Last Updated August, 2020.
The best sweatshirts are both comfortable and durable. It’s a balance not every brand gets right. Thankfully, there are plenty of brands that do make a good sweatshirt, enough to make a list out of it, anyway. We’re focusing our attention on our favorite crewneck sweatshirts, the ones we’ve been living in. The ones we wear with every outfit, whether it’s jeans and a t-shirt or with suit trousers at your home office. They don’t have to be expensive, but they also don’t have to be cheap. They just have to be good. Here are our picks for the best crew neck sweatshirts on the market.
Russell Athletic Dri-Power Fleece Sweatshirt
You can't have a list of best sweatshirts and not include the inventor. Russell Athletic's responsible for the entire category and they're still making some damn fine crews today. The Dri-Power Fleece Sweatshirt is a 50/50 blend of cotton and polyester that's satisfyingly soft and comes in a year-round weight. Plus, it's cheap as hell.
Uniqlo Long-Sleeve Sweatshirt
Better basics at a solid price Uniqlo's thing. So it's no surprise that its Long-Sleeve Sweatshirt made it to our list. It's inspired by vintage designs and features a sturdy but soft all-cotton fabric.
Everlane The French Terry Crew
Everlane’s crewneck sweatshirt is unsurprisingly part of its Uniform collection, a range of garments requisite for your daily ‘fits. It’s made from 100 percent cotton French terry fabric and is as comfy as it is affordable.
Buck Mason Heathered Twill Terry Vintage Crew
Buck Mason built its brand on knits, so it knows how to make a bangin' sweatshirt. This one features French loopback terry that's smooth on the outside and luscious on the inside. The ribbing details are primo and the fit is perfected — classically trim.
Outerknown Sur Sweatshirt
Outerknown’s Sur Sweatshirt sticks out for good reason. The hemp and organic blend terry fabric make it a hefty-yet-soft option, not to mention one of the most eco-friendly on the market.
Birdwell Garment Dyed Raglan Crew
Birdwell's better known for its hardy beach trunks, but you'd better not sleep on the rest of its goods. The Garment Dyed Raglan Crew is beefy at 24 ounces, but the French terry fabric is perfectly cozying up after a surf sesh.
Filson C.C.F. Crew Neck Sweatshirt
Filson's C.C.F. sublabel focuses on modern workwear needs at a pricepoint lower than its usual fare, but with the same quality fans have come to expect. Its Crew neck Sweatshirt features an 8-ounce cotton-poly blend that's been brushed on the inside for extra warmth and comfort.
Todd Snyder x Champion Heavyweight Pocket Sweatshirt
This one is a modern-day classic. Todd Snyder’s Pocket Sweatshirt is one of the best designs to come out of his ongoing partnership with Champion. It’s substantial, it’s super cozy and it can hold your wallet.
General Admission Sunset Crewneck
SoCal brand General Admission cuts its Sunset Crewneck comfortably boxy with a respectable 14-ounce fleece fabric that'll squeeze out several years of wear. Plus, the hand-stitched embroidery is a sweet touch.
Reigning Champ Mid Weight Terry Sweatshirt
Reigning Champ’s Mid Weight Terry Sweatshirt is what the company was built upon. It’s made in Canada (where some of the best sweats are made) and designed with quality details like inset-raglan sleeves and flatlock stitching for seams that are flush against the skin.
Knickerbocker Gym Crew Fleece
These take after vintage sweatshirts of the midcentury, featuring a year-round fleece weighing 15 ounces, a classic V insert and a mounted collar. They come in a handful of colors as well as with graphics.
NWKC 002
NWKC’s crewneck ain’t like the others. That’s because of its dual cloth fabric with links 100% merino wool outer layer with a luxurious cotton-poly-rayon blend inner layer. The result is a temperature-regulating wool sweater with a silky-smooth feel.
Freenote Cloth Deck Sweatshirt
The heaviest sweatshirt on this list, Freenote's Deck Sweatshirt weighs in at a meaty 28 ounces. That's three times the weight of some of the other options here. But it's not just hefty. It's got the details to match like flatlock stitching, ribbed V-insert, and gusseted arm pits.
Sunspel Cotton Loopback Sweatshirt
If you want a crewneck with supreme fabric and a tailored fit, Sunspel should be in your wheelhouse. Known for its high-quality cottons, the heritage brand has been in the business of luxury knits for over 160 years and its Cotton Loopback Sweatshirt continues its tradition. It’s a classically trim silhouette made with some of the softest cotton you’re likely to come across.
Lady White Co. ’44 Fleece
Made entirely in southern California, Lady White Co.’s seminal sweatshirt features flush, flatlock stitching, bar tack reinforcements and custom-knit ribbing you won’t see on any other sweatshirt. And, it’s garment-dyed for a wabi-sabi lived-in feel.
Merz B. Schwanen Heavyweight Crewneck Sweater
Germany-based Merz b. Schwanen is known for its secret weapon: loopwheel knitting machines. These machines are extremely rare and produce fabric in a continuous, seamless loop that’s unbelievably dense and soft. Put it into a sweatshirt and you’ve got yourself a grail sweatshirt.
Cushman Lot. 26903 Freedom Sleeve Sweatshirt
These made-in-Japan sweats are truly special and up the ante on other loopwheeled sweatshirts. Inspired by 1930s sweatshirts, Cushman’s version features a freedom sleeve which is as comfortable as a raglan sleeve, but with a better shape. A high, bound collar, v-insert, flatlock seams and long, vintage ribbing make this sweatshirt a dream for vintage heads.
