Zip or Pullover? Choosing Work Hoodies for Your Crew
Every crew hoodie order hits the same fork: pullover or full-zip? We've decorated over 12,000 hoodies across the four styles this decision usually comes down to, and the order data tells a story worth hearing before you pick.
What 12,000 hoodies taught us
In our shop's records, pullovers outsell zips about nine to one in units — the PC78H Core Fleece (6,300+ units) and PC90H Essential Fleece (5,200+) are the two biggest garments we print, period.
But look at orders instead of units and the picture changes: the PC78ZH full-zip shows up in 111 separate orders and the premium Carhartt CT100617 zip mock in 290 — zips get chosen deliberately, in smaller quantities, usually for specific people. That's the pattern: crews get pullovers by the box; leads, drivers, and managers pick zips on purpose.
Why pullovers win the volume
- Price: no zipper means a lower garment cost — at 40 units, that difference buys real money.
- Warmth: a solid front panel holds heat better than any zipper placket.
- Print canvas: the uninterrupted chest takes big center graphics and full safety-stripe layouts that a zipper would split down the middle.
- Nothing to break: a job-site hoodie leads a hard life. A pullover has no zipper to fail in year two.
Why zips earn their seats
- On-and-off over everything: hard hats, glasses, radios, hair — a zip never has to go over any of it. Foremen and drivers who are in and out of trucks all day default to zips.
- Temperature control: unzip at 10 a.m., zip at 4 p.m. People who run warm while working love them.
- Layering: a zip worn open over a printed crew tee shows both logos.
- The dressed-up read: zipped and worn with the left-chest embroidery, a full-zip reads closer to a jacket — which is why manager tiers usually get them.
The four-hoodie program that covers everyone
Most companies land on a split program, one logo across all of it:
| Who | Style |
|---|---|
| The crew (volume) | PC78H pullover or PC90H pullover |
| Leads & drivers | PC78ZH full-zip or PC90ZH full-zip |
| Managers / the gift tier | Carhartt CT100617 Rain Defender zip mock — the crew jacket people actually keep |
Because the Port & Company pullover and zip families share colors, the whole program matches on the wall and in the field.
Decoration notes
Pullovers: anything goes — left-chest embroidery, big screen-printed backs, stripes. Full-zips: keep front artwork left-chest (embroidered or printed); a design that crosses the zipper never sits right. Full backs print identically on both. For the deeper dive on print methods for heavy fleece, our sister site covers it well: Choosing the Right Print Method for Construction-Company Hoodies.
Price both, decide once
Send your roster split through the request-a-quote form — tell us how many crew vs. leads — and we'll quote the pullover/zip program side by side with one artwork charge across everything.
