Features & Advancements in Today's Army Combat Shirts

Whether from Propper, Rothco, or 5.11 Tactical, today's army combat shirts are one of the best tops available for various combat situations. Army combat shirts provide a wide range of features and help protect users from a wide range of elements and hazards.

In this article, we share some the advancements and features behind common army combat shirts on the market.

Materials Used in Army Combat Shirts

Modern army combat shirts are typically made of a 60/40 or 50/50 blend of cotton and nylon that helps in insulating the skin when exposed to high temperatures such as is the case with flash fires and blasts. Unlike polyester or “polypro” the resulting blend does not melt onto the skin and thereby reduces burn injuries.

Nearly all army combat shirts feature a No Melt/No Drip Cordura Baselayer fabric to cover the torso. This extremely light weight and extra comfortable torso fabric unlike heavier Nomex apparels is not only durable but it also reduces chafe, increases airflow between the skin and the fabric thus wicking sweat away from the body.

Features Behind Army Combat Shirts

For the ultimate apparel best suited to the most hostile environments, manufacturers have come up with army combat shirts featuring padded elbows. Commonly called “the SuperFabric abrasion dots”, such elbow pads are designed to provide a good level of durability and protection when a soldier is in crawling position. The rest of the sleeve fabric, just like the Cordura Baselayer fabric making up the torso, is designed to be flame resistant.

Following the discovery that uniform chest and lower pockets can’t be reached especially when a soldier is wearing body armor and thus practically useless, manufacturers have done away with the weight of the pockets on a standard army combat shirt. Instead, the pockets are located on the sleeves where they can be easily accessed.

After phasing out breast pockets, shoulder pockets have become rampant in nearly all army combat shirts being produced today. This adequately addresses known problems when wearing body armor and in addition, the shoulder pockets feature light weight FR zippers that help keep military gear within reach.

Another peculiar feature of nearly all modern army combat shirts is the presence of wrist cuffs. Such hook and loop cuff closures can be easily adjusted to fit a variety of wrist sizes in a way that the shirt assumes a snug fit.

To help in identification, army combat shirts designs have incorporated Velcro loops on the sleeve pockets to help attach a soldier’s name, rank, unit and their flag patches. This feature has done away with the Army Logo that featured in army combat shirt and appeared at the front of the shirt.

Colors of Army Combat Shirts

Most army combat shirts come in camo patterns, such as ACU digital, MutliCam, Woodland, and desert camo. Other designs feature heavily foliage green color, though other options such as sand color body, black, olive drab and khaki color options are also available. Most of the army combat uniform designs can be found at military-issue stores like Military Uniform Supply.

Other features to be found in army combat shirts include: the presence of glint tape holder for IR military operations tape that helps identify friend from foe, sleeves which are gusseted, a mock turtle neck, flat seams to minimize chafing under body armor and pen pocket on forearm for easy access.