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What work pants do you guys wear?

MushCreek

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Jan 14, 2015
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Upstate South Carolina
Dickies carpenter jeans. I like the ruler pocket for my cell phone, part of the reason I haven't given up my old flip-phone (That, and I'm a cheap, old technophobe). In cooler weather, I wear Roundhouse (made in USA) bib overalls. I find them too hot in the summer. I'm a tool maker by trade, and my jeans last for many years. I wear a shop coat and don't crawl around on hands and knees.
 
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rossddvm

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Feb 16, 2017
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120
Location
NW Iowa
Another mention for Roundhouse, I bought 2 pair jeans and 2 pair carpenter pants a year ago and very impressed with quality. Made in the USA. Always have some stuff on sale. Easily better made than Carhart of Duluth Trading
https://www.round-house.com/
 

PhantomEB

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Feb 6, 2006
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6,762
Location
Medicine Hat, AB, Canuckistan
dickies carpenter pants
Reasonable price. Side pocket and hammer loop. Loose enough to squat down without binding. Fairly hard to burn through if you grind or weld. Wear 'em every day.

Same here, been in the Millwright trade 6 years. All but my first pair been Dickies Carpenter pants. Baggy enough that I can throw on long johns and still noticeable.

A pair usually lasts me 1.5 years.
 

Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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Southern Maine
The 5.11 are decent, but make sure to buy the all cotton version if you work around sparks. The poly blend ones melt and end up looking like swiss cheese in a matter of seconds.
 

dlwilson

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Jan 3, 2009
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200
Location
West Palm Beach, FL
I watch Mighty Car Mods on YouTube. It's an Australian import car show, and one of the hosts (Moog) wears some interesting looking work pants. This thread reminded me that I wanted a pair, so google turned up a US reseller at http://shop.fxdworkwear.com/

I just ordered a pair in navy blue, hope they work out.
 

jeepnatv4life

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Joined
Nov 26, 2013
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196
Location
Harrisonburg Area VA
Dickies carpenter jeans Im a year into wearing the same 5 washed every week and there getting pretty worn...... Belt loops busting loose at the bottom One pair the waste band has tore loose from the leg where it sewn together Reallly hoped I could get better wear from them..
 

bonneyman

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Apr 22, 2010
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8,798
Location
Desert SW
I'm a big fan of Duluth products, and eagerly jumped on the Fire Hose pants when they came out. Durable? Oh yeah! But they were so thick and heavy - and HOT! About sweat to death in them. Plus they don't hold their color well and start looking ratty and cheap fairly quick.

Have gone to Sears for jeans (I think their brand is called Canyon River Blues?) and Lee. The fabrics has gotten thinner of late, but the prices aren't bad, and they both have fitment options. I look for the looser and slightly baggy style usually titled "Relaxed fit". They have more room in the buttocks and thighs so you can bend over and not feel like you're wearing a boa constrictor.
 

twertsy

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Jan 5, 2014
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Location
Reedville, VA
I'm a big fan of Duluth products, and eagerly jumped on the Fire Hose pants when they came out. Durable? Oh yeah! But they were so thick and heavy - and HOT! About sweat to death in them. Plus they don't hold their color well and start looking ratty and cheap fairly quick.

Have gone to Sears for jeans (I think their brand is called Canyon River Blues?) and Lee. The fabrics has gotten thinner of late, but the prices aren't bad, and they both have fitment options. I look for the looser and slightly baggy style usually titled "Relaxed fit". They have more room in the buttocks and thighs so you can bend over and not feel like you're wearing a boa constrictor.

Lol. Yeah, I can't imagine wearing a firehose in Tucson keeping you cool!
 

MoparTrucks

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Aug 21, 2009
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3,218
Location
Ozarks of Missouri
Khaki 5.11 Tactical for EMS duties (part of the uniform), Dickies classic or Levis for summer around the farm and Filson Tin Oil finish for winter farm work (expensive but an actual investment).
 

VWTim

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Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
23
Location
Corvallis, OR
I'm a Project Manager for an industrial contractor in the PNW. About 2 months of the year I work papermill shutdowns on my tools. My goto work pants now are Prison Blues Jeans. They're made my inmates at the Snake River Correctional Facility in Oregon and are fairly cheap. They also last much longer than any Carhartt or Dickies jeans I've worn in the past.
 

bushmechanic

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Mar 17, 2014
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4,820
Another mention for Roundhouse, I bought 2 pair jeans and 2 pair carpenter pants a year ago and very impressed with quality. Made in the USA. Always have some stuff on sale. Easily better made than Carhart of Duluth Trading
https://www.round-house.com/

Roundhouse could do much better. I've got several, and they're fine enough I suppose, but the finish work and tailoring is far below average. It's like they pull them off the line before the last few steps.

Are they comfortable? Yeah, but it's kind of hard to make jeans that aren't.

I think someone needs to go box their ears and remind them to step up to the plate. Their stuff won't fall apart on you, but I expected a lot better than this. If you can't do it for that price, add ten bucks and finish your work.

Aside from that, they're fine. I don't think that's fine, but I still bought them.

Duluth products just feel like something that fell off the back of a truck in Bolivia. They also seem to shrink at random (I've seen three sizes disappear in the wash), and yet again, there isn't much actual quality construction on display; only arguably beneficial materials.

I'll give them this: The "Ballroom" gussets in their products certainly do work as advertised. If you're bending, squatting, sitting or whatever all day, you absolutely want a crotch gusset. Doesn't have to come from Duluth, though.

Great for martial artists, as well. Throw any kick you want, and you'll never have to tug at your thighs first.
 

Strouty

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Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Messages
38,215
Location
Southern Maine
I watch Mighty Car Mods on YouTube. It's an Australian import car show, and one of the hosts (Moog) wears some interesting looking work pants. This thread reminded me that I wanted a pair, so google turned up a US reseller at http://shop.fxdworkwear.com/

I just ordered a pair in navy blue, hope they work out.

Interesting, but only to size 40, I guess a 42 is just too fat for them. :sad:
 

crewchief888

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Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
13,744
Location
NW indiana
at work i wear cintas work pants.

at home it's usually a pair of badly worn FRC "greens"

i have a couple pair of wrangler jeans, i try to keep them clean and stain free in case we decide to go out to eat.



:beer:
 
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Jason280

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Mar 4, 2012
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3,167
I've been wearing Schmidt work pants from Tractor Supply, they are a lot cheaper than Carhartt and seem to hold up just as well. Plus, the fit is good as you could as for in a pair of work pants.
 

RTBS

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Joined
Jan 3, 2015
Messages
36
Location
UT
Our company recently bought Mascot work pants. They have many styles to choose from. Flexible, lightweight, flame resistant, some with knee pad pockets, extra pockets. The particular one I have is the Houston line and used them this past several days kneeling and crawling in attics. The built in knee pads are a knee saver, no more sore knees. They're made in Denmark but have a USA location also. The pants we have are around $60. They use reinforced knees material and triple stitching. Should last a long time, very happy with them.
https://www.maworkwear.com/


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Wrapitinbacon

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Oct 18, 2013
Messages
136
This is going to sound silly, but Abercrombie has some super nice quality denim, and when they run sales, you can get them for around the $20-30 dollar range. Super thick yet movable, as well as "stylish" if you're into that kind of thing. I've been using the same 2 pairs as work jeans for the last year or so, and just recently one of the knees started to give out (I used to work on UPSs/DC plants for datacenters/radio towers/manufacturing plants, so kneeling was commonplace every day). Never had good luck with Levis or Carhartt carpenter pants myself, but those darn Abercrombie jeans are super tough.

What style are you using? (Boot,strait,slim,skinny) I’m curious because they do have nice pants.
 

DGersic

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Mar 12, 2017
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6,311
Location
DeKalb, IL
A couple of years ago, Farm&Fleet had Dickies jeans on sale. I stocked up at $5/pair. They hold up surprisingly well. I get a couple of years doing everything around the house, working on the cars, yard, etc. in them.

I had been buying Levis for 30+ years, but their quality kept going down as the price went up. 3-4 months and I’d blow out the fabric at the crotch seam, and I work at a desk job.


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Mohawk Dave

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Oct 7, 2012
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5,068
Location
SoCal
Every single guy/gal in Germany, Austria, Iceland wears Engelbert Strauss. I went into one of their stores in Germany and it was like heaven. I guess they don't import to the States but people do sell their stuff on eBay
 

skunkape1

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Apr 11, 2015
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181
Location
Mnisota
Northern Tool's brand "Gravel Gear" make some nice pants in varying styles at reasonable prices.
 

Al Borland

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Jan 20, 2016
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1,598
Okay.
Seems the consensus here is to wear pants at work.
Good to know.
Why can't our celebrities understand this?
 

cheechi

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Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
4,384
Location
Triad, NC
When I'm doing 'real work' (not office work) I wear the Duluth fire hose pants. By far the least restrictive of movement, short of sweat pants or no pants. I love them.

The combination of fire hose pants and the lifetime belt is about the equivalent of you wearing regular cargo pants and putting a lot of stuff in the pockets. They are heavy pants. They are awesome, but they are heavy compared to a regular pair of jeans, let alone slacks.
 

Rc_Guy

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Joined
Apr 14, 2013
Messages
4,440
Location
Minnesota
Duluth Trading Duluth Flex Work and Carpenter pants. Worth every cent.

I am a sprinkler fitter, I install fire sprinklers in commercial buildings, climbing ladders, bending, kneeling, climbing, crawling, lifting heavy pipe all day and I tried a few pairs of the Firehose flex jeans, they were very nice, fit perfect and comfortable but did not last any longer than the dickies jeans I get at fleetfarm.
 

gregpack

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Feb 1, 2015
Messages
245
I actually switched over to Kirkland (Costco) jeans for around $12.00. Comfortable and seem to outlast Levi’s

This right here. They are built like the Levis were twenty years ago.

If you need to look nicer, check out true spec or 5.11 tactical pants
 
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