Recently, several of the writers and I got together in Ft. Lauderdale at an undisclosed location to have a writer’s meeting, dinner, and then meet some SOFREP members for a couple of drinks and cigars. In order to throw our surveillance tails off the trail, we arrived at different times and in different ways. We picked a hotel under renovation so the hammering, sawing, and drilling from 30 workmen would confuse the microphones. We each checked in under an alias and then made sure to change our assigned rooms at check-in just in case our cover was already blown and they had time to bug the rooms in advance of our arrival

And it worked, when we swept the rooms for mics and cameras, each of them came up clean.

We also made sure to talk only outside with a hand near our mouths to confuse the lip readers with binoculars observing us from afar.

And as an extra precaution, we spoke in a coded military language of jargon, pro-words, acronyms, slang, and even clicks, pops, and whistles like those pygmy tribes in Papua New Guinea use to communicate.

Okay, not really.

But I did order some T-shirts for the guys and for the SOFREP members who graced us with their presence at the cigar bar we went to and I want to say a few words about them.

Just a T-Shirt, right?

Yeah, but a really well-made one at a very low price.

I ordered the “4 Star Crest” shirt in black. I wanted green but you guys bought them all out (thanks). The first thing I noticed when I opened the box they came in was that they really aren’t your ordinary, cheap, Myrtle Beach tourist trap “10 shirts for 10 dollars” junk.

And honestly, I never had any reason to think they might be. Here at SOFREP, we care about the quality of the goods we offer as well as getting them to you at a reasonable price.

If I wasn’t disappointed, I can assure you, you won’t be either.

Anyway, what makes for a good T-shirt?

Several things, I think. You begin with the material. Cotton fabric comes in several varieties and blends. The best cotton tends to be Pima or Supima types followed by brushed cotton, organic cotton, and finally, the aptly named Slub cotton which is pretty thin and lumpy stuff to make a shirt from. Then it can be blended with lycra, polyester, rayon, and even linen.

Now I don’t pretend to know what 32 Single, 145 grams, 4.3oz, 100 percent Combed Ring-Spun Cotton is, but I do know that it feels really good next to your skin. And it’s also the ideal material to print on. It’s also comfortable and lightweight and very soft without prewashing.

Then, I look at the color and the stitching and see it’s very well done. Arrow-straight seams, triple-stitched, and a tight weave on the color to resist stretching and wearing out.

Next is the print/screening quality. Sharp, clean edges on the image, uniform color without any variation in thickness, and no bleed-through on the fabric. Just remember not to take a hot iron to the artwork, fellas.

And get this, it’s only $20.

It took about two weeks to arrive in the mail so don’t expect it yesterday when you order it.

The fit for these shirts is also “athletic” so if you want it a bit oversized, do exactly that, order it a size larger.

So if you want a good deal on a very high-quality T-shirt, click here and order it now.