Undershirt Review: Out on the Town in my GC2 Compression Tank Top Undershirts

As many of you already know, the men’s shapewear industry has exploded recently. It seems like everyday I read an article covering one the more recognizable men’s slimming undershirt brands, but you don’t too often hear about the others in the space. In fact, many of these lesser-known brands have been in the men’s shapewear business much longer than the big guys, but with limited marketing and promotional budgets, they don’t get the love. Well they will here on UndershirtGuy.com!

Back in November 2008, a reader wrote in to ask if I knew of any “compression” tank tops. He was looking for one to help flatten his chest because he has, like millions of other guys, nipples that pop-out more than he’d like them to. The condition ranges from minor puffy nipples like I have, to nipples that pop-out, to full on gynecomastia (man boobs). That article has since become one of the most viewed on my site, and has been transformed into the most comprehensive list of men’s shapewear on the internet.

At the time I initially wrote that article, there were only a couple of companies that offered compression tanks for men, and GC2 Compression was one of them. I think the issue at the time was that most of these compression tops, with the exception of under armour, were marketed as gynecomastia undershirts. Whether we like it or not, buying a “man boob” undershirt or tank top is a lot less appealing to a guy than buying a high-tech compression undershirts. And essentially, they offer many of the same characteristics when it comes to compressing or flattening our upper body.

I originally found the CG2 compression undershirts and tanks on eBay when doing research for the article, but at the time I had categorized it into “other” undershirts to consider, not knowing that the compression undershirts and tanks from this company are truly equal in quality and effectiveness as the higher-priced, “high tech”, men’s shapewear undershirts that currently invade articles around the globe. Now, while these undershirts are still marketed as gynecomastia compression undershirts, they really are an equivalent men’s shapewear/scupltwear product, and should be given equal consideration as the other bigger brand products like equmen, ript fusion, spanx for men, and sculptees, along with the many others now in this category.

I didn’t hear much more about GC2 until I reader wrote in looking for a tank top that had chest compression, and I recommended that he try GC2 along with a couple others. After some evaluation, the reader wrote back in to say “Gc2, Flattens out my chest the most for nights out on the town with more fitted clothes“. Shortly after that article was published, I got an email from the founder of GC2 and he agreed to send me a couple of their tanks for review. Here’s his story:

My wife is a fashion designer and we developed this product for my own personal use about seventeen years ago. Without all the web-sites and blogs I had no way of knowing how many people suffered from gynecomastia. I thought it was just my brother and I and really overweight kids. So I wore the shirts for many years myself before ever thinking about selling them.

GC2 sent me two tank tops:

1. Gyne (Chest Compression) Compression Tank – 70% polyester / 30% Spandex. Price: $19.99 each (discounts for large packs)
2. Men’s Bodyshaper (Waist Slimmer) Tank Top – 79% Cotton / 10% polyester / 11% Spandex: Price: $23

Outside of the obvious fabric differences between the two tanks, they are cut slightly different which allow each of them to focus on slimming/shaping different areas of the body. The chest compression tank is narrower in the chest measurement (underarm to underarm) area to allow for more chest flattening. The waist slimmer is a little wider in the chest area, but a couple of inches narrower in the waist area to allow for more shaping/slimming in the midsection area. I didn’t ask why they chose to use different fabrics for the two different tanks, but I assume they had good reason.

I got the chance to wear both tanks last weekend.  I started off by wearing the waist slimmer for about 5-6 hours while out running a day of errands with Mrs. Tug. Then, I decided to wear the synthetic-smooth chest compression tank as my base layer (under an undershirt) when the Mrs. and I went out to a few night clubs with some friends.

As with other slimming undershirts, I didn’t see much in the way of cutting inches off my waist with either tank top. They both offered excellent smoothing, shaping, and chest flattening and I’d say they compare favorably to their more-than-double priced counterparts. Neither were too difficult to get on or off, and although I really enjoyed wearing them both, I’d have to say that I think I prefer the chest compression tank over the waist slimmer mainly because the fabric feels a little silkier on my skin and the bottom didn’t roll up as much as the bottom did on the waist slimmer (cotton-based tank).

Now, one thing that is interesting about these two tanks is that the shoulder straps on both the tanks are cut wider then most other tanks.  As such, they don’t look as “fashionable” as a regular tank top (or some of the other slimming tanks). In saying that though, I did find one unexpected benefit. GC2 hemmed the shoulder seams to lay pretty flat, so you don’t get as much of a tank outline showing through your shirts as you do with tanks that have more prominent collars and shoulder trim.

Sizing is pretty standard. If you normally wear a medium undershirt, buy a medium sized GC2. If you’re on the cusp between sizes, I think you’d be pretty safe in sizing down if you want more slimming/compression/shaping. If you’re uncertain of what size to buy, I’d recommend emailing GC2 with your chest and waist size and I’m sure they’d be able to recommend the perfect size for you.

From a Fit, Feel, Function, and Affordability point of view, I’d have to say that the CG2 Compression is dollar for dollar, one of the best values in compression tank tops I have tried so far.

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