What Work Cloths Hold Up In The Trades Besides Carhartt?

[Greg S]

I'm scouting out other work wear manufacturers for hard uses cloths. Word on the street that the big C's quality of fabrics and attention to detail in manufacturing has taken a hit (bean counters working OT). Loggers are ripping out in 3-6 months on folks who generally get 3 years outta them.

I do industrial coatings, (sandblasting and coating) and my cloths are fowled by abraisive dust and mixed coating 20 minutes i to the work day. I've found the brown bibs and loggers to hold up well along with Key hickory striped shirts and Danner boots. I get 2-4 years use outta the loggers and 3-4 on the Danners. I've also got some Filson but I ain't going to wear that stuff in my work environment.

I really like the Danners but they are getting pretty spendy. I had to retire a pair this past winter and got another pair looking at the same fate this winter/spring. I've been looking at Keens' for replacements, as I sti k to lacers for cooning steel and scaffolding. I'd like to try a slip on but don't think they would offer the support needed.

I travel extensively during the season and re-stock my bags as needed from additional new reserves in the back of my closet. I just realized after this last trip that I'm either going to have to re-order from Carhart and roll the dice or go elsewhere. What say you?

 

[alaskamcghee]

Carhartt has a warranty. If they die after a few months please contact the company to see if they will do anything for you. You may get a replacement for free and the company can see where they are failing. If they don’t get his kind of feedback they can’t make it better.

Interested in seeing what people recommend.

Johnny

 

[thematthatter]

Have you tried Walls? I remember back about 10 yrs ago people would wear them because they were cheaper than Carhartt.

 

[LogisticEarth]

Riggs by Wrangler is pretty decent for work pants and shirts. I get several years out of them in environmental investigation and construction work. Not sure about bibs and such.

 

[ColtRevolver]

Pointer Brand and Dickies....Pointer gets my vote because they are American made.

 

[Black Adder]

Try here:

http://www.duluthtrading.com/

Their Firehose work pants seem very tough. They have a pretty large selection of clothes and you should be able to find something. Good, flexible size selection, too.

Don

 

[gegarrenton]

Dickies.

 

[bth88]

Dickies.

This. Pointer Brand are pricey for something that's basically going to get ruined. I was recently thrown a pair of the Dickies painters and they have held up pretty well considering they run like 20 bucks a pair. I think their carpenter duck jeans are the same thing different color. If you are doing blasting & coating etc. I'd opt for something cheap that lasts and is not going to leaving you getting pissed when it gets dirty aka cheap.

 

[Greg S]

Let me make a clarifying statement here, I'm not trying to publicly bash a brand here.

I am a Carhartt user and abuser for the past 15+ years. All my current work clothing is Carhartt. I travel extensively and have fast turn arounds. I generally keep new clothing on hand to restock worn out stuff on fast turn arounds. I would rather be out and about the town after 3-8 weeks of work than cloths shopping in my limited 12-18 hours in before my next flight out.

Warrenty, yes I'm familiar with it. I've used it once. That is the reason I've been with them so long is because their products holds up. Besides, most of the remote places up here are like working on Mars. You deal with it when you get back. Just rub alittle dirt on it and it'll be all right, 'Cupcake'.

A few mentioned Dickies. Thanks but no thanks. I haven't had a pair last longer than two weeks. Nice for the Office Oger or the first day on the job site doing the Site Specific Orientation or the UA. I just don't think I could pack enough pairs of work pants in my bag to last a 6 week job.

Thanks for mentioning Pointer Brand & Daluth (sp) Trading, I forgot about them.

It's not a job, just another adventure.

 

[jlanger]

+1 on the riggs work wear, especially the ripstop khaki pants. I've had a couple pairs of them for years that have finally given up the ghost. They've been my work and hunting pants for a very long time. Loved the ripstop as I have a tendency to catch barb wire while crossing over/under it and even when I'd snag and get a hole, the hole never got bigger.

 

[alaskamcghee]

Not to de-rail anything here but where do you buy your Carhartt? Been to Alaska, not a lot of choices.
Johnny

 

[gegarrenton]

Let me make a clarifying statement here, I'm not trying to publicly bash a brand here.

I am a Carhartt user and abuser for the past 15+ years. All my current work clothing is Carhartt. I travel extensively and have fast turn arounds. I generally keep new clothing on hand to restock worn out stuff on fast turn arounds. I would rather be out and about the town after 3-8 weeks of work than cloths shopping in my limited 12-18 hours in before my next flight out.

Warrenty, yes I'm familiar with it. I've used it once. That is the reason I've been with them so long is because their products holds up. Besides, most of the remote places up here are like working on Mars. You deal with it when you get back. Just rub alittle dirt on it and it'll be all right, 'Cupcake'.

A few mentioned Dickies. Thanks but no thanks. I haven't had a pair last longer than two weeks. Nice for the Office Oger or the first day on the job site doing the Site Specific Orientation or the UA. I just don't think I could pack enough pairs of work pants in my bag to last a 6 week job.

Thanks for mentioning Pointer Brand & Daluth (sp) Trading, I forgot about them.

It's not a job, just another adventure.

I understand if you have a certain affinity for a given brand or don't like others, so I'm not trying to tell you what to do by any stretch. I would say don't write off Dickies though without giving them a shot. I have 15 year old pairs still that far outlasted my Carhartts. The only I personally think Carhartt makes worth a damn are overalls, but that's just me (and the overalls are top, I have my old ArticExtremes to this day).

 

[Deltaboy]

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/search/mens-clothing

C.E. Schmidt

 

[ColtRevolver]

Yep, Pointer Brand is expensive according to the retail website price. I live a couple of hours from the factory and find them at local vendors for less than the web's listed price.

 

[Greg S]

There are several locations in the state. Predominantly it's the larger cities. Anchorage has Sears, Fred Meyers, Sportsmans Warehouse although they don't carry a full product line. The Army/Navy Store is the only place in town that carries the FRC line.

There is a clothing retailer in Fairbanks that carries the full line along with Sears and Freddies. In Prudhoe, the Brooks Range Supply carries a limited selection but stocks FRC and artic clothing. In Barrow, the AC General Store has some along with various stores along the SE coast.

 

[phenox]

Blåkläder (blaklader) http://www.blaklader.com/us/products/products/pants/

 

[Beerman]

Another vote for the work pants from Duluth Trading. Mom found me a few pairs at the Goodwill ($1 each) in my size-I'm a bigger guy-when I started at the phone company.

Stood up to two years of HARD use on a daily basis.

Wouldn't hesitate to get a few more pairs at regular, catalog prices. As it happens, the company began providing us with pants in addition to the uniform shirts we get.


Beerman

 

[4ever3]

Have you given Round House a look?

http://www.round-house.com

I wear their overalls or carpenter pants 6 days a week, wash and wear great and made in the U.S.A. Which means as much to me as anything.

 

[professorchaos]

Filson?

 

[Greg S]

Ne er beard of Roundhouse. Filson, hell ya. Use it for off work time. Great stuff in the Pacific NW during the greyout. Thier wool liner is abit toasty even for up here until the thermometer gets down near the single digits. The problem with Filson is as you get older, you GROW out of it. I've passed on a a pair of double tin bibs, pants and huntin' coat for that reason. If your in Seattle, don't stop by the factory store. It's really bad for your bank account.