 DeWalt is giving builders a leg up with its new range of work trousers.
Work trousers are so much a part of the scene now that we take features such as reinforced knee pads, big external pockets and bar stitching on the stress points as run of the mill. It would seem that manufacturers now have it all sewn up on the features but, talking to tradesmen around the country, we hear plenty of good suggestions on how the design can be improved. DeWalt has also been getting some useful feedback and one thing that many tradesmen want is a lighter weight fabric. Whilst they appreciate that fabrics have to be strong they don’t want to walk around all day in hot, heavy trousers that don’t bend easily.
Every time a fabric resists movement it wastes energy and produces heat. The new lighter weight Cordura trousers that DeWalt has produced are also more generously cut. The gusset on the crutch, that allowed you to do the splits if so inclined, has gone because most of the time you just aren’t doing the splits, and that triangle of extra material sat folded between your legs is then in the way, and becomes a point of wear. Now the extra material starts from the waist band, as it would in a suit, and the slight twist in the cut of the leg starts a rotation of the fabric as you bend your knee, so it doesn’t pull across the knee panel.
The DeWalt soft shell fleece is a showerproof, wind resistant, highly breathable work jacket that you could happily wear as an outdoor activity jacket. The fabric resists water up to a head of 8,000mm which is three times more than the average tent fabric. The reason it isn’t described as ‘waterproof’ is simply that the seams aren’t taped so you could get some seepage along the stitch line. The fact that the shell moves body moisture out at a rapid rate means that if you are active you would probably stay drier in this jacket than a fully waterproof (boil in the bag) rain suit, because any water that gets in is evaporated out along with the sweat, whereas even breathable rain suits are sometimes quite slow to wick moisture out.
The longer back means that, ‘no, your bum doesn’t look big in this’ and we are less likely to see any builder’s cleavage as you bend down to lay the footings. The long back also helps prevent kidney chills. The sleeves are tapered in and held with adjustable hems. The cut in the arm doesn’t allow a great deal of room for jumpers etc but, because the fleece is so warm, you probably won’t need a jumper underneath anyway. The stand up collar is a modern looking design that will appeal to the younger. However, even on our ageing model we see that the smart black DeWalt attire gives a touch of sophistication and, for those warmer days, there is the soft feel polo shirt that sports the ‘guaranteed tough’ logo. This does, of course, refer to the clothing not the man. Note that the design theme of the grey side panels follows through from the jacket and gives the illusion of a slimmer outline.
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