Work pants for treework

I'm a little late to this discussion but I was about to post a new rave on the pants I wear just to give them their 15 minutes of Fame and found this thread instead. I wear these:


They are law enforcement pants but holy crap do they shine for tree work. My brother is a cop and I was rifling through one of his vendor catalogs and found these. Decided to give em a try. I used to work in Carhartt or blue jeans and they were awful when the got wet or started to rip. These 5.11 pants are damn near bullet proof. I bought one pair and liked them so much I bought two more when they went on sale. I rotate wearing two of the pairs and the third sits in the closet for a backup. I still haven't used the third pair yet and I'm going on 7 years of daily use between then other two pairs. I'm not climbing everyday but I work in the woods with the briars and brambles. There's not a hole in them yet from abrasion or picking. They are lightweight and dry very fast when they get wet. My only complaint is the material they used to make the inside of the side pockets is kinda thin. My keys wore a hole in my left pocket. But the cargo pocket material is tough so I use that now. When I do climb, these pants are spectacular. They have that crouch gusset for when you really want to do the splits. Sizing seems to run true. I wear a 32x30 and these fit great. Won't even consider buying anything else.
 
Phil said:
I'm a little late to this discussion but I was about to post a new rave on the pants I wear just to give them their 15 minutes of Fame and found this thread instead. I wear these:


They are law enforcement pants but holy crap do they shine for tree work. My brother is a cop and I was rifling through one of his vendor catalogs and found these. Decided to give em a try. I used to work in Carhartt or blue jeans and they were awful when the got wet or started to rip. These 5.11 pants are damn near bullet proof. I bought one pair and liked them so much I bought two more when they went on sale. I rotate wearing two of the pairs and the third sits in the closet for a backup. I still haven't used the third pair yet and I'm going on 7 years of daily use between then other two pairs. I'm not climbing everyday but I work in the woods with the briars and brambles. There's not a hole in them yet from abrasion or picking. They are lightweight and dry very fast when they get wet. My only complaint is the material they used to make the inside of the side pockets is kinda thin. My keys wore a hole in my left pocket. But the cargo pocket material is tough so I use that now. When I do climb, these pants are spectacular. They have that crouch gusset for when you really want to do the splits. Sizing seems to run true. I wear a 32x30 and these fit great. Won't even consider buying anything else.
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I wore Taclite Pros for years, but found them to be a bit hot in the summer, and they stain very easily. Grease, oil, bar oil, and pine sap do not come out - at least in my experience. My ArborWear Ascenders do not seem to stain at all, so far I have managed to get everything out of them and fairly easily.
 
Reach said:
I wore Taclite Pros for years, but found them to be a bit hot in the summer, and they stain very easily. Grease, oil, bar oil, and pine sap do not come out - at least in my experience. My ArborWear Ascenders do not seem to stain at all, so far I have managed to get everything out of them and fairly easily.
Click to expand...

Maybe I haven't noticed the staining because I wear black.
 
Phil said:
I'm a little late to this discussion but I was about to post a new rave on the pants I wear just to give them their 15 minutes of Fame and found this thread instead. I wear these:


They are law enforcement pants but holy crap do they shine for tree work. My brother is a cop and I was rifling through one of his vendor catalogs and found these. Decided to give em a try. I used to work in Carhartt or blue jeans and they were awful when the got wet or started to rip. These 5.11 pants are damn near bullet proof. I bought one pair and liked them so much I bought two more when they went on sale. I rotate wearing two of the pairs and the third sits in the closet for a backup. I still haven't used the third pair yet and I'm going on 7 years of daily use between then other two pairs. I'm not climbing everyday but I work in the woods with the briars and brambles. There's not a hole in them yet from abrasion or picking. They are lightweight and dry very fast when they get wet. My only complaint is the material they used to make the inside of the side pockets is kinda thin. My keys wore a hole in my left pocket. But the cargo pocket material is tough so I use that now. When I do climb, these pants are spectacular. They have that crouch gusset for when you really want to do the splits. Sizing seems to run true. I wear a 32x30 and these fit great. Won't even consider buying anything else.
Click to expand...
I wear 5.11 almost exclusively, except for work pants and saw pants. I wear the taclite pros at work (ropes course) and love them there. I am required to wear tan, and the stone color works perfectly. I don't wear them outside of work, because I messed them up with some superglue stains. Since I walk around with a harness a lot, but still need my phone accessible but secure, I love the low cargo pockets for this, because they ride well below the leg loops. The strap on the right back pocket is very hand for hanging a radio when not in a harness.
Fun fact: 5.11 started as a climbing company, the taclite pros are from a time when they still made climbing stuff.
My everyday wear pants are the 5.11 stryke and apex pants, which are much better than the taclites. They have much higher cargo pockets with dividers, which is great for EDC, but not for use with a harness. Also, they stretch a little bit, which is nice. The Apex pants are made from a lightweight, superstrong strech canvas, which makes them the nicest feeling pants I have ever worn, they feel super soft, but still strong.
I also have the Ridgeline pants, which don't have cargo pockets. I really liked them, but being as stupid as I am, I ruined them with superglue too. I might start using them for rec climbing, they are the most flexible and lightweight pants I own.
 
TimBr said:
Hey, @climbstihl;! That was a really great review. Thanks for taking the time and trouble to write it up.

Please forgive my ignorance, but what is the meaning of "EDC"? Thanks again for your time.

Tim
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"Every day carry". When used as a noun, like @climbstihl did, it means your personal "kit" that you...carry every day. When used as an adjective, it means "item sized appropriately to...carry every day", usually referring to knives, multitools, flashlights, pens, keyfobs, and even concealed carry pistols. It's a regular cottage industry these days.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk
 
Rolling your pants up with two large folds, giving a tall, flat cuff, sorta how loggers 'peg' their pants ( don't know, why "peg". Peg leg???), Allowing lot of air flow and cooling.

You get saw chips in your boots a bit, but way cooler.

Not super stylish.
Hi viz and cargo pockets, not very stylish to start.
Cooler!

Unless I'm working in blackberries, I can wear shorts when it's really hot.
I don't carry brush with my legs or climb with legs on trees.
Nbd.
 
I've always worn BDU pants. I recently ordered a few pairs in Khaki. Not sure of the manufacturer, but the tags are same as my old issued ones. Loose fit, gusseted crotch, reinforced knees, cargo pockets. When you don't have gaffs strapped on they breath very well. The ones called " ripstop" material are summer weight, pretty thin but still durable. The other material option is a bit thicker but still fine for summer. Need to add layers for cold weather. The newer Army ACU uniform pants weren't very durable. Comfy though.

I have a pair of Pfanner stretch air climbing pants too, they're ok, but I prefer the BDU pants for all work, including climbing.
 
Bango Skank said:
I've always worn BDU pants. I recently ordered a few pairs in Khaki. Not sure of the manufacturer, but the tags are same as my old issued ones. Loose fit, gusseted crotch, reinforced knees, cargo pockets. When you don't have gaffs strapped on they breath very well. The ones called " ripstop" material are summer weight, pretty thin but still durable. The other material option is a bit thicker but still fine for summer. Need to add layers for cold weather. The newer Army ACU uniform pants weren't very durable. Comfy though.

I have a pair of Pfanner stretch air climbing pants too, they're ok, but I prefer the BDU pants for all work, including climbing.
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What generation of ACUs do you have? I find the ones with buttons on the Cargo pocket to be as durable as a ripstop BDU. I don't know about the OCP/ Multicam ones though, my experience is only with the UCP ones. I'd love to climb completely in multicam though, that would be kinda cool.
 
2 years in pfanner globes. Before that pfann er gladiator non chainsaw but they are hot. Before that AW tech pants. Before that AW originals.

Globes fit like a glove. No belt necessary so with my TM.on so comfy. Phone fits in left pocket. Keys in right. Durable and the cuffs have velcro to tighten over boots. So no fucking chips. Pricey but damn comfy. Hate chainsaw pants. I own 4 pairs but wear mostly 2 on rotation.
2019-06-01 19.01.16.webp
 
fall_risk said:
"Every day carry". When used as a noun, like @climbstihl did, it means your personal "kit" that you...carry every day. When used as an adjective, it means "item sized appropriately to...carry every day", usually referring to knives, multitools, flashlights, pens, keyfobs, and even concealed carry pistols. It's a regular cottage industry these days.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the great and comprehensive answer, fall_risk. I'll learn to use the search engines in the future, I promise, to try to save you all of that work. Thanks again for taking the time to help me out. Have a great day.

Tim
 
Been wearing a few different pairs. Any cotton (shorts one day)/ cotton blend (Wranglers) have sucked, even in dry, mild weather. Sweat still happens.


I like the Truwerk T2 for comfort and style, but they are not tree tough. I've split both knees (second was yesterday), and lost a button on the waist, quickly.


Arborwear Tech pants for me. I keep the old ones around for shop time/ greasy work. They get years of heavy use before finally dying.
 
climbstihl said:
What generation of ACUs do you have? I find the ones with buttons on the Cargo pocket to be as durable as a ripstop BDU. I don't know about the OCP/ Multicam ones though, my experience is only with the UCP ones. I'd love to climb completely in multicam though, that would be kinda cool.
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Sorry I didn't see that before. UCP and very early ones at that, I was discharged in June of 06. Velcro pockets. They were ragged when I tossed them. I heard they later made them better. Better material, better stitching, better velcro. I wasn't impressed before besides the comfort. I'm gonna try another newer pair and see if they improved.

I have some non chainsaw protective Pfanner stretch air pants that are comfy for climbing too and so far holding up well. Not bad at all in warmer weather and humidity.
 
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