Work trousers – what’s good?

Usually use some softshell decathlon trousers with fleece lining but at £50 they are getting ruined too quickly.
Like snug fitting at 188cm with a 32″ waist/33″ inside leg and 78kg.
Where should I be putting my cash. Need to be slim round the ankle for riding too! Pockets are a must and belt

What kind of work?

Scrabbling on your knees work or pushing a mouse work?

Dewalt from Screwfix for the former. Very well made.

What kind of work?

^this.

If you’re doing proper work, Snickers floorlayers Kevlar.

They outlast anything I’ve had over 33years of being a sparkly.

They don’t fit your description in any way other than that though

*edit – doesn’t look like they make them any more

*edit edit – just seen who the OP is. You using them in the workshop mate? In that case the snickers are ott and see why you’ve specified what you have. Maybe go for something from Carhartt?

If you’re doing proper work, Snickers floorlayers Kevlar.

If you are pushing pixels around and blethering endlessly on a phone (my job description), then M&S ultimate chino’s FTW.

As in the workshop on bikes work

Old skool thick DH race pants and some polartec longjohns!

My class 2 type c chainsaw trousers keep me warm, probably a smidge overkill for you though

I keep getting ads for Northbound Gear trews on Faceache.

They look pretty decent, but as usual, anything on Facebook is quite often not as it seems. If the company checks out as reputable, they may be worth a punt

Spendy but the fjallraven pants with the reinforced knees are really good.

As in the workshop on bikes work

In which case, any workwear brand trousers and a pair of merino longjohns.

The Carhartt double knee jobbies from somewhere like MI Supplies. They are a bit stretchy and have reasonably slim around the ankles.
They do one without double knees too.

@grum I’ve ignored your answer as you used the word “spendy“, a, I’m from Yorkshire, b, I said £50 was too much to waste on trousers that get knackered quickly 🤣

a, I’m from Yorkshire, b, I said £50 was too much to waste on trousers that get knackered quickly 🤣

Buy it nice or buy it twice 😉

Nice trousers don’t stay nice long because of oil and grease

Anything like this (perhaps a bit tracky bs)? https://ppesuppliesdirect.com/collections/trousers/products/kx3-flexi-trouser

PPE Suppliers are generally good, I quite like the Portwest stuff.

When I wasn’t using a saw then Craghoppers including the fleeced lines one in winter.

I’ve got craghoopers fleece lined ones. Got older polycotton lined ones that are great in the garden in winter and refuse to wear out and some of the kiwi pro lined ones. They are hard wearing and currently used when WFH in our cold spare room. Both OK for short rides (to the shops etc) if you tuck them into a sock to reduce chain stains.
Look in the outlet section of their website and the prices are often halved.
They are otherwise very very boring trousers.

scruffs? with the bonus of extra pockets to lose those hex keys/bolts  in

These combats are good for the money. I’ve got them cut down to shorts

https://www.military1st.co.uk/k05001-2-0-04-pentagon-bdu-2-0-pants-khaki.html

PPE Suppliers are generally good, I quite like the Portwest stuff.

Yeah, that’s what we get issued with, well, apart from the trousers and shorts which are from someone called Orn Clothing Ltd, and really good quality triple-stitched seams and a variety of pockets. Sizing is a bit odd, though; my usual 32/34 or 32 regular is a 34 regular from them. My Portwest jacket and boots I just love, though, I’ve got a pair of their FW52 Steelite boots on now, waiting to go out to the pub – waterproof and superbly comfy.

I’m wearing Blaklader at the moment and their ‘garden’ trousers are brilliant. Not too thick but still hard wearing; trashing through shrub roses and not ripping. Cordura knees and plenty of pockets. They’re not baggy and flappy like I find a lot of work trousers; I can ride home in them easy.

Black cargo pants. Colour coordinates with the chain and pockets for favourite tools.

+1 for DeWalt from Screwfix; they have belt loops so supply your own belt and bottoms may be a little wide for bike riding so invest in a pair of bike clips or, as you’re a tight yorkshireman, use string or rubber bands.

The rapha workshop trousers are on sports pursuit at £36
Good so far

Need to be slim round the ankle for riding too!

A lot of workwear trousers like dewalt etc are quite straight-leg in their cut – mainly to accommodate knee pads –  and may be a bit flappy round the ankles for cycling. The material tends to be pretty heavy gauge too and a bit slow to dry if it gets wet

A bit over your budget but the Snickers 6241 and 6341 (once version has holster pockets one doesnt) trousers are a more tapered cut than most using stretch panels  in various places to keep them very well articulated (Snickers stuff tends to be much better tailored for movement than a lot of the competition) and cordura anywhere that would be vulnerable to wear and tear.

They’re over your budget but… they’ll outlast anything else you’ve been buying by a country mile, they can take a bit of enthusiastic laundering for getting rid of oil and grease (and the black ones won’t show it up anyway) so will stay presentable for longer too.

Although theres lots of people making that style of multi pocket workwear now Snickers pioneered it and while a lot of others look the same I find the pockets are really quite poorly thought out (I bought some Dewalt ones and the pockets were unusable, wore them twice and put them in the charity bag)

On the bike the cut and flexibly is very comfy and the cuffs stay out of trouble – not as weather proof as soft shell but better than normal workwear and quick to dry if you do get wet

The Snickers 6902 and 6903 aren’t as tapered, but still a fair bit less flappy than most – are made from tough stretchy ripstop fabric thats pretty windproof and very fast to dry. Again will outlast anything like softshell by years. My work is either in the workshop or halfway up a Scottish mountain somewhere and in all but the worst weather the 6903s are great outdoor wear

Snickers has a huge range of sizing too – with everything available in 3 different leg lengths where as many workwear brands tend to assume their customers are a bit stocky and the legs tend to be a bit short.

Its worth saving searches for Snickers stuff on eBay – people tend to sell on stuff they’ve been issued by work and you can pick up some bargains.

Used to wear snickers but found the baggy pockets with 45 degree openings were designed to empty their contents down the sides of the car/van seats. So I switched to Scruffs and Dickies.
For the last two years Ive mainly been wearing old shorts and flip-flops. Covid and remote-desk-top have changed my priorities:)

My work trousers for the last few years have mostly been Carhartt or Kuhl picked up second hand and more recently something new from Alpkit in a sale.

Strong pockets are the main thing for me. All get filthy with oil and grease from the tractor, most of my work kit tends to be dark grey or dark brown to hide this the best.
Mostly used for forestry and estate work.

If your workshop is cold, I think there are lined versions of the Carhartt. Probably harder to find secondhand, but I’ve been impressed enough with the longevity of their stuff I would buy new if needed.

Englebert Strauss.

Got a couple of pairs of Regatta trouser on the PSA (quite) a few weeks back, the Felton sound like they’d be just what you need, £35 currently or £25 if you don’t mind grey (may need to double up for free P&P), but a softshell type fabric a bit thicker than average trouser, but not a thick as their Geo II softwshell which are really cold weather only trousers, and a narrow ankle. Been wearing both constantly for everything (work/casual) since December and I’m going to buy more, there ace.

https://www.regatta.com/mens-fenton-softshell-walking-trousers-black/

I bought a pair of “Site” work trousers on Friday. Very similar to the Dewalts , loads of extra pockets etc – but a bit cheaper. From Screwfix.

My work trousers for the last few years have mostly been Carhartt or Kuhl picked up second hand

I bought a pair of Kuhl trousers – the Free Rydr, from Go Outdoors the other week. Lovely trews, almost moleskin to the touch, albeit just cotton twill. Super comfy and seem tough too – not in the OP’s budget at £80 though.

2022-02-06_03-22-45 by davetheblade[/url], on Flickr

Side note – the Salomon Quest 4 GTX are absolutely fantastic boots

Really like my Kulh trousers, usually buy them in sale for around £50, but they get sodden and don’t dry quickly IME. All my pockets are falling to pieces too after a good couple of years use, which is just annoying as the trouser are great otherwise

I just wear M&S jeans for working outdoors in fields and gardens year round. Cheap, last two or three years of me kneeling down, wading through brambles and lugging rocks around. I find them tougher and warmer in winter than most work trousers I’ve tried but also more breathable.

Do stain a bit from oil and the like but if I was working in a bike workshop and had a mucky job on I’d probably stick an apron over the top anyway. Is that an option?

Just had a look at what Orn Clothing do, and these Heron trousers might be of interest, as they’ve got reflective trim, which would be particularly appropriate for riding in.

2300R

What ever you want and a mechanics apron.

Makes a massive difference to going home clean at night.

Dickies 872, they are the slim fit version, ordered from Amazon global store for well under £30.