My last post on DIY combat shirts seemed to strike I bit of a nerve so I decided to follow up with some examples of DIY'ers who are doing it better than I am and hopefully help inspire others who are working on this project.
My second combat shirt was better than the first, but I wished that I had kept the collar intact somehow. When wearing a plate carrier you might be able to get away with not having one but if you prefer to wear a chest rig those straps will dig into your neck and cause some serious chaffing. I found this to be the case with both H-harness straps (Mayflower UW rig) and the X-harness type straps (HSGI Warlord) that cross in the back.
A buddy of mine had a combat shirt sewn up by a local tailor in South East Asia, using an ACU top and a Nike running shirt, costing him about $33 USD. He kept lengths of the ACU shirt running down both sides to further help prevent hotspots from developing but also to stop the t-shirt material from bunching up. You can see that he also kept the collar intact for the reasons mentioned above.
I also came across a DIY'er running a small business called Libertry Tree Tactical. I think these guys really nailed the design for the combat shirt. They kept the horizontal length going across the shoulder blades that prevents the sleeves from sagging and integrated the collar very well.
Good luck Doing It Yourself and if anyone has any other interesting designs please drop us a line.
Kit Up! contributor Jack Murphy is a former Ranger, Special Forces Soldier and is the author of the new military thriller PROMIS: Rhodesia.
