Malbon

Three Malbon polos, same size, three different fits, and that inconsistency is the whole review.

Malbon makes good looking golf apparel, and the collabs span enough styles and interests that most people will find something that matches their taste. The range is the point: you're not buying into one house look, you're picking the piece that fits your eye. The catch is that fit varies wildly from polo to polo, even in the same size. I own three, all size M, and all three wear differently. Breaking them out tells the real story better than any size chart will.

The Malbon x Adidas Ultimate365 Textured Stripe polo, in Oat and Golden Beige, is the one that actually works. It's light, super breathable, and the most true to size of the three. This is the polo I'd point a first-time buyer to: it wears the way you'd expect an M to wear, and the fabric earns its spot in peak summer heat. If you want one Malbon piece you can buy with confidence, start here.

The Performance Pique polo, in Forest and Black, is my most-worn of the three despite not fitting as cleanly as the Adidas. It runs boxy and a touch loose, but it fits, and I reach for it constantly. The material is heavier, so it lands better in early fall than at the peak of summer. Think of it as the workhorse: not the sharpest fit in the closet, but the one that keeps getting picked.

The Fishing Buckets Pique polo, in Black, is the miss. Same M, but it came out of the bag feeling undersized and only got worse from there. It's short and tight enough that I'd have needed a Large to wear it properly. If you like the design, size up, because the standard fit here runs meaningfully smaller than the other two.

The pattern worth noting: the heavier polo runs roomy, the thinner one runs small, so fabric seems to track with how far off the fit lands. That variance is why Malbon sits at Worth a Try rather than higher. There's no single "buy your size and go" answer. But once you find a specific style that fits you right, you can buy that one again with confidence, and the Adidas collab is the safest first pick.

The thing that makes Malbon genuinely worth it is the semi-annual golf sale, where pieces run up to 60 percent off. There's usually one right before the holidays, which makes it a strong window for golf gifts. They keep adding new items throughout the sale, so if you don't see what you want early, check back. But anything you're on the fence about will sell out, so when you find something you actually love, act on it.

One calibration note: I wear an M top and read fit as a walking golfer who wants room to swing without extra fabric flapping. If you run slimmer or prefer a looser drape, adjust my fit calls accordingly.