Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

according to people

409
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #50,952 most helpful out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★★★★
Sizing is key...
From reading the various user reviews, it is obvious there are wildly different opinions of 'how well' their shirt fit based upon the size they ordered. After reviewing the comments more closely, I think the befuddlement arises, in part, over what the product is meant to accomplish. First of all, it should be stated (again) that this Kanu is sized to be a rashguard, NOT a walk-about tee-shirt. That means it is MEANT to cling snugly over EVERY part of your skin – basically skin-tight without being restrictive. If it can flap in the wind, it’s too loose…if you can’t move freely, then it’s too tight. A rashguard is designed (and sized) to be functional, rather than stylish. And there’s the rub (sorry, bad pun)…very few people actually have a model's perfectly proportioned body measurement. More than likely, many of us are used to buying clothing sizes to visually 'hide' some of our non-proportioned (aka less-than-spectacular) physical features. Get out of that mindset. For better or worse, a well-fitting rashguard should protect your skin, but it won’t make you look slimmer or taller or beefier or anything else. (In short, if you don’t like your ‘look’ standing naked in mirror, don’t blame it on the rashguard!) So how do you order from the size chart when you don’t have those (almost mythical) perfect body proportions? I wondered as well. I’m 6’0”, 180 lbs with a relatively athletic build (43” chest, 34” waist, 15” neck, 34” arm length). Using the Amazon Men’s Apparel Sizing Chart, my chest size would be Large, but my waist would dictate ordering a Medium. I went with the Large and the results in the photo were pretty much dead-on with what I expected. The chest and shoulders fit as they should (comfortably snug). When I first tried on the shirt, I thought it may have been too snug under the arms, but later realized it was simply because we rarely wear shirts this form-fitting in the underarm area. The material provided unlimited movement range in the shoulder joint, which was the most important. As to the waist, the material remained close to my skin, but could have accommodated an individual with a 35” or 36” waist without trouble. You might wish to notice the shirt’s length. As an individual with long arms and a long torso, I thought it was fantastic to finally have plenty of length in those areas, but shorter individuals will probably wonder what they will do with that much extra material. My recommendation is to trust the size range of the manufacturer (apparently 66% of Amazon purchasers thought the same thing). However, if your waist and chest measurements ‘straddle’ size groups (as mine did), make your order based upon the larger of the two sizes. I noticed a couple of user comments about an odd (‘green-ish’) color hue of the grey shirt. I didn’t see that at all in the item I just received, although I might argue that the color has a tint of Platinum or possibly medium Silver. In addition, the material has a slight satin sheen to it, but is far from shiny. Overall, the shirt is very nicely made and looks like it will hold up well - even after a few of my usual tragic spills on water skis!
July 2015 · Clothing Shoes and Jewelry · verified purchase
the product in question
Kanu Surf Men's Long-Sleeve Platinum UPF 50+ Rashguard
4.5★ · 4,461 ratings, as of 2023
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