Carhartt vs Duluth vs ?

[Jay585]

I work as a welder and I've worn both the firehose flex, and standard firehose.

Standard firehose is thick as hell, and works well. Doesn't get frayed easily when I get snagged by sheared sheetmetal (which has a burr and is sharp as a knife), and it doesn't singe easily (well duh, firehose). It's heavy though, perfect for wintertime. Ever worn a BJJ gi top? The material and weight is very similar.

The Flex stuff is way more comfortable, a lot cooler/thinner. Same singe resistance, but it does tend to fray a lot easier. By the way those frayed edges will catch fire. Nothing like realizing your ankle suddenly feels warm only to stop welding, flipping up the hood while glancing down to realize you're on fire. I still have mine from last summer. It's obviously used, but still serviceable.

As far as sizing goes, I have pretty limited experience, and my build is apparently quite odd (since I can never find pants that fit right). The flex has more range, since... well it flexes. So my flex is 36 while my firehose is 38. My actual waist is ~34.5" but my thighs are ~25" and hips are 38.75" (see what I mean about pants that fit)?

Carhartt double front pants I can get "true to size" waist (34) and come out pretty good around the thighs and hips. Levis seem to be popular, so as another comparison: my daily Levis (the 505's) are a 36x32 and trim around the thigh & glute/hip area, and has enough waist room for a G19+light holster and 2 kydex spare mag pouches.

[Chain]

I think it depends on your job. I've got Carhartt, Dickies, Duluth, and Wrangler Riggs. Duluth I feel kind of suckered by. I paid more for them, and have actually had to send them in twice for warranty exchanges. Ya, they do exchanges, but between the higher initial price and then paying for shipping to send them back in, I feel like I could've bought 3 pairs of Riggs in the mean time.

"heavy duty" feeling:
1. Duluth
2. Carhartt
3. Riggs
4. Dickies

*BUT* the 2 Duluth's I've sent back have all been from crotch blowout in their diamond crotch gussett. No I don't sag my pants, but I do ride a motorcycle so swinging my leg over I suppose they get more wear, and I squat down down a lot for work so that is more wear than other people have perhaps?

I like Riggs because they are thinner than Carhartt's but because of the ripstop they are decently tough.

[45dotACP]

I just got a set of Duluth "Balls room" jeans. Best I've owned so far. I really like the gusseted crotch, in case I need to kick a motherfucker in the head.

Or also because it's comfortable.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[1slow]

I have worn Duluth 6 Pocket Firehose pants for years.
If a seam goes, they rip or a pocket wears through they will replace them. I have done this 6+ times.
Save the return shipping labels they send with orders. This makes return for exchange shipping easier.

Downsides:
like jeans they get wet and heavy. This is death in severe winter and annoying in SC summer,
The older square bottom side slash pockets were better than the new ones with a tapered bottom.

[Spartan1980]

I work as a welder and I've worn both the firehose flex, and standard firehose.

Standard firehose is thick as hell, and works well. Doesn't get frayed easily when I get snagged by sheared sheetmetal (which has a burr and is sharp as a knife), and it doesn't singe easily (well duh, firehose). It's heavy though, perfect for wintertime. Ever worn a BJJ gi top? The material and weight is very similar.

The Flex stuff is way more comfortable, a lot cooler/thinner. Same singe resistance, but it does tend to fray a lot easier. By the way those frayed edges will catch fire. Nothing like realizing your ankle suddenly feels warm only to stop welding, flipping up the hood while glancing down to realize you're on fire. I still have mine from last summer. It's obviously used, but still serviceable.

^^^ I'm pretty much right with this.

On pants sizing I've found the inseam and waist sizes to be pretty normal. They are a generous cut though, and I buy 2" bigger in the waist so I can carry a full size weapon AIWB and they are a bit baggy in the crotch and thighs which helps with that.

I have a pair of Duluthflex ballroom jeans and they are great quality, but they ride up my ankles when sitting just like dress slacks do. Grr...

I much prefer the regular Firehose Flex to the Ultimate Flex. The Ultimates have "tool bag hanger" belt loops on each side and they are bothersome unless you actually use them and the knee pad pockets really ought to be inverted because the pads can come out. Unless you need these features get the regular ones, you'll like them better.

FYI the regular Firehose have a small pocket inside the right pocket. If you are a lefty it makes an absolutely perfect magazine carrier and is sized perfectly for a full size mag. If they would just put one in the left pocket.

I have a Hanger Bender shirt jac and it's heavy as hell. But I think a 7' NBA center is who modeled the sleeve length. They are seriously loooooooonnnnnggg.

Get on their mailing list. They run 30% and 40% sales fairly often. I got all of my Firehose pants at or less than Carhart and 5.11 pricing.

[mtnbkr]

like jeans they get wet and heavy. This is death in severe winter

FWIW, I wear my brown Firehose WorkPants as my outer layer when hunting in the Virginia Mtns (base layer is either med weight wool tights or UnderArmor ColdGear tights). Even when out in the rain or brush busting in wet conditions, I haven't seen the FH pants soak up much water. They seem to repel it to some extent. I'm sure they'll soak it up if you got dunked though.

Also, Duluth is great about returns. I've never had a problem, though all of my returns have been for fit issues (like the black jeans that shrank more than the regular color ones. They took those back after a year no questions asked).

Oh, another nice thing about Duluth pants? Deep and wide pockets. You can honestly pocket carry a G19 in the work pants. The ballroom jeans are deep enough, but the pocket opening is too small for the G19, but plenty big for a fistful of j-frame.

Chris

[Stephanie B]

Oh, another nice thing about Duluth pants? Deep and wide pockets. You can honestly pocket carry a G19 in the work pants. The ballroom jeans are deep enough, but the pocket opening is too small for the G19, but plenty big for a fistful of j-frame.

It took me a few minutes to come to the realization that Duluth wasn't making jeans for dancing....

[blues]

I looked at the site and reviews last night and I was close to pulling the trigger with the current 20% off deal...but it sounds like waiting for the bigger sales might be worthwhile...plus I'm still trying to wrap my head around the sizing issues. I'd love to get it right the first time.

In the firehose flex, some folks recommend going up one size in length due to shrinkage...(Costanza!)

As I mentioned earlier, in 5.11's, a 32 length is great standing, and rides up more than I like sitting. Not sure where that puts me with Duluth by comparison. Will I be walking on top of the cuffs of 34's? Or do they actually shrink in the dryer?

Thought the 12" shorts in the same material looked pretty good for wearing around home and walks to the mailbox etc.


Has anybody compared the firehose flex to the "stryke" pants from 5.11? I've never tried either so curious.


The other thing I wasn't sure about, does the first belt loop on the Duluth pants get in the way of right hand appendix carry?

[mtnbkr]

I looked at the site and reviews last night and I was close to pulling the trigger with the current 20% off deal...but it sounds like waiting for the bigger sales might be worthwhile...plus I'm still trying to wrap my head around the sizing issues. I'd love to get it right the first time.

In the firehose flex, some folks recommend going up one size in length due to shrinkage...(Costanza!)

As I mentioned earlier, in 5.11's, a 32 length is great standing, and rides up more than I like sitting. Not sure where that puts me with Duluth by comparison. Will I be walking on top of the cuffs of 34's? Or do they actually shrink in the dryer?

Thought the 12" shorts in the same material looked pretty good for wearing around home and walks to the mailbox etc.


Has anybody compared the firehose flex to the "stryke" pants from 5.11? I've never tried either so curious.


The other thing I wasn't sure about, does the first belt loop on the Duluth pants get in the way of right hand appendix carry?

I don't dry my pants, so I haven't noticed any shrinkage (other than "shrinkage" caused by using the fork too much). Technically, I'm probably a 31" inseam, which means I can wear 30" to 32" depending on how the pants are designed. My Ballroom jeans are 30" as well. IIRC, my Firehose Chinos (no longer in production) are 30s, but my FH Work Pants are all 32" (mainly as a hedge since I was buying online at the time and to ensure good coverage to block drafts while sitting in treestands).

Less of an issue on the FH Work Pants, I do find the first belt loop on my Ballroom jeans gets in the way of RH AIWB. Not significantly so, but just a bit.

BTW, deals better than 20% off are rare and usually only happen with season-specific stuff at the end of the season (ie flannel shirts in early spring, polos in Fall, etc). I don't think you're likely to see any deep discounts until later this year, though there *might* be some holiday-related sales (July 4th, etc).

Chris

[LOKNLOD]

It took me a few minutes to come to the realization that Duluth wasn't making jeans for dancing....

Well... you're not quite the target demographic for that product marketing