Looking for recommendations of brands of work pants that you are happy with. For the past 20 years I've worn Wear Guard, now Aramark but I've seen a steady decline in the quality of their workmanship. On top of that they don't stand behind their product. The last batch of pants I got from them the buttons popped off within a couple uses and on one pair a 12 inch section of leg seam fell apart first time I wore them. Aramark said there was no warranty once they've been worn but agreed if I sent them to be inspected they would take a look. Several weeks later they returned the same pair of pants to me with no explanation. I'm looking for a commercial grade work pant, about the only thing I'm seeing is Dickies. Any other suggestions?
I get mine through Unifirst. Not sure of the brand name. I have a contract with them and they clean them weekly and repair them as needed
I got few pairs of flannel lined ( not bulky insulted ) I prefer bibs when its that cold this year from duluth and carhartt both are very heavy built compared to standard just a thought
I use a few different types depending on the time of year. I get uniforms from work, I picked dickies carpenter pants for those. In the woods and around my shop I wear Key brand double front loggers. They’ve been awesome. They come with bachelor buttons which is fine as I don’t mind using suspenders. It wouldn’t be hard to remove them if you wanted to use a belt. This year I tried flannel/fleece lined pants for the first time. Ordered a bunch of sizes and types from Amazon. The two I like/kept are Walls and Carhart. Actually love the Walls. Warm, comfortable and so far have held up well to anything a driller/mechanic can throw at them. May even try to find the same style without the lining. The Carhart are their traditional brown material, stiff enough to be used as sand paper before a few good washes. Warm but not near as comfy as the Walls.
Dickies carpenter jeans; https://www.dickies.com/jeans/relax...-jeans/1993.html?dwvar_1993_color=RNB#start=1 I order 3 pair late each fall and they get turned into shorts come spring. When it gets real cold I add a pair of bib overhauls on top. Works for me.
I wear Carhartt double fronted rugged flex. Been great for me
I gave up on uniform pants a long time ago. I try to get Roundhouse first because they're made in America. I'll settle for Key if my size isn't available from Roundhouse. Roundhouse bibs are the bomb because they have a low back one that's much more comfortable in the hot weather
Carhartt Bibs....that's it for me. I stopped wearing pants altogether. They were always falling down so whenever I tried to take a step up onto something it the pants would stop my leg from lifting up. So I went to bibs overalls....tossed all my pants in the garbage. But then again I'm pretty fat. seriously though.....overalls are the best.
The Carhartt double front work dungaree is a decent pair of britches. Still made in the USA. I can normally get two years of use. Easy to source and the sizing is fairly consistent. STYLE #B01 https://www.carhartt.com/products/Double-Front-Work-Dungaree-B01
I like bibs, too. I can still slip coveralls over them in cool weather or dirty jobs. I buy the Carhartt HRC2 blue FR ones..... So I don’t catch on fire. Most every job site I go to requires FR.
Duluth trading Co. has some good ones. lots of different types to chose from. I have been using them for 6-8 years.
Just black boot cut Wranglers, five pair last a year with no holes. I wear shop overalls on top of.
I'll second TS. Wrangler Pro-Rodeo.
I go through pants pretty quick. I’ve tried most the major brands over the years and none really stood out for wear......but they were separated by price by a long ways. I decided that since they all lasted about the same length of time.....why not save money! Wranglers from Walmart have been the go-to..........$12 a pair last time I bought.
Still buying Carhart Carpenter Jeans, prefer the fit and at 14 oz fabric seem to last some better. Pricey but I feel worth it, second up Diamond Gusset Carpenter Jeans, Made in USA(Near Jack Daniels Whiskey still) also 14 oz denim.
Dickies 874 work pants. I like that they are cooler in the summer and they outlast jeans for me. Only problem is it rip them open at the bottom of the side pocket with my thunder thighs. I have 6 pairs that have lasted me 4 years and i do not wear anything else then them.
I used to wear denim jeans exclusively but when I started working in a shop environment I was wearing them out pretty quickly. I found that the polyester blend work pants stood up to the abrasive environment and also are less likely to stain and easier to clean. I'll take a look at the different brands mentioned, some of them I hadn't heard of.
No suggestions from me, just a tip since we're talking about pants or some other form of leg covering, that is, if you wear cotton, jeans, duck, whatever, avoid contact with lead acid batteries, such as carrying them, don't let cotton come in contact with them, the acid in lead acid batteries eat cotton like a fat man at a table of BBQ ribs. Polyester blend is much more resistant, but cotton, avoid contact with batteries.
Biggest concern with polyester for me was welding, using gas axe Tend to melt pretty quick catches fire nastily and burns on skin from that do not heal well.
That's called air conditioning in my neck of the woods! LOL
Walmart's Rustler jeans are about the only reason I will set foot in that store, and last time I mail ordered them. Seem to only have one pair at a time on the shelf. No way I'm going to fight that battle for just one pair. I do to much unscheduled repair welding and fire fighting to wear anything but cotton.
At work I wore FR jeans or cargo pants ( and shirts/tee’s/jackets) from a company called AGO out of Ontario. The are made from a fabric called “Ultrasoft”. Cut a little fuller for working, soften up quite a lot after a few washings. They wear really well, look old after a few years but no holes except for the odd slag burn or cut from crawling around on something. They are not cheap though, 2 yrs ago they were about 150$ cdn. I have a closet full and will not be buying any more work cloths for some time unless the weight changes. Cam
Seconding the carhartt double front rugged flex pants. pretty durable and flexible, comfortable to work in
The yellow shirts with silver reflective stripes are made out of recycled trash bags or something. They are not the thing to be wearing around the torch or welding.
Page 2 and we are still talking about pants. Lol.
The expensive FR coveralls are not the thing to wear welding either. The fabric is thinner and although they don't catch on fire they do get full of holes from welding and grinding rather quickly and easily. Heavier cotton coveralls like the kind you rent are the best unless doing overhead, then you want leather. You also don't want anything with a zipper when welding. Bib overalls like Carhartt's are OK but a little bulky and don't protect your arms. The straps over the shoulder always bothered me.
Wrangler Riggs, or Duluth.
I like the Wrangler Riggs FR blue jeans. They look nicer than most other FR options, like reguLar jeans. Decent enough to wear for meetings and such. Fairly decent pricing on Amazon. A hidden benefit of the FR is the IRS generally accepts FR purchases as a business expense vs regular jeans or work attire. That's what my CPA says. Your mileage may vary. Welder Dave has a good point. The Carhart FR britches and twill shirts really get messed up by welding sparks, more than you would expect.
Any shirt that's yellow or orange shouldn't be worn--hate those colors. prison garb.
LOL! I can wait to see my cellies in the morning!! )
OSHA hasn't went to that extreme yet!
hang in there a few more months[
Back when Ameren decided to FORCE us into Uniforms and FR Clothing they really screwed up. First Round nearly every one of us had ordered Orange Shirts, Orange Jackets, and Jeans. Second order Jeans came in but shirts got delayed, were later told pick another color so we all picked dark blue. Wore the Orange shirts until bare threads, joked about adding employee numbers across the backs, received all manner of Hate Mail from safety as to NO MODS.
We tried to order Orange Coveralls as were also available, the Company Whiz Kids picked up on that all too quick
For the welders having issues with sparks and burn holes. A welding instructor I had many years ago who worked in the ship yards clued us in on spray starch used in the days before wrinkle free clothing. Spray it generously on sleeves and the fronts of your shirts and coats and the sparks just bounce off without getting stuck and putting all the little pock marks in place. It worked back in the seventies and eighties. I haven't used it in years but haven't done the heavy amounts of welding I did either.
You have to watch the Carhartt to now. They are not all made in the USA. They also make them of varying degrees of thickness in both insulated and not. They still make the good ones and they do cost more than the imports. Buyer beware if you buy where you can't see and feel them.
After years of abusing pants farming, working, oilfield, etc, I have settled on the cheap $10 pair from wal-mart. They used to be called Faded Glory, but the name has changed. I've got several pair of the relaxed fit that have lasted 4 years or more through harsh conditions and frequent washings. I used to wear Dickies work pants or more expensive work jeans, but never got the longevity out of them I expected for the extra money. I don't feel as bad snagging a nail and ripping the cheap pair as I do the $30+ pair. I destroy a pair of Carhartt bibs every winter. They get worn daily from mid November until late March and are pretty well ready for the trash by the time it's warm enough to not need them. I have tried a couple other brands and they either didn't fit right, or didn't last an entire season. American made Carhartts are pricey, but certainly durable.
Has anyone used Cintas products? I was looking at their website and see some pants like what I'm looking for. I would probably buy outright rather than subscribe to the service. The polyester blend is pretty important to me and I didn't see any of the brands mentioned with that selection. I do appreciate all of the input, thanks! There are several brands I had never heard of before.
Not here
we use them, the pants are comfortable but the thighs wear fast. If I were paying for them I wouldn't be wearing them.
I tried Cintas but they dropped me because I’m a 1 man operation and it wasn’t worth their while and that’s when I got Unifirst. Pretty much the same clothes.
I don't know what brand of pants I wore today, but they came off and got left out in the rain after I got home. I'll take a garden hose to them in the daylight tomorrow. !@#$#%!#### Clay!
I am living that one too, right now. Can't throw it far enough away to stop it's migration back to the hole and when you do throw it... it won't come out of the bucket.
I gotta put it all back, get it compacted, and it is raining 3/4" Monday-Tuesday.
I get my personal uniforms from huebsh. They are red kap brand. Ones I buy have the stretchy waistband. Don't even need my belt really. They seem to wear well 9ver last couple years.
I’ve tried hard to break these work pants over the last 4 years and failed miserably. Not much help on the other side of the Pond but maybe they’re available on mail order. Their work boot socks are top banana as well..... https://www.tuffstuff.ie/product/extreme-work-trouser/
I wore them back when i worked at the quarry shop we worked on alot of Detroits .Now i just were the regular colored ones. When i was in preschool i wore the flannel lined pants i was 3 years old i can clearly remember hateing them. Its funny what you remember . I have worn insulated underwear several winters i dont like them much and i am not wearing them this winter ether but when i do i cant weight till it worms up and i can quit wearing them.
What no one has mentioned that they wear Levi Cotton Dockers with elastic waste band. If needed plug your ears at the end.
Bailey's logger jeans. "Wild ass" brand. USA (prison) made. Unwashed, unshrunk thanks to EPA so be careful or you will become a Smurf if you get wet first few wearing. Available with double front. Tractor supply had a knockoff of 511 cargo and I got my son a pair and he loves them.
Totally forgot about Prison Blues and Wild Ass. Made on the inside to be worn on the outside! Down there in the Oreygon Territory.
Key double front loggers with the buttons for spenders. I used to buy wear the carharts for years, but they bust out the crotch when climbing up onto equipment and the pockets wear out fast to. The foot openings are to big, so they tend to drag over the edge of my heel and would always be muddy and wear through the hemmed edge. The Keys are much softer, fit nicer, and last MUCH LONGER. They are half the price. Around here on sale they will range $25-30 a pair. The boot end fits nice over a pair of steel toes and are not so big that I end up walking on the back edges either. They stay up and out of the mud without having to be cut off. I tried and liked the Madsens house brand of pants, but the pocket openings were small and not very deep. The pockets were cut open at a steep and straight angle so saw chips stayed out of my pockets, but the pockets were just to small for my fat hands.
Cant go wrong with some Wrangler work jeans.
Red Cap makes a good work shirt, I dropped the uniform company years ago and purchase the shirts directly. I wear the Carhartt Black Double Knee, I think the Carhartts are inconsistent in their fit, and wish they came with suspender buttons. In the summer I switch to Dickies Blue, or Black double knee. I have tried the Duluth pants and all the pockets anoy me, and they are heavy and gravity tries to pull them off.