Work wear

bykfixer

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About a decade ago I bought a Carhartt rain "coat" from Cabellas bargain cave for like $50. It has a nice, warm zip out vest I wore as a vest for years.
Lots of pockets, lots of waterproof.

This one day at work back then the weather forecast was for a wet snow one Saturday. We were supposed to work a couple of hours testing a few loads of concrete in the rain at the Huguenot bridge rehab. Standing under a tent meant the concrete we tested was subject to differing (as in better) conditions than the concrete being placed in forms exposed to rain.

Before the project I was told "it never rains on Skanska" meaning those guys work regardless of the weather. They work on days the mailman won't work. That day it rained with snow flakes mixed in it as the temperature hovered around 31 all day. Oh, yeah they decided to work all day placing hundreds of yards of concrete instead of a dozen or so.

The coworkers jumped in dry trucks in between loads. I stood in the weather like a junkyard dog with that warm Carhartt, Frog Togg pants over my jeans and waterproof boots. I wore thin Mechanix gloves under my rubber chemical proof gloves and never got cold the entire day from stem to stern.
 

pnwoutdoors

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@pnwoutdoors you're so right about fit and comfort. My Carhartt stuff is all tall sized and still the fit just wasn't quite right. That said, it got the job done for 30 years. Glad you found what works for you.

The Hawx fit for me is great, guess I'll find out if it's as durable long term as Carhartt has been.

"Fit" is a tough thing. It's so subjective. Me, I'm relatively long-waisted, barrel-chested, yet relatively narrower shoulders (for what the chest might suggest). The average jacket that fits me well around the chest has shoulders designed for a gorilla, and sleeve lengths to go with it. The Carhartt tall J14 works. They made it roomy enough around the chest, in anticipation of additional layering underneath, but they didn't go overboard on the sleeve lengths. It's typical tough Carhartt quality. Very pleased that it fits so well. I suspect I won't need another jacket, again. Might look around for the add-on hood, though.

Strange, about fit. It can be a little tight here, or a little short there, or "pinch" somewhat during certain movements. I've had jeans like that -- the RedHead label, through BassPro/Cabela's, for example. For whatever reason, the Duluth Trading jeans with the gusset crotch and the way they've shaped them ... they're a wonderful fit. Go figure. Like shoes, just another article of clothing that needs to be tried on and tested. You never know. I shudder to think how we'll all cope, when brick-and-mortar shops disappear in favor of a "virtual," all-online shopping experience. (They'd better make arrangements, now, with the shippers, 'cause I suspect they are going to get eaten alive with return processing and the related fees.)
 
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bykfixer

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Back when the weather was cold I added a sherpa lined full zip hoodie by Carhartt that I wore several times over a vest. But spring is nearing and I decided to see what was out there for those spring mornings when there's frost on the windshield at 7am but by noon mild conditions prevail.

Already owning some full zip hoodies by Champion, Vans and a decades old heavyweight number from a local surf shop I thought why not check out what work wear brands have out there.

Mrs Fixer and I having just eaten a slab of Texas style brisket and corn bread for supper, we decided to check out the work wear section of a local urban cowboy store. Hawx had a thermal lined (read long john's cloth) full zip hoodie for $20 less than my sherpa lined Carhartt was. Long john lined Carhartt was only available in pull over at the urban cowboy store. Hawx it is.

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Left is a long john lined versus a sherpa lined right.
A brisk evening was a good time to wear the sherpa lined number. When I put on the long john lined jacket I could feel cold air trying to get in where the sherpa kept cold air locked out. But the goal was a zip up hoody for cool air not cold air.

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Warm air trapped inside this number.

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Long john lining for chilly but not cold conditions.

Like other Hawx items this one runs big too. An XL was just right but the voices talked me into leaving with a 2x. No inside pocket was kinda surprising, but my other full zip hoodies don't either. It's water repellent, which pretty much means it'll be good for a few minutes in a light rain. Spring frog strangler type storm? I would not count on it.

Length of sleeves was just right in my size, a little long in 2XL, also the length of the jacket itself. It is long enough to keep the cold air from hitting your plumbers crack when stooping or kneeling.

One nice thing about the sherpa lined Carhartt is when fully zipped with the hood drawn up close to your head there's no small hole that feels like a giant hole after a few minutes on a cold windy day. It closes like a pull over hoody.
One nice thing about the Hawx is their choice of sleeve liner that feels like flannel while not being grippy like flannel, not cold to the skin like diamond tuck sleeve liners.

I feel pretty confident about the brass YYK zipper on the Hawx. (it's tomorrow now. I fell asleep after typing that sentence) and the hood being oversized to fit over a helmet is not so "super sized" like the brown work coat I spoke of previously. It has an elastic waist band that allows it to hang loosely at the bottom. Elastic cuffs on the sleeves fit snug enough for them to keep from randomly sliding over you hand but not so tight that they bind.

I bought the Carhartt rain defender for winter and this Hawx 'water repellent' number for spring since some years daytime temps can be in the 40's and 50's all the way into April…some years May.
Is there anything inovative or special about the Hawx long john lined fill zip hoody? Not that I can tell thus far. Aside from the cotton feel of the non grippy sleeve liner the jury is still out.
 
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bykfixer

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Back in post #79 I spoke of an Ariat rain jacket for spring rain events and summer storms. Today was a late winter rain event where the water falling from the sky wasn't much warmer than snow. And with a breeze it was a good day for layers, rain or not.
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A mid weight down filled vest underneath made things bearable.

Point being it's roomy enough to layer under it without binding and feeling too small at the shoulders and chest/belly depending on your physical fitness. Yet in warm weather it's not all oversized feeling nor the sleeves too long.

I really liked the deep hand warmer pockets too. To be honest I should have warn a warmer rain jacket today but wanted to test its lower temperature limits. Once the temperature reached the upper 40's it was fine.

Bottom line, it kept me dry like a seal skin, fit just right and wore like a nice spring wind breaker, not some yellow slicker rain coat. Well done Ariat.
 

alpg88

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Several years ago, i came up with an idea of using handwarmers to warm entire body, i made pockets from cloth using a sewing machine, then i pinned those pockets to the inside of my jacket, with safety pins, It worked too well. I tested it when it was way below freezing outside, and windy, it is always windy where i live, the ocean is less than a mile away, and tall buildings do not help. So i was literally burning, even thou i only had a t-shirt, and a thin dawn jacket, i used 16 handwarmer bags. I realized one thing, even thou i wore thin pants, my legs were not cold, i guess my core was absorbing so much heat, hot blood was warming my legs, hands and face. I adjusted amount of bags, and now i use those pockets every winter. My friend has a Milwaukee jacket with heatpads that run off 12v battery, it does not compare, not even close. thou unlike electric heaters, i can not shut it off.
 

orbital

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+

D!ckies has some polyester socks that are thick, like good wool blend ones, at a fraction the cost.
If you search D!ckies Men's Blister Resister Crew Sock you'll find them at your local big box.

they come in 3-pack for $9 and are the best value in socks bare none!
really comfy/last super long & most important of all,,, they don't absorb H2O

*** they say NANO GLIDE on the packaging

{needed to use a ! instead of an i for name}
 

bykfixer

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I just received a unique full zip hoody today. A company called Independent Trading Co has one they call PolyTech that has a zip off hood, leaving behind a collar like a hoodless jacket. Independent is aimed at the younger crowd but a fat old guy like me enjoys new technology as much as my kids. Maybe more because I lived with the old tech for so long.

The outter is a 10oz 85% polyester for a water resistant shell with 15% cotton to make it feel like your favorite cotton hoody. It has a thin polar fleece lining to knock the chill off those cool mornings. It has a bit of a sheen that will probably fade over time.

It's zipper is sturdy plastic with metal ends and a plastic covered metal puller. It has elastic cuffs and waist band that fit just right, along with a length that ensures the plumber crack does not become a pnuemonia hole when kneeling. It has a "port" to slide your headphone cord through if you still use wires. No inner pockets per sae but the hand warmer pockets are such that one can stash things like a phone inside the jacket. Flat ribbon style drawstring on the hood and a feature I thought was pretty cool, thumb holes on the sleeve cuff. I wear fingerless gloves on cool days so that is a very useful feature in my view.

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The one I bought was made as a Lexus promo yet the unobtrusive logo means you don't look like a walking billboard. I'll wear it while in office dweller mode.

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The photo from their website shows the cord port and thumbhole.

The forecast is cold showers tomorrow where I live so it'll get tested right away. I expect it to be about as rain repellent as a Carhartt defender hoody.
 

alpg88

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Several years ago, i came up with an idea of using handwarmers to warm entire body, i made pockets from cloth using a sewing machine, then i pinned those pockets to the inside of my jacket, with safety pins, It worked too well. I tested it when it was way below freezing outside, and windy, it is always windy where i live, the ocean is less than a mile away, and tall buildings do not help. So i was literally burning, even thou i only had a t-shirt, and a thin dawn jacket, i used 16 handwarmer bags. I realized one thing, even thou i wore thin pants, my legs were not cold, i guess my core was absorbing so much heat, hot blood was warming my legs, hands and face. I adjusted amount of bags, and now i use those pockets every winter. My friend has a Milwaukee jacket with heatpads that run off 12v battery, it does not compare, not even close. thou unlike electric heaters, i can not shut it off.
this is what they look like,


 

Poppy

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Today, it was about 48F and raining. I wore a short sleeve shirt while in the office, and when I went out to my car I put on the shell of my 10-8 year old 3 season coat. I wasn't sure if the shell was seeping water, or if it was just cold against my bare arms. Later I went out in the rain again, and I was certain that water was seeping through. So tomorrow, I'll throw it in the wash. That will often restore the waterproofness of the garment.

It is a Carpella's Dry Plus liner, that is similar to GorTex. If I have a can of Camp Dry in the shed, I'll give it an extra boost of water repellence.
 

bykfixer

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I never knew that washing a water repellent jacket could help revive it's water repellency (if that's even a word). But Mrs Fixer has some jogging pants for bathing dogs in and I sprayed one pair with camp dry. She said it worked unless to lean on a wet object (like said dog). She said if the dog leans on her water soaks through. I sprayed them lightly once so perhaps a couple of liberal coats will help. But I bought her some Frogg Togg bullfrog pants for good measure.

Now that spring in unfolding in my area the lawn mower will soon be unveiled again. In the meantime I had an area of grass growing quickly. About 10' x 8' so I went to Lowes and bought a swing blade. It's great for swinging a few dozen times to take care of that one little shaggy area of the yard.

While there I bought some Mechanix "drivers", which are a soft leather glove that feel great first wear. Unlike their utliity gloves, these do not have seems inside that bother the fingers but instead it feels like your fingers are sliding into tubes of calf skin.

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$22.95 at Lowes.

While we were out I stopped by a local Boot Barn to check out the clearance rack. Mrs Fixer found a summer weight hoody she liked and a t-shirt I liked. Yet I was drawn to the western boot section after binge watching all four seasons of Yellowstone recently.

I don't dig on tall socks so some boots I liked would chafe my tender calfs. They had no zip up kind in mens. I was looking for square toe plain boots with stacked leather heels in tan like I wore in the 70's but there were none there. So I ended up buying some Ariats with removable footbed and a rubberized urethane skid resistant sole. The upper tube is a soft leather like lamb skin but it's cowhide.

I wore them to work today and found they wear pretty comfy considering they're brand new leather shoes.
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Stylish yet unobtrusive

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The orthotic footbed

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Shows the tread and soft 11" tall sides.

I walked about a mile in these today on uneven ground at times and felt 100% confident throughtout the process. Wet slopes? Nah. But western style boots are a lot more comfy these days than those ones I wore in the 70's. So if your job involves wearing Dockers instead of D¡ck¡es these days, the Ariat Rambler is a goody.
 
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bykfixer

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Expected to arrive soon, Wolverine Tradesman. (4/15/22 arrived)
A throwback style with modern features like air infused urethane midsole. Composite safety toe and replaceable insole.
Built in Michigan (from globally sourced parts).

These are some sort of 2021 promotional effort between Dodge Ram trucks and Wolverine.

Pulled them out of a giant looking box nicely wrapped in tissue paper and pulled out the paper stuffing in the boots and noted just how lightweight they are compared to some other boots. Not running shoe light but not logger boot heavy. I also took note of the waxed nylon braided laces and remembered last time I saw those was a lambskin lined logger from Thom McCann I had in my teenage years. Many boots now come with paracord type laces or braided nylon but the waxed type was a pleasant surprise.
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Note the wax'd lace is not needed to be tied in a bow.

The inside is lined with a smooth woven nylon mesh with the heel cup made of a durable vinyl material.
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The medium width runs a bit narrow so I opted for a half size up and glad I did. Perfect.

Like old school boots these have a cloth covered foam footbed glued in but also a removeable orthotic foam type with vent holes.
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Don't know that I've ever owned any vented insoles.

So now for the real question. How do they wear?
They slid fairly easily over my socks and when I went to walk my initial reaction was "most comfortable boots I've ever worn" and after working in the construction field since 1983 that's a lot of boots. The air infused urethane mid-sole with a grippy rubber sole under the dual footbed system should prove to remain comfy a good long time.

Winner winner chicken dinner.
 
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bykfixer

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Since the Wolverine sight, Shelpers (where these came from) or anywhere did not mention the word waterproof or similar I shot 'em with three liberal coats of Camp-Dri silicone spray.

Note, the stuff does stain leather some so they took on a slightly darker brown, but I'm ok with that. Mink oil would probably do the same.

So here's the before and after.
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Before

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After.
 

bykfixer

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I spoke of some insulated/waterproof Wolverine Raider boots back in post #39. Today I found a summer weight waterproof Wolverine's called I-80 at a shoe store for $75. Oh my, those things were comfy right out of the box. They are steel toe but the padding completely disguises that fact. I bought them in 10.5E for the wider toe-box since I need an 11 in D width and Shoe Carnival didn't have any of those left.
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These are I-80 dura shocks.
They replaced the I-80 with I-90's, which are even better at absorbing shock but the soles are a greenish clear urethane. So I was stoked to find some I-80's.
 

bykfixer

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I'm a cotton guy. No matter what kind of anti-funk agent and super sucker wicking tech these new clothes have, I prefer good old fashioned cotton thank you.
Another thing I don't care for is many 50/50 polyester/cotton shirts. Especially the high thread count type. I get the sense there's a plastic bag over my skin.

But a button up wicking shirt made by a company named Huk and a 50/50 tank top made for Hang Ten in combination just changed my mind a little.

I bought the wicking shirt in long sleeve version for the SPF thing to cover my forearms with a thin covering and have a collar over the back of my neck.
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Lots and lots and lots of vents on the body part

Today I wanted to do some yard work so I threw the Huk over the tank top I was wearing. Figuring it would be minutes before I wanted out of that dang rain coat shirt, I finished my chores without ever feeling clammy at all. When I pulled off the shirt in the shade it was dry in a few minutes and so was my sweat soaked 50/50 tank top.

All those vent holes meant the feel of a breeze from walking around due to that sweat soaked undershirt. They're a bit pricey and styles are limited so I probably won't ever have more than a couple of Huk shirts. However they are worth the coin if you work in the sun in the summer or just want a sun screen while doing chores.
 

bykfixer

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100 year anniverssary ball cap still looks good.
Well aside from the sweat, but it showers with me after cutting grass and still looks pretty good after 22 summers. (Red Wings started out in 1900).
 
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