The Epic Tee
Look Epic. Feel Epic. Wear Denali.
Made To Be Worn.
I hate buying t-shirts as souvenirs. Most “souvenir t-shirts” have problems. They’re generic, ugly, or a funny gag shirt that you’ll never actually end up wearing.
You know why? Because that’s cheap to design. Most tour and gift companies view their shirts as a nice little add-on. Something to squeeze a few more bucks out of you right before you leave.
I don’t like that. It doesn’t line up with our values at all. So when we decided to sell t-shirts, I knew we had to do it differently.
The whole process — start to finish — is outlined below.
Order Your New Favorite T-Shirt!
The Epic Tee
FREE shipping on every order. Sadly, we only deliver within the United States.
Part One: The Shirt Itself
Hunting for the perfect fabric…
Cotton. Polyester. Linen. Rayon. Nylon. More. These dominated our minds as we hunted for the best shirt material. We ordered t-shirts from several different companies, with different blends, compositions, materials, and fits. Then we tested all of them. We put them through the wash, wore them extensively, and gave them to friends for testing as well. Eventually, by popular demand, we decided on a 100% cotton tee from Next Level. The fit was great, the fabric was soft, and it was both warm and breathable.
Part Two: The Design
Art to make people stop…
Most gift-shop t-shirt art is the same. Either a badge proclaiming the place you bought it, the company’s logo, or both. It makes sense. They’re cheap to produce, and companies know they’ll sell because people want souvenirs. But that’s not us. We’re not going to settle for mediocrity just because we know it’ll sell. We went out and found a talented young artist named Brynn Gerl from the Art Institute of Chicago to design a shirt back that would make people stop and stare. We worked with her for months, tweaking design after design to make the final product perfect. It’s not just our logo. It’s not a “Denali badge”. It’s a Denali-specific art piece you can wear. And don’t worry, we still put our logo and “Denali National Park” on there so people know where you got it!
Part Three: The Printing
The perfect print shop…
The final step in our t-shirt journey was to take them to print! We searched far and wide for the perfect print shop. We didn’t want to go with an impersonal corporation. We wanted a small shop that would provide the attention to detail and care for the project that we thought it deserved. We decided on Burlaep Print and Press in Chattanooga, TN. A small outdoorsy print shop, they’ve made shirts for the American Alpine Club and many others. They did a wonderful job delivering a print job that didn’t compromise whatsoever on quality.
Order Your New Favorite T-Shirt!
The Epic Tee
FREE shipping on every order. Sadly, we only deliver within the United States.
