Grabbed one of the Shooter Performance Shirts from Tactical Distributors recently as I was ordering a Velocity systems BOSS rugby at the same time and wanted to test them both out for comparison given that they’re both aiming to solve a similar problem.
The Shooter T comes in a really nice 4-way stretch synthetic, I always wear my issued synthetic t-shirts for the gym and any other phys (as well as under MTP uniform of course) and the fabric that Tac Distributors have used for this top is seriously plush. Flat lock seams to minimise any potential rubbing (something the issue T also does, luckily) and sewn from 6 main panels of material rather than the conventional 4 most t-shirts comprise; more expensive for the manufacturer, but giving a better fit and mobility.
I wouldn’t take this in to the depths of the most dangerous combat zone purely because it’s not FR and synthetics are definitely not what you want when there’s a lot of danger of extreme flash and flame close by. But for the sportsman who wants maximum ventilation and moisture wicking, this is the way to go. Try going for a run on a hot summers’ day wearing a cotton T some time then try something like this on the same run the next day; by the end of your session the amount of cold, horrible sweat that’s saturating the cotton and clinging to your skin will be exponentially higher vs a quality synthetic like this.
Most importantly of course there’s a nicely sized loop panel that’s well integrated in to the left sleeve for your patch needs. They’ve actually stitched it in all the way round the edges to make the loop sits as flat and flush physically as possible – even Crye and Arc’teryx just run a single line of stitching around their loop panels and leave the edges exposed.
In a totally ideal world I’d really like full loop squares in the AC style on both sleeves, but given this is aimed more at the sports market than military I can see why they’ve gone for the much more subdued styling (which certainly isn’t a bad thing overall).
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