Vollebak Condition Black Ceramic T-Shirt : Review

Nimbly armored with ceramic particles to an advanced textile with active stitching, this is the most technical and tactical t-shirt ever made.

“Designed with Vollebak athletes and former elite military operatives Jason Fox and Aldo Kane as part of our mission to create the toughest sports clothing system on earth. We use science and tech to make sportswear but not as you know it.”

I hate to bring up fiction but this was the first thing that came to mind when I discovered this kit. In the Batman Begins movie, there’s a scene where Lucius Fox shows Bruce Wayne the Nomex Survival Suit, which is eventually modified to become the first Batsuit armor.

Lucius explains that the suit was originally intended for advanced military use. Bruce then asked why it was never put into production. He answers that [they] didn’t think a soldier’s life was worth the $300,000 it costs to make.

The Condition Black Ceramic T-Shirt ($) can’t stop bullets, blades or shrapnel but it can protect against abrasions while keeping the wearer dry and cool.

So my thought was that these would be outstanding standard issue shirts for the military, but not for $110.

This is not Italian made designer label apparel so the price tag may be shocking, for a t-shirt. But I like to think of it as “equipment” rather than just “clothing”.

The founding brothers of Vollebak are the real deal. They made the most functionally badass t-shirt imaginable.

What does a $8,500 tool watch and a pair of $350 tactical boots have in common with this t-shirt?

They all use ceramic as a form of armor; the textile dots on the boot for cut resistance, the rotating bezel of the watch for complete scratchproof-ness and the hexagon particles of the shirt for bodily abrasion protection.

They are also all ultra high-end, the best at what they’re made to do and they look damn good as a trifecta.

It’s nice to have a mere t-shirt on this level. Vollebak has spectacularly raised the bar on technical apparel, Triple Aught Design and Arc’teryx better watch out.

For the past few years I’ve only worn “technical” shirts. These are designed to wick body moisture away, dry fast and keep you cool. Never constructed with old fashioned cotton but with advanced synthetics or merino wool.

I’ve tried them all and continue to experiment but before I discovered Vollebak, my favorite was an Odlo T-Shirt.

The Condition Black Ceramic T-Shirt is significantly more durable but heavier and not as skin tight. Most of my testing was done in Bali where it’s tropical – so lots of sweating. Very surprisingly, it kept me MORE cool, dry and comfortable than the thinner Odlo.

An interesting and extremely pleasant feature (that’s not advertised) I realized was the shirt’s semi-active cooling capability. When a breeze hits the fabric and I’m hot, I can really feel it getting cooler. This is even more apparent if the shirt is moist or if AC air hits it.

It’s amazing. It has to be the ceramic particles reacting, because of its thermal conductivity properties.

You’d think such a rugged article of clothing would be coarse and dreary to wear, quite the contrary.

The product page states “While the outside is super-resilient, the underside has a soft, silky feel…”, I couldn’t have said it better myself – it feels great on the skin.

As for the ceramic dots, you can really feel the tactile sensation of them through your finger tips.

The fit is “baselayer”, so it’s firm but not tight. It will moderately accentuate your own physique.

It’s the most perfect t-shirt. I loved it the moment I tried it on. So much so that I ordered the long sleeve version for $160 just minutes after this unboxing.

Ceramic Protection // Highly Stretchable // Fast Wicking / Drying // High Breathability // Polyamide / Elastane // Active Stitching Tech // UV Protection // Schoeller Materials

Vollebak Condition Black Ceramic T-Shirt // $110+