The Best Tank Tops for Men Uphold the Right to Bare Arms

Sure, the best tank tops for men are default layers when the weather turns muggy, sticky, and unbearably hot. But it would be a disservice to you and your triceps to discount the humble tank's year-around utility.

It doesn't matter what you call them—A-shirts, singlets, muscle tees, wife pleasers—one of 'em deserves a spot in your rotation. Tuck a simple ribbed version beneath a button-up and it becomes the most essential base layer in your office arsenal; wear a next-gen performance version to the gym and it’ll level up your sweat sessions. Or push the small top, big pants agenda by wearing a mesh version all on its own—ideally with a pair of voluminous, Bieberesque jeans.

In short: Tank tops provide countless opportunities to flex your style chops. So to help you do just that, GQ wear-tested dozens of them to find the best sultry, sizzling, and otherwise show-stopping sleeveless joints on the market.

The Best Men's Tank Tops, According to GQ

• The Best Tank Top Overall: Hanes Tagless Cotton Tank (6-Pack), $17
• The Best Upgrade Tank Top: CDLP Rib Tank Top, $108
• The Best Ultra-Soft Tank Top: Mack Weldon 18-Hour Rib Tank (3-Pack), $84 $76
• The Best Tank Top for Solo Wear: Wythe New York Tubular Ribknit Tank, $38
• The Best Tank Top for the Gym: Reigning Champ Lightweight Cordura Tank Top, $80
• The Best Tank Top for Runners: Tracksmith Van Cortlandt Singlet, $70
• The Best Slimming Tank Top: Skims Rib Tank (3-Pack), $68

Take Me To: More Tank Tops We Love | What Makes a Good Tank Top | How We Tested | Meet Our Testers

Best Tank Top Overall: Hanes Tagless Cotton Tank

Regardless of where you're shopping, a pack of Hanes tanks should never run you more than a few bucks per unit. They’re lightweight, fairly inconspicuous as an undershirt, and require zero special treatment. Do they hold up as well as others? It depends on the use-case, although as a rule, probably not. But again, and this is crucial: you get six of them. When it comes to value, it's a hard proposition to beat—and it doesn't hurt that they're easy to find and almost always available.

“I was gifted a pack of these tanks from a friend who was cleaning out his closet,” says GQ style commerce writer Gerald Ortiz. “I couldn’t figure out why he wanted to get rid of such a solid tank.” In Ortiz’s mind, the Hanes Tagless Cotton Tank sets the standard. It fits snug like a classic tank should, and the all-cotton ribbed fabric is breathable and lightweight. Is it the softest version out there? No. Is it the best value out there? Absolutely.

Best Upgrade Tank Top: CDLP Rib Tank Top

If you're looking for a classic tank that can do it all, and look noticeably elevated while doing it, look no further than CDLP's Rib Tank Top. The secret lies in a blend of Tencel and pima cotton, which gives the garment a considerable heft that feels more luxurious than your average tank. The cut and fabric results in an excellent drape, meaning it looks great under a shirt but also mighty fine on its own. The Rib Tank Top fits true to size, but if you're really looking to show off your gains, you'd do well to consider sizing down.

Best Ultra-Soft Tank Top: Mack Weldon 18-Hour Rib Tank

If you want soft, Mack Weldon can give you soft. Cut from the brand's signature “18 hour” fabric, a blend of cotton, modal, and bit of spandex, the 18-Hour Rib Tank is easily the softest and perhaps most comfortable tank we tested. The rib tank is cut a little longer to make sure it stays tucked in; a little slimmer to make sure it stays snug to the body when worn under a fitted shirt, and has a bit of stretch in them to make sure you can move around however you’re wearing it.

Mack Weldon’s fiber wizardry consistently puts them top of mind when it comes to any basic garment that demands, well, a lot more than basic. “Any softer and these would practically melt off your body,” Ortiz says. He also enjoys the fact that they’re long enough to tuck in and that the necks are low enough to be invisible under a button-up. That said, if you’re not the tucking type of guy, this might be an issue.

Best Tank Top for Solo Wear: Wythe New York Tubular Ribknit Tank Top

Wythe's Tubular Ribknit Tank Top is so much shirt for $38. We’re well aware that a tank top, by definition, has no sleeves—normally amounting to “not a lot of shirt”—but this one makes up for that paucity with rock-solid tube-knit construction and a soft cotton jersey that has enough heft to play a solo show when you feel like forgoing the extra layer. Oh, and about that construction: The tank is knit in a circle, creating a seamless tube that sits flat on the body with zero chafing potential and added durability. And to be clear, it's an absolutely incredible undershirt—it just happens to be the rare undershirt that can make the jump to shirt-shirt with zero fuss.

“It’s not remotely surprising that I loved Wythe’s tank—they consistently put out versions of things I already have that I want more than what I already have—but I was a little surprised by how much of a difference that tubular knit made,” says GQ contributor Reed Nelson. “I’m not saying that it ruined the ones with side seams, but I do have a clear preference.”

Best Tank Top for the Gym: Reigning Champ Lightweight Cordura Tank Top

When it comes to performance fabrics, few boast a more sterling reputation than Cordura. And when it comes to bomber workout gear that both feels and performs as good as it looks, few do it better than Reigning Champ. It’s a fortunate development for everyone that Reigning Champ is making a beautifully-articulated tank out of futuristic, fast-drying, nails-tough lightweight Cordura fabric, which is soft, light, and absurdly strong. We’re not saying this is the last workout tank you’ll ever need—we like buying things, we assume you do, too—but we are saying that it might be able to handle the workload.

“When I first saw ‘Cordura’ in the name, I had some questions," Nelson says. “I normally see that word in backpack descriptions.” Those were quickly answered after feeling the particular strain of Cordura used. "It doesn’t really feel like cotton, but it’s super soft so I’m not concerned," Nelson notes. "I’m also pretty sure that it’s going to last for an actual eternity.”

Best Tank Top for Runners: Tracksmith Van Cortlandt Singlet

For those unfamiliar with their work, the team at Tracksmith cooks up some of the hardest-working, most classic-looking running apparel anywhere, and the Van Cortlandt Singlet is no exception. Made from their 2:09 Mesh, a poly-spandex blend with a helpful anti-microbial finish, the Van Cordtlandt is a high-performance 21st century running tank that looks more like the iconic ones worn decades ago. In other words, if the stuff that Bill Bowerman’s team wore was breathable, had some give and wicked moisture, it would look like this.

GQ associate commerce editor Tyler Chin gives Tracksmith's singlet major props for its ability to stay cool, even during the hottest, most humid days of the summer. Plus, as someone who actually cares about what his running fit looks like, he thinks it makes him look like an '80s-era collegiate Olympian—gold medal not guaranteed.

Best Slimming Tank Top: Skims Rib Tank

Skims burst onto the scene like a supernova with the help of its eye-catching marketing materials, but its unmitigated success is due, in no small, to the product itself. And that includes the men’s stuff. We’re particularly partial to the Rib Tank, which is crazy comfortable, super light, and manages to hold its shape all day long, even if your shape is in a little bit of flux—which means that it’s not so much form-fitting as it is form-boosting. It manages to do the last part without feeling constrictive or limiting in any way, or sticking out underneath a thin shirt, making it an easy year-round go-to.

Tank tops are straightforward when it comes to design consideration, and we’re not pretending otherwise, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a ton of variance between them. In fact, when there’s only a couple of panels and zero sleeves, every choice—from fabric to fit to seam construction to knit-pattern to intended use—becomes exponentially more important. Here’s what you should be looking out for:

Intended use. Might be obvious, but if you're looking for a tank top to do a specific thing, you should buy one that excels at that thing. An undershirt that won’t be visible under a button-down, for instance, should have a lower scoop neckline. If you’re looking for one to wear in a more outward-facing capacity—on its own or under an open shirt—then you’d want a tank that offers more heft or a touch of drape.

Quality of construction and materials. There are only two panels on a standard tank—one, if it’s tube-knit—which means that what it’s made out of becomes important. Details like fiber quality, fabric content, construction details, and knit-pattern are all things to consider. For example, is the fabric a blend or is it all cotton? If it is a blend, is that blend serving a purpose, like providing elasticity, or is it a cost-cutting measure? The rubric might not look exactly the same for every tank—some require different strengths—but the standards are.

Fit. We care (deeply) about the way any shirt fits, so tank tops are no exception. Because they tend to be both more revealing and form-fitting, fit is as important as any other factor. For tanks that promise to lay flat and stay snug, pay close attention to just how flat and how snug. For those that promise versatility, we made sure they actually delivered on multiple fronts. And while we don’t have a hard and fast silhouette requirement—we don’t think you should either—we did want to make sure everything was as advertised.

To kick off the process, we enlisted a who's who of GQ staffers to wear-test our contenders. Some of them have worked in retail; others have toiled for small-batch labels; some have seen hundreds of tanks come across their desks in their time writing; all have a deep appreciation for both the utility of tank tops and the preservation of shirting. We leaned on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrowed down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price. Finally, the heavy-duty wearing began.

As tends to be the case, our testers owned some of the tanks on this list already and a few were completely new to us. After some intensive wear, however, we recorded our deeply scientific observations and rejiggered our selections accordingly. Based on those evaluations, we ran the numbers, collated the anecdotal evidence, and emerged with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best tank tops for men right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the super affordable to the moderately expensive—tanks, perhaps more than other items, do have a price ceiling. But whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there's bound to be one for you.

• Gerald Ortiz, GQ Style Commerce Writer
• Michael Nolledo, GQ Associate Commerce Director
• Reed Nelson, GQ Contributor
• Avidan Grossman, GQ Senior Commerce Editor

PRODUCTION CREDITS:

Photographs by Bowen Fernie
Grooming by Melissa DeZarate for A-Frame Agency
Special thanks to Trinity Boxing Club, New York