Note: This shirt was provided by Western Rise for review purposes.
It’s winter, so that means it’s time for the flannel to come out. Western Rise has a strong contender on the market, the new TechWool Flannel Shirt. It’s designed to be an elevated flannel that can fit more parts of your life.
I’ve been testing the shirt in Black for over a month now, and I am thoroughly impressed.
Material
The TechWool fabric is a 180 gsm blend of 48% Elasterell Polyester 47%/COOLMAX polyester/5% non-mulesed wool.
The Elasterell (also called T400) is a special multicomponent polyester that has stretch. In this case, it gives the fabric some two way stretch. The COOLMAX fibers are designed to wick moisture while remaining dry to the touch.
Overall the fabric has a very natural look and drape, but in the right light, I do get a little sheen. I think this would be completely hidden in the Cloud (cream) color.
Since it is brushed on both sides, the fabric is very soft, with no scratchiness from the wool, even without an undershirt. Think of your favorite soft classic flannel, but in a much lighter weight.
Fit & Style
The cut of this shirt is described both as “moderately lean” and “active, tailored fit”. I think both describe it well, with enough room if you wanted to put a base layer underneath, but still slim enough to look sharp and put together.
While I wear this type of shirt untucked usually, it works tucked in as well. It certainly comes across as a sharp casual shirt, but some may be able to push it a little further due to the cut, fabric, and hidden collar buttons that help keep the collar looking sharp.
Performance
This shirt is wrinkle and odor resistant, wicking, and is the perfect weight to make it versatile.
I was surprised when I washed the shirt the first time, it came out of the washer with very few wrinkles. After hanging dry, the shirt was wrinkle free and ready to wear.
This pairs nicely with the shirt being odor resistant. While I wore it mostly with an undershirt, I ended up washing the shirt before it had any odor to see how it washed up for this review. Quite impressive with just 5% wool.
As far as wicking goes, since it’s a shirt for the cooler weather I didn’t sweat much while wearing it, but I never felt sweaty or moist.
Finally, the weight of the fabric helped this be a great flannel for the transitional weather from Fall into Winter. I found it to be comfortable in both cool and warm buildings, which isn’t something that can always be said for a classic heavy flannel.
Overall
Overall, the TechWool Flannel Shirt would be a great addition to anyone’s cool weather closet. For those in colder climates, it might serve as a transition piece and for those elsewhere, it could be a great winter shirt.
The upgraded looks and odor and wrinkle resistance take it to the next level and make it a worthy purchase at the full price of $119.
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