A rash guard order looks like a t-shirt order and is nothing like one. Four decisions separate guards that get worn all season from guards that chafe, fade and get binned.

Check the seams first

Flatlock construction, routed away from chest, shoulder and underarm contact.

A raised seam in a wear zone recreates the rash the garment exists to prevent.

Read the UPF claim properly

Ask how it was tested. Protection comes from weave density, and stretched fabric opens up.

A rating that holds stretched and wet is a specification; a swing tag is not.

Insist the print is in the fibre

Dye sublimation colours the fibre itself and survives salt, chlorine and mats.

Anything printed on the surface is temporary, whatever the sample looks like.

Match the fit to the use

Compression for grappling and racing, sized by chest measurement.

Relaxed for surf schools and resorts, cut to go on and off in a hurry.

Then think about quantity

Order against a size curve, not a guess, and print sizes where staff can read them.

A fleet that restocks by email is a programme; one that re-quotes is a chore.