucked quite easily during the course of the day. Again that is quite standard given the design and is what you would expect if they are not designed to stay tucked in.
Winner
This is a no brainer: Sweatshield wins because they have been designed to stay tucked in and Thompson Tee haven’t.
Sweat Absorbency in Body Areas
Sweatshield Undershirt
Although mainly intended for underarm protection it is important that the undershirts should offer overall sweat protection to some extent because I will bet any money that someone that has underarm sweat issues will probably also have overall excessive sweating issues. Sweatshield do offer good overall sweat protection and I did not experience any sweat breakthrough in the chest or back areas.
Thompson Tee
Much the same as the Sweatshields the Thompson tees do offer good overall sweat protection. They absorbed well in the chest and back area and did not transfer any sweat marks to my outer garments. As with both undershirts if you were to sweat heavily on your back and wear a back pack that puts friction/pressure on the back area then I am pretty sure you would see some sweat breakthrough in both undershirts but that is to be expected.
Winner
Tie: Both undershirts are excellent in this department and do exactly as advertised.
Sweat Protection in Underarm Area
Sweatshield Undershirt
The Sweatshield Undershirt has built in sweat shields that form an integral part of the underarm area. They actually form part of the undershirt and this is a feature that I really like. The sweat shield area extends high up the underarm at both the front and back allowing for good full coverage of the sweat zone. They also extend quite far down the side of the body I guess to catch any sweat dripping down. Never at any time have I had any sweat marks break through the underarm area and they give 100% total protection as promised.
Thompson Tee
The Thompson Tee has built in sweat shields that form an integral part of the underarm area in exactly the same way as the sweatshield undershirt. They actually form part of the undershirt and this is a feature that I really like. The sweat shield area extends high up the underarm at both the front and back allowing for good full coverage of the sweat zone. They also extend quite far down the side of the body I guess to catch any sweat dripping down. Never at any time have I had any sweat marks break through the underarm area and they give 100% total protection as promised.
Winner
Tie: Both undershirts are excellent in this department and do exactly as advertised.
Overall Sweat Protection
Sweatshield Undershirt
These undershirts are made of Micro Modal which is touted as being 50% more absorbent than cotton. Overall the sweat protection was excellent. At the end of the day when I took off my outer shirt the undershirt itself had wet sweat patches but it held them in very well and they were never transferred to the outer garment.
Thompson Tee
These undershirts are made of cotton which is well known for its absorbent qualities. Neither cotton nor Micro Modal are wicking fabrics and this is exactly what you want: Fabrics that do NOT wick. Wicking would transfer sweat patches to your outer garments and this is exactly what you are trying to avoid. Overall the sweat protection was excellent. At the end of the day when I took off my outer shirt the undershirt itself had wet sweat patches but it held them in very well and they were never transferred to the outer garment.
Winner
Tie: Both undershirts are excellent in this department and do exactly as advertised.
Appearance
Sweatshield Undershirt
The fabric was a nice sharp white colour and has stayed that way over time. The collars are well made and have never shown any signs of crumpling up or becoming misshapen. All the seams are nice quality and the sleeves seem about the right length and are neither too long nor too short. They have the look and feel of a quality garment right out of the packaging and still now after many wears and washes.
Thompson Tee
I wish I could be more kind here but this for me is the absolute deal breaker with Thompson Tee and why I really cannot recommend them to others. Out of the packet they appear really nice with high quality workmanship. The sleeves are a nice length and the stitching seems high quality.
But, and this is a huge but, after several washes the neck and upper body area have turned a hideous yellow colour. Now as a heavy sweater I have what I have always referred to as sweat like Acid Rain. I destroy my pillows and bed sheets in a few months and also the underarms of most of my shirts. But this discolouration of the Thompson Tee undershirts is inexplicable. This has never happened to me on any other garment and I have only worn and washed them 4 or 5 times. You can see from the pictures below just how bad the problem is.
So after just a few weeks of use these undershirts have become completely unusable for me. I do hope that Thompson Tee will do something about this issue as for me it has completely ruined what would otherwise had been a good option.
Winner
Sadly this is less about the winner rather than who has absolutely failed. Thompson Tee really needs to address this issue. Sweatshield the very clear winner.
Fit
Sweatshield Undershirt
Sweatshield use some stretch in their fabric which allows for a close fitting undershirt. They call it a tailored for which would be a pretty accurate description. It may be personal taste but I personally like this fit. It means that your outer garments still fit nicely and are not affected by a bulky undershirt. The sizes were pretty true to form and the large size fit me just about right. The fit was close but not too close and with the soft fabric and stretch in the material I found this to be very agreeable. I am of average build and not fat and by no means slim but the fit worked well for me.
Thompson Tee
The fit of the Thompson Tee is more like a t shirt than an undershirt. It is fairly loose fitting and boxy. As a t shirt the fit would be perfect and I am sure for some they would prefer this loose boxy fit in an undershirt. I think these may have been more designed for the US market where people are more accustomed to wearing a t shirt as an under garment. They do run slightly on the large size and so it was the medium size that fit me best. You may want to think about ordering down a size or contacting them first for their size chart (especially if you are in UK as I think the US and UK sizes run slightly differently.
Winner
My preference is for the closer fitting Sweatshields but to be fair I have to give this category a tie because it will largely come down to personal preference and your own style requirements.
Durability
Sweatshield Undershirt
Micro Modal fabric is a really nice fabric but it needs to be washed correctly for durability. They say these are good for one year of use and I think that sounds about right. I use them for much longer than that and have no issue but I do wash them as per the instructions. The sweat protection is good even after 18 months of use but I can see that it would be nice now to get some new fresh undershirts.
Thompson Tee
Cotton should be much more durable, sturdy and longer lasting than Micro Modal and I am sure it would be under normal circumstances. However this issue of the fabric turning yellow seems to throw that theory out of the window. I have not been able to wear these undershirts long term because of the discolouration issue but nevertheless I am sure if it wasn’t for that then they would be very durable.
Winner
Again this has to be Sweatshield based on the discolouration issue. Without this I think the Thompson Tees would have been the winner.
Price
Sweatshield Undershirt
Sweatshield Undershirts are expensive if you buy them in a single. But let’s face it if you have a sweat problem then it is probably affecting you every day in which case you are better to buy their 5 packs. As a 5 pack these are pretty reasonable priced at 14 pounds each and shipping is free for both single undershirts and the 5 packs.
Thompson Tee
The good thing about Thompson Tees is that the price is reasonable if you just want to buy them one by one. If you live in the UK then they will be very expensive after you factor in shipping costs and any payable duties but overall they are well priced for a single undershirt.
Winner
Impossible to declare an outright winner because it will depend on where you live and how many you are ordering. Both represent good value.
Summary
Both Sweatshield Undershirt and Thompson Tee shirts do an excellent job of preventing sweat marks. Clearly these 2 undershirts are the leaders in their field.
If buying a 5 pack then the Sweatshield do present better value however Thompson Tee are cheaper if buying a single undershirt 9not factoring in potential shipping and VAT if you live in the UK).
Overall this would be a closer competition if it was not for the yellowing of the fabric with the Thompson Tee. Without that issue my own preference would still be for the Sweatshield Undershirt because of the superior quality fabric and my preference for the close fit and the better value for me since I need an undershirt for every day of the week.
Conclusion
Sweatshield Undershirt win by a long way in my book. I hope Thompson Tee will fix the fabric issue so that we can see a competitor that can give Sweatshield a run for their money.
Sweatshield Undershirt vs Thompson Tee Review 