Western Rise X-Cotton Henely Review
The newest item in the X-Cotton lineup promises the same comfort and skin feel with the X-Cotton tech.
X-Cotton Henley Introduction
Western Rise is continuing to forge ahead with their X-Cotton line after the success of their X-Cotton T and X-Cotton Button Down shirt (Review Here). These are all based on their in-house branded fabric (you guessed it): X-Cotton.
The newest entry in this lineup is the X-Cotton Henley - a traditionally styled henley shirt meant to give you multiple wears with a very high level of comfort. Let’s check it out.
This is my review of the Western Rise X-Cotton Henley shirt. I took this with me on a recent trip from NYC to Germany and wore it on multiple travel days to test out its multi-wear ability, and in some more stressful situations (train stations, trains, planes, airports, etc.).
As always for full transparency, Western Rise did reach out to me and ask if I wanted to review this shirt. That said, they had zero input into the review and did not see it before publishing, nor did they pay me to do this review. I do use affiliate links which help to support the site if you decide to use them to make a purchase, but you’re under no obligation to do so and there’s no additional cost to you. Thanks for stopping by!
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Western Rise X-Cotton Henley Overview
The X-Cotton henley is not meant to be worn in specialized situations really - just the opposite. It’s meant to be worn in all the normal situations you’d wear a non-tech fabric henley in. That’s the whole point. So, any situation that would be OK to wear a henley - this is your huckleberry.
The fabric itself is also built for comfort. It’s super stretchy and super soft, and Western Rise bills this as a midweight layer for your travels and day to day life. It’s lacking some of the features of the X-Cotton button down, but that’s OK. It’s a simpler item.
Here’s the material tech specs:
• 60% Cotton, 35% Polyester, 5% Elastane (A swap from Nylon in the button down)
• Polygiene Odor treatment (silver)
Comes in white, black, and concrete. I had the white for my testing.
It retails for $68 USD as of Mar 2023.
X-Cotton Henley Features
This is a Henley here - so let’s not expect the same amount of features for this shirt as, say, their Evolution line of pants and shorts are going to have. But, there are two major things to note here.
One is that fabric itself. With the 4-way stretch it’s meant to be super comfortable to move. Nothing restricting. But also with the blend of Cotton and Polyester in their manufacturing process, it’s also meant to be wicked soft. So - stretch and softness to help elevate your comfort while wearing. It’s less of a feature really but I’ll note that because of the polyester, it should wick moisture a little better than pure cotton.
Further, another big thing to mention and why it’s billed as a great and comfy travel shirt, would be the anti-odor ability here. Because it’s mostly cotton, there’s no innate ability to prevent odor. In fact that’s one of my (and many in the travel community’s) issues with cotton in general. So to help solve for that, Western Rise has treated this shirt with Polygiene Odor control tech. This is a silver technology that is naturally anti-odor. Silver is a common anti-odor treatment on tech or travel clothing these days, and Polygiene is one of the leaders in the space - so this isn’t some fly-by-night, “should I trust it” tech.
The Good
I would say this shirt delivers on its two biggest promises - comfort/feel and odor control ability.
Short and sweet here, but the comfort is definitely there. Like any henley, it should be comfy and loungey but also still allow you to look casual and normal in public. You can absolutely wear this out to casual dinners or pretty much anywhere during the day. Check.
The other thing to note is that I was pretty impressed with the odor control. Now, I don’t wear crazy smelling deodorant these days. I either use Crystal or Mitchum Unscented Antiperspirant for the days I feel I’m going to push things a little (like long flights or trains). This means I can usually eliminate the “odor” issue of fabric mixing with your sweat and the scent from products. That’s part of the issue with smelly shirts, FYI. And it makes it harder to hand wash. I also had lower expectations on this one because let’s be honest - it’s cotton based. I almost never travel with cotton.
I was pleasantly surprised that for the days I wore it (again, flight to AND from Germany with transfers, trains in-country, carrying packs, etc.) it managed to hold off any real odors (I did not wash it during this time - for testing purposes, obvi). I wouldn’t go wearing this in SEA or anything, because it’s more of a midweight layer - but it did a great job in this department. *The backoffice Lawyers would like me to mention that you keep in mind that every person’s body is different, and how effective or not-effective odor control will be of course depends on you, your deodorant, and your activities.* OK back into your cages, Lawyers.
The Bad
The only real complaint I had on this shirt was the overall fit profile. I’m short, slimmer than avg but not “climber-slim” (an AW original classification), but have broader shoulders. So sometimes I run into issues with t-shirts or henleys or polos that are a size S - but reallllllly are more patterned/cut for slightly taller but slimmer profiles. So think: fits fine in the shoulders and chest, but is too long.
This one was no exception. Henley’s typically can run a LITTLE longer for sure - because they are meant as a casual, loungey feel and to be built for comfort. This is true. But it can also be true that they can be TOO long if you’re not a specific type of build. I think you can see it on the fit model from their website a little, it’s pretty long. They could also be going for that look - the Bali/Casual traveler kind of thing, which is cool too. But for me personally, I just found it a bit overly long for a size S. Even after I washed and dried it to shrink it a little. YMMV on this, per usual with “fit” descriptions. You can check it out in my pics - I’m 5’6” for reference.
Lastly just something to note if you’re a sink/hand washer. Make sure to use the “towel roll” method on this one. Because it’s mostly cotton, it’s going to dry slower than pure tech fabrics. One of the reason a lot of travelers don’t use cotton - but only you will know if this affects you. Don’t let this point steer you away if you don’t actually do sink or hand washing on your trips. That would just be silly.
The Improvement Requests for the X-Cotton Henley
Just make it shorter on the hem and sleeves. That’s it!
Final Thoughts On My Western Rise X-Cotton Henley Review
Has Western Rise added another strong entry into their X-cotton line of clothing? Yes! This henley is comfortable, priced fairly for something that offers a bit more than a standard, off-the-wrack version, and also does a great job with the odor protection. That part surprised me because it’s mostly cotton. In practice and based on these talking points, I quite liked it. I mean, who doesn’t like a comfy henley? It’s a classic casual-look that is easy to pair with any number of pants - chinos, jeans, joggers, whatever.
If you’re shorter and don’t like longer-styled shirts, you might find this a bit too long. But for everyone else, I think this is worth checking out. Let’s be fair - not everyone wants to go the route of Merino (pricing, skin feel, allergic to wool, etc.) or pure synthetics (maybe too much of an outdoorsy style or even a slight shine). Some people just love the feel of cotton or even better, a wicked soft, suped up cotton. The X-Cotton Henley from Western Rise is a great contender for those people.
Generally speaking the brand has been pushing hard for the last few years to position itself as one of the leaders in technical clothing and travel-focused/friendly fabrics to give men some new options beyond the retired hiker or elephant pants hippie look. Per usual, that’s not a shot at those looks, just pointing them out as a differentiating factor for the style of WR. They want a more minimal, modern, and multi-environment look for their brand that offers you multiple options for travel and EDC, without looking like a tourist. A henley is a versatile piece of clothing and that’s what you want in a travel capsule. Definitely worth checking out if that sounds like something you’re looking for!
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Head on over to our Travel Clothing Reviews page for more reviews on Western Rise like the Evolution Shorts 2.0 review, or the Airloft Hooded Jacket review.
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