A lot of surf shop owners search for surf shirts assuming the result is going to be a rash guard, and a lot of rash guard shoppers land on cotton tee listings by mistake. The two products solve different problems and are built from different materials. This is the plain answer to what each one is, where the line sits, and what a surf shop can actually stock through a branded Bear Grips Pro Shops storefront.
A rash guard is technical swimwear. It is cut tight to the body, made from a stretch polyester or nylon blend, and built to reduce chafing from a wetsuit or a wax-covered board while a surfer is actually in the water. Many carry a UPF sun rating that is tested and certified by the manufacturer. None of that is something a print-on-demand apparel platform produces, and it should not be, since UPF claims require certified fabric, not a printed graphic on a blank.
A surf shirt through Bear Grips Pro Shops is cotton or performance polyester lifestyle apparel: a tee, a tank, a long sleeve, or a hoodie, printed with the shop, school, or club logo and worn on land. Left chest logo plus a back graphic is the standard layout. It is built for the parking lot, the drive home, the shop counter, and the coffee run after a session, not for paddling out.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.| Feature | Rash guard | Bear Grips surf shirt |
|---|---|---|
| Worn where | In the water | Before and after a session |
| Fabric | Stretch polyester or nylon blend | Cotton or performance polyester |
| Fit | Tight, compression | Standard tee, tank, or hoodie fit |
| UPF rating | Often certified | Not a certified rating |
| Printed with your logo | Depends on supplier | Yes, no minimum order |
Bear Grips Pro Shops runs a catalog of cotton and fleece lifestyle apparel: tees, tanks, hoodies, joggers, shorts, and hats. Rash guards, wetsuits, and any technical or safety-rated water gear are outside the catalog and always will be. A shop that wants both should keep its existing rash guard supplier for water gear and add a Bear Grips storefront for everything the same customer wears off the water.
Nothing stops a shop from using the same logo file on a rash guard order and a Bear Grips shirt order, even though the two come from different places. Upload the identical logo to the Bear Grips storefront, apply it to a tee, a long sleeve, and a hoodie, and the customer sees one consistent brand across the water gear and the land apparel, even though production runs on two separate tracks.
Cotton and performance lifestyle apparel with your logo. No minimum, free shipping, about a week to arrive.
Start FreeNo. A rash guard is technical swimwear worn in the water, cut tight and often UPF rated. A surf shirt from Bear Grips is cotton or performance lifestyle apparel worn on land, before and after a session.
No. UPF ratings require certified fabric testing, which is outside what a print-on-demand platform can claim. The performance polyester tees offer standard coverage but carry no UPF rating.
A cotton tee from $19.88 VIP base, a performance tee, a long sleeve shirt, or a hoodie from $36.88, all worn before and after the water, not in it.
Yes. Upload the identical logo file to the Bear Grips storefront so the land apparel matches the water gear ordered elsewhere.
Bear Grips Pro Shops