Gildan 18500 Hoodie Review: Size Chart, 271 GSM, Colors

Key Takeaways

• The 18500 is 8 oz per square yard, about 271 GSM, despite its Heavy Blend name.
• It fits true to size in the chest but runs short, so size up for length.
• Most colors run to 5XL, but nine stop at 3XL, including the four 60/40 heathers.
• No minimum, and bulk pricing lowers the price per hoodie.

Table of Contents

• What Is the Gildan 18500 Hoodie?
• What Does GSM Mean on a Hoodie? Where the 18500 Sits
• Is the Gildan 18500 Good? What Wearers and Printers Say
• Gildan 18500 Size Chart: Does It Run Small?
• Does the Gildan 18500 Shrink or Pill?
• Gildan 18500 Color Chart: Every Color by Shade
• How Big Can a Logo Be on a Gildan 18500?
• Gildan 18500 vs Softstyle and Other Hoodies
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Order Gildan Heavy Blend Hoodies with Your Logo

The Gildan 18500 hoodie is sold as Gildan's Heavy Blend Hoodie, yet the fabric is not heavy. It weighs 8 oz per square yard, about 271 grams per square meter (GSM). Many print shops treat it as their standard hoodie for team, school, work, and event orders. Owners like the low price, and the most common complaint is that it runs short in the body.

What Is the Gildan 18500 Hoodie?

The Gildan 18500 is the adult pullover hoodie in Gildan's Heavy Blend line: 8 oz, 50/50 cotton and polyester fleece, sized XS to 5XL. Every row below comes from the maker's spec sheet, except the color count, which comes from our live product page.

Gildan says the finer face yarn "provides a smoother printing surface and helps reduce pilling." Retail and wholesale listings often call the same hoodie the G185 or the G18500. The youth version, the 18500B, has its own size chart, covered below.

You can shop custom hoodies to compare the 18500 with our other pullover hoodies.

What Does GSM Mean on a Hoodie? Where the 18500 Sits

GSM stands for grams per square meter, the weight of one square meter of the fabric before it is cut and sewn. U.S. spec sheets give the same measure in ounces per square yard. One ounce per square yard is about 33.9 grams per square meter, using the factor in NIST's SI conversion tables. The 18500's 8 oz fabric therefore works out to about 271 GSM.

Gildan's sheet also lists 13.5 oz per linear yard, the Canadian figure. A linear yard is a yard-long cut across the full width of the fabric roll, so the number reads higher for the same cloth.

The hoodies we carry run from 7.8 to 13 oz, about 264 to 441 GSM. Gildan's own names show how loose weight labels are. Its 8.4 oz SF500 is sold as Softstyle Midweight Fleece, heavier than the 8 oz Heavy Blend. Compare the ounces or GSM on the spec sheet.

*Port & Company and Carhartt give these weights in ounces without naming the area, so the GSM assumes the usual per-square-yard measure.

The 18500 sits near the light end of the hoodies we carry. Buyers who expect a heavyweight notice the difference. A brand owner on r/SCREENPRINTING found a batch of 18500s "anything but heavy." Hypebeastinahalfshell, a YouTube reviewer, said that "despite being called a heavy hoodie" it felt "very light and very soft."

GSM measures only the fabric. Warmth also depends on the fit, the hood, and what the hoodie is worn over. For crews working outside in the cold, look at the 10.5 oz and 13 oz Carhartt hoodies.

Is the Gildan 18500 Good? What Wearers and Printers Say

The Gildan 18500 is a good hoodie for groups that need many sizes and colors at a low price: crews, teams, schools, and events. It is a weaker pick for merch people pay for, where a softer feel and a longer body matter more. A print shop that supplies schools and companies calls it "a staple in the industry" in a YouTube review. It names "uniforms, school events, corporate events" as the main uses.

The feel splits opinion. Artis Stayillin, a YouTube reviewer who washed and wore it, found it "somewhat soft to the touch not that soft" but "comfortable on the body." POD Friend, a small clothing brand owner, compared it with Gildan's softer SF500 and said he could "hardly notice a difference." His verdict still favored the SF500, unless sellers "need to keep it budget."

Fit comments point two ways. A heat transfer supplier wearing an XL on YouTube found it "more than roomy and comfy enough," with extra fabric in the arms and sides. One r/streetwear commenter found the "arms a bit big" and the hoodies a "bit short." A printer in a 2026 r/SCREENPRINTING thread named the waistband instead: Gildan hoodies are "sort of tight around the waist and ride up."

POD Friend found the 18500 "quite small" next to the SF500, which fit him in his usual medium. When he raised his arms, its hem rose "above the belly button." He also checked the hood by sliding fingers under his chin: about one fit on the 18500, against about four on the SF500.

Gildan 18500 Size Chart: Does It Run Small?

Reviewers split on whether the Gildan 18500 runs small, and the spec sheet shows why. Its chest matches the SF500's at every size, but its body is 1 inch shorter. Order your usual size for a classic fit in the chest. If length matters more, go one size up, which adds 1 inch of length and 2 inches across the laid-flat chest.

Chest is measured across the hoodie laid flat, and the sleeve runs from the center back of the collar to the cuff. The maker allows 1 inch either way on every measurement. Against a Gildan 5000 tee in the same size, the 18500 is 2 inches wider laid flat and 1 inch shorter. Hypebeastinahalfshell, at 5 feet 10 inches and 160 pounds, sized up to a large for an oversized fit and still found it "very short."

Some "runs small" stories are a different problem. In a 2016 r/streetwear thread claiming Gildan hoodies run small, replies asked whether the poster had received a youth size. One commenter said two ordered mediums arrived as youth mediums. On our site, the Gildan 18500B youth hoodie is a separate product, so adult and youth sizes never share a size grid.

A youth XL matches an adult small across the chest and is 1 1/2 inches shorter. On the adult 18500's product page, XS to XL share one price, 2XL costs more per hoodie, and 3XL to 5XL cost more again. The size grid shows the extra before you order.

To check the fit before a full order, ask us for an undecorated sample for a small fee plus shipping. You can also order one decorated hoodie, since there is no minimum. A one-piece order is refunded only if it is defective or does not match your proof.

Does the Gildan 18500 Shrink or Pill?

Owners who washed the Gildan 18500 report a little shrinkage, and none of them gave a number. Gildan's spec sheet gives no shrink figure and does not call the 18500 pre-shrunk. The Jerzees 996MR's sheet does say pre-shrunk, at the same 8 oz weight.

POD Friend washed his 18500 and saw "a very slight amount of shrinkage," adding, "I haven't actually measured them." Artis Stayillin reported "little to no shrinkage" and said the hoodie "maintained both its size and structure." Cotton Incorporated's guide to shrinkage and skewing lists garment care among the factors. Our advice is to wash the hoodie cold and dry it on low heat, or hang it to dry.

On pilling, the maker's own words are that the finer face yarn "helps reduce pilling." Cotton Incorporated's page on garment durability describes pills as "small balls of entangled fibers" and says they show up most often in the wash. It traces pilling to how a fabric is made and milled, not to how the wearer treats it. Artis Stayillin saw "no pilling whatsoever" after washing, though he did not say how many times.

Gildan 18500 Color Chart: Every Color by Shade

We carry the Gildan 18500 in 46 colors (October 2026), grouped below by shade.

Four colors use a different fabric. Heather Dark Green, Heather Dark Maroon, Heather Dark Navy, and Heather Deep Royal are 60% polyester and 40% cotton, and every other color is 50/50. Some retail listings reverse that split, but the maker's sheet puts polyester first.

Size runs differ by color. Ten colors start at XS: Ash, Black, Dark Heather, Light Pink, Navy, Red, Royal, Sand, Sport Grey, and White. Most colors run to 5XL. Fan Charcoal Heather, Fan Dark Green, Fan Deep Royal, and Neon Blue stop at 4XL. The four 60/40 heathers stop at 3XL, along with Azalea, Mint Green, Old Gold, Orchid, and Violet. When we checked in October 2026, 4XL and 5XL were out of stock in Cherry Red, Garnet, and Safety Pink.

Gildan states that its Safety Green is compliant with the ANSI/ISEA 107 high-visibility standards. The sheet makes that claim for Safety Green only, not for S. Orange or Safety Pink. That covers the color only; the hoodie itself is not a rated safety garment.

How Big Can a Logo Be on a Gildan 18500?

Every customization method we offer works on the Gildan 18500: embroidery, printing, and patches. A left- or right-chest logo can run up to 4 x 4 inches with any of them. A full-color print can cover up to 14 x 10.5 inches of the front, above the pouch pocket. On the back, a print can run up to 14 x 16 inches. These are production limits, and your emailed design proof confirms the exact size before we make anything.

Chest designs start 2 inches below the collar seam. The full back and upper back start lower, 5.5 inches below that seam, below the hood. A few spots cannot share one hoodie:

• A full-front print rules out every chest spot.
• A center chest design rules out the left and right chest.
• The full back rules out the upper back.
• A full sleeve rules out the sleeve and the cuff on that arm.

The pocket, the hood, and the back hem combine with anything.

Embroidery suits a chest logo of up to about seven or eight thread colors. Printing handles full-color art, gradients, and the big front and back designs. A patch gives a badge look and is hand-stitched on.

Gildan 18500 vs Softstyle and Other Hoodies

Pick the 18500 for a low price, 46 colors, and sizes up to 5XL in most of them. Pick the SF500 Softstyle for a cotton face and an inch more length, or the Hanes F170 for heavier, mostly cotton fleece. Every style below can carry your design on the same order.

The 18500, the 996MR, and the PC78H sit at the low end of our hoodie prices. The SF500 costs more, and the Hanes F170 costs more again. If you are weighing the 18500 against its crewneck twin, our hoodie vs sweatshirt guide compares which of the two takes a logo better. For crews who need tougher fleece, our Carhartt Rain Defender vs midweight hoodie guide compares Carhartt's 10.5 oz and 13 oz hoodies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Gildan 18500 the same as the G185?

Yes. G185 and G18500 are codes that many retail and wholesale listings use for Gildan's Heavy Blend hooded sweatshirt. The 18500 code is the one on Gildan's spec sheet and on our product page. If a listing names an adult Gildan Heavy Blend pullover hoodie in 8 oz, 50/50 fleece, it is the same hoodie.

What is the difference between the Gildan 18500 and the 18500B?

The 18500B is the youth version, sized youth XS to XL, which covers kids' sizes 4 through 18-20. It uses the same 8 oz, 50/50 fleece and a double-lined hood. Its spec sheet lists no drawcord, and it carries a CPSIA tracking label. We carry it in 22 colors (October 2026).

Can you put a logo on the hood of a Gildan 18500?

Yes. The 18500 has a top-of-the-hood spot that takes a design up to 4 x 2 inches in embroidery, printing, or a patch. It sits half an inch below the top of the hood. It combines with every other spot, so a hood design can join a chest logo and a back print.

Does the Gildan 18500 have a zipper?

No. The 18500 is a pullover. The zip-up version is the Gildan 18600 Heavy Blend Full Zip Hoodie. It uses the same 8 oz, 50/50 fleece, with a metal zipper and an unlined hood. On the 18600, a front logo goes on the left or right chest; it has no center chest or full-front placement.

Order Gildan Heavy Blend Hoodies with Your Logo

The Gildan 18500 suits group orders where color choice, a full size run, and price matter more than a heavy fabric or a long body. Choose a color that comes in every size your group needs, and size up anyone who wants more length.

There is no minimum, and bulk pricing lowers the price per hoodie as one design's quantity grows. Hoodies with the same design at the same logo size, in the same method and placement, count together across colors, styles, and sizes. A Navy 18500, a Sport Grey 18500, and a Navy 18600 full zip with the same left-chest logo can all count toward one quantity. Bulk pricing covers hoodies with your design; we do not sell plain hoodies in bulk.

To order, shop the Gildan 18500 and press "Start designing." Pick a side, a customization method, and a placement, then upload a PNG or JPEG of your logo. You see the design on the hoodie before you order. Enter quantities and the page prices the order as you type, with no setup or artwork fee.

We email a design proof within 1 to 2 business days of your order, with unlimited revisions. Standard production is 2 to 3 weeks for printing and embroidery and 4 to 6 weeks for patches, counted from proof approval. For a tighter date, ask us about rush before you order. We offer free U.S. shipping.

Browse custom hoodies →

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