CPO Shirts are $475 (up to size 2X).
We have a small number of CPOs in MidWeight Drab and MidWeight Lynx. In stock now:
- MidWeight Drab: XXXSmall and XXSmall
- MidWeight Lynx: XXXSmall through Medium
We will make more MidWeight Drab CPOs in about June of 2023. MidWeight Lynx CPOs farther down the road.
CPOs in size 3X, $495; 4X, $515. We will also make CPOs with extra-long sleeves for $50 extra. If you want extra-long sleeves, please let me know because it will be a small, custom run.
If you are interested in a CPO not in stock, please place a no-obligation backorder at a price of 0, or give us a call to set up your SHIP ASAP backorder.
CPOs are made in only in MidWeight Fabrics, in Solid Drab Color and in Lynx Pattern. The ShirtJacs, which are similar, are FullWeight (Black, Brown, Drab, Lynx Pattern).
The classic CPO (Chief Petty Officer) Shirt originated almost 100 years ago, and has been widely appreciated ever since. It’s a jacket or a shirt, depending upon what you need and what else you wear. In our Fabric, the CPO Shirt is extremely versatile, enhancing the basic, timeless design.
The CPO is constructed with our own Merino Jacquard Fabric, and has been offered in both FullWeight and MidWeight Fabrics, but we now view the CPO as primarily a MidWeight garment. The latest production run is MidWeight only (Solid Drab Color and Lynx Pattern). We have our FullWeight Fabrics coming in 3rd quarter 2022, but instead of FullWeight CPOs, we plan to make FullWeight ShirtJacs.
The CPO is typically a 2nd layer but often a 3rd layer and is sometimes worn as a midlayer, particularly now, with the emphasis on MidWeight CPOs. Some people will tuck the CPO into their Pants. Our Fabric is comfortable enough that the CPO can be worn over a short-sleeve base layer or even no base layer (as in the video at bottom).
CPO features:
- Front chest pockets with button-down flaps are deep enough for a large phone
- Collar is smaller than the ShirtJac, yet substantial enough that if you fold it up you will notice the extra warmth around your neck
- Above the cuff is a 4-inch opening, secured by a button, offering good closure but also enabling the cuff to be comfortably folded up the forearm
- The cuffs are secured by either of two buttons that enable versatile adjustment
- Extra-long sleeves, reducing the need for gloves
- The rounded shirt tails are long enough to be tucked in or worn out
- Like all our garments, the CPO is craftsmen-sewn and ultra-durable, with our usual indestructible melamine Slot Buttons and Mil-Spec Anefil water-resistant thread used by the US Army
- MidWeight CPO Shirt in size Large weighs about 2 lbs (about 0.9 kg)
- FullWeight CPO Shirt (but no plans to make them) in size Large will weigh nearly 3 lbs (1.36 kg)
Predicting what garments will work for which people is always tricky because there are so many variables. For me, the MidWeight CPO is warm enough for active wear throughout the winter in New Jersey, in temperatures below freezing, with one or two light base layers. MidWeight Fabric has a lot of warmth, but it's not designed for sitting in freezing temps.
In January 2016, I spent a few days in Fairbanks, Alaska, making several presentations to United States Military. With a light wool base layer, the FullWeight CPO Shirt was comfortable at indoor temperatures of 70F/21C, and was good enough outdoors in temps of -10F/-23C!
WeatherWool Advisor Leo Grizzaffi, the outdoor writer, likes to wear his CPO Shirt instead of a sport jacket.
The gent in the Drab CPO is Advisor Fazon Gray, a professional model. The studio shots are professional model Hampus Svard. The train-station-photo is Advisor Fisher Neal, whose highly-varied resume also includes professional model. Advisor Dave Canterbury (selfie with forest in the background), perhaps the most well-known figure in survival, bushcraft and self-reliance training, put all of his instructors at The Pathfinder School in WeatherWool Lynx Pattern. The last photo is Advisor Rob Stuart, who has been our Fabric Engineer since 2010, and me, on the right.
Here is a review published by Explore Magazine and written by Kevin Callan, the magazine's field editor and a well-known tester of outdoor products. The review was written when we referred to the CPO as a ShirtJac (sorry for confusion!).
And a neat comment sent to us by customer Bruce Carlson: "Received my XL Lynx [CPO Shirt] yesterday. Wore it to work today. 5-6 compliments … everyone wanted to 'touch' it!". People wanting to "touch it" is something we hear often about Lynx Pattern.
Please click for Production Status or a snapshot of our overall Inventory.
Please visit our Sizing page before ordering
Shirt Reviews (mostly received in the days when it was called ShirtJac, and before we had the REVIEW feature on the bottom of this page. Wish we had called it the CPO from the beginning!)
Details about WeatherWool Construction
Care and Cleaning
MidWeight CPO, walking in light rain, temp of 66F/19C, without a base layer ... a day when the MidWeight CPO was better than anything else I can think of ... with no base layer at all!
6 February 2023 --- Ralph & Debby
The REVIEW feature below, which enables anyone to publish a review, was added in March of 2022. We will hopefully get more Reviews now that we are again shipping the CPOs.
