Customer Reviews L.L.Bean River Driver Shirt Long Sleeve Henley Regular

I own four Two-Layer River Driver's Shirts which I have purchased over the last few years. I like them so much that I decided to buy more. What a disappointment. I ordered "Medium", which is the same size as my other River Driver's, and the new ones were huge! More like an extra large rather than a medium. I also notice that the material was much thinner than the originals that I owned. I ended up exchanging one shirt for a "Small" with fit like a medium. As for quality, if I had paid $20 or $30 for this shirt, it may have been acceptable, but for almost $60 it is definitely waaaaay overpriced. I've been an LLBean customer for more years than I can remember and it used to be well worth it to pay more for their fine quality merchandise. Apparently, those days are long gone. Although I kept one of the new shirts, I will think carefully before making any further purchases from LLBean.

I rarely compose a rating. A good part of why I am a lifelong Bean customer is that a rating is not necessary--LL Bean quality is consistently unsurpassed. Unfortunately I didn't feel this product rose to that standard. It's stiffness and scratchiness was undiminished by washing and several hours of wear. I am used to looking forward to coming home from work so that I can be enveloped in the warmth and soft coziness one of my many flavors of Bean quality shirts. I found this shirt to be a rare "miss".

Lining of shirt feels scratchy, or wool-like against your skin. I expected a more velvet or fleece-type feel.

I have had 3 of these shirts, I bought the first one then received 2 more as gifts, 2 Henley and 1 crew neck. They all have had the same flaws which tells me it's a manufacturing issue not a "bad egg" slipping through the QA checks. The most obvious being the way the neck of the shirts will develop "bacon neck". This isn't from over-stretching the neck, it's a defect in the manufacturing process where the two layers around the neck are only stitched together on the edge and the two fabrics around the neck separate. If this problem was due to over-stretching the neck it would happen with the crew neck and not the henley's but it has happened to ALL of them. THIS SHOULDN'T HAPPEN WITH $60 SHIRTS!!! Another issue that they have had in common is stitching that unravels around the cuffs and the bottom hem. No amount of careful string trimming with scissors or a small flame will stop it. The unraveling causes the two fabrics at the ends of the cuffs and hem to separate and have a wavy or ruffled appearance. When you add this on top of the Bacon Neck, it makes these shirts look pretty ratty very quickly. Again, all 3 of the shirts I've owned have done this.

Much too expensive

Unfortunately, I choose to return this shirt due to a poor fit. The material seemed nice, but it was way too big. The traditional fit was much too baggie for my liking.

Initially, I was impressed with the quality and fit of this shirt. But please note they will shrink if you put in the dryer. My bad. I don't mind paying for quality, but it is 2021. How about designing a River Driver shirt that a person can throw into the dryer with the rest of their clothes, an not have to worry about shrinkage.

Didn't like the outer layer material. It it tended to curl up and shrunk. I would prefer all cotton. A wool, polyester blend seems weird.

Very disappointed with this shirt. Expected it to be of heavier fabric. It's very lightweight. Would not recommend or buy again.

Did not like the washing instructions

Shirt was made of a very course fabric that was itchy. Did not feel well at all.

I loved the color and style, fitted nicely. However the material is very itchy and I will be returning this item for something else.

The shirt fits fine, but I'm not a fan of the material. It's not especially soft and feels almost scratchy. I also really don't care for the hem at the bottom of the shirt. They pretty much just applied some stitching to the bottom of the material. Even the cheapest of shirts have a folded over hem that not only looks better but lasts longer.

Nice shirt but they put wool around the inside of the collar...very itchy. Also has to dry laying flat.

After washing it shrunk terribly.

This might soften after a few dozen washes - presently it's the last shirt I grab if I want something comfortable. Size was slightly small, I ordered based on my experience with LLB's long sleeve T's, which have been predictable.

Like the cut and look of the shirt but found it very itchy even after washing and trying to wear a layer under it.

I have purchased many of these two-layer river driver shirts beginning in the mid-1970's and I have never had this problem before. After washing it one time with Woolite,inside out, on the hand wash cycle, it is pilling. Now it does not look nice. My older shirts that have been worn everyday all winter long sometimes even in fall and early spring and they look nice yet. It seems that the wool layer is thinner maybe not as good quality as before. I really like this new blue color.

I really liked the shirt at first. The initial wear was great and I thought I'd found something special....unfortunately, they get smaller with each washing. I bought two of these shirts and they're both shrinking to the point I feel like I'm wearing a wetsuit. Granted, if you're willing to stretch them and lay them out flat on a towel from the washer things may work out better. I have other shirts that don't require that much effort so they'll get worn while these won't.

I order XL because I like loose fitting shirts. They blow around in the wind and dry faster if they get wet, plus their more comfortable like their warm flannel shirts. It was advertised as full fit, not tapered. It was also to short. The quality control has seemed to go down on a lot of products and prices keep going up. I hate to return things, that's why I have a couple shirts worn once still in the closet. This one is going back though.

I have one of these shirts from about 10 years ago and it still fits right and is comfortable and warm. Then I bought a new one in 2018. What a disappointment. The material has been changed so that the comfort is gone. The new ones are coarse and scratchy, not at all comfortable. The new material is not nearly as warm as the old material. At these prices, this should be a much better, warmer shirt.

I have shopped LLBean since the '50s and although I have returned items in the past, I have never given any item 2 stars. Over the years I must have purchased 15 river driver shirts. Absolutely love them. but this last one is not the same as the others. It is stiffer, scratchier material and does not feel as good against the skin as the older ones. It was unwearable.

Terrible- these shirts use to be much thicker, warmer and better made. Will never buy any ever again.

As previous reviews noted, the product shrinks significantly! I am a perfect large size. The sleeves and length are now too short. I am curious if I would have bought the tall size if it would have shrunk to fit? Maybe another buyer can comment.

I'd stopped in our nearest L.L.Bean store and tried on a river-driver's shirt, and I'd found it remarkably soft and comfortable -- just what I'd hoped for. I just didn't know if any long-sleeve t-shirt was worth 50 bucks. So when a store clerk told me a sale was likely in the next day or two I happily decided to wait. Sure enough, the next day we got a new catalog offering the shirt at 20% off, so I ordered one. When it came, the fabric was scratchy and thin -- quite uncomfortable, and nothing at all like what I'd tried on in the store. I don't know if Bean changed suppliers or if I just got unlucky, but I'll be returning the shirt.