Coveralls

I'm looking for some coveralls to use for working on the ground, sometimes under the car and sometimes under the house.

The only two brands I recognize are Dickies, which are relatively cheap and widely available online, and Carhartt, which are much more expensive and considerably harder to find. I'm looking specifically for coveralls, not overalls, and will need size small which seems a bit scarce.

Can anybody comment on the relative merits, or better yet suggest something superior/cheaper? I've used disposable Tyvek suits but would prefer something mechanically tougher and washable.

Thanks for reading,

bob prohaska

Reply to
bob prohaska
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I'm looking for some coveralls to use for working on the ground, sometimes under the car and sometimes under the house.

The only two brands I recognize are Dickies, which are relatively cheap and widely available online, and Carhartt, which are much more expensive and considerably harder to find. I'm looking specifically for coveralls, not overalls, and will need size small which seems a bit scarce.

Can anybody comment on the relative merits, or better yet suggest something superior/cheaper? I've used disposable Tyvek suits but would prefer something mechanically tougher and washable.

Thanks for reading,

bob prohaska =====================================================

Coveralls don't fit my shape so I have no direct experience with them, but a while back I looked online for some Wrangler Riggs workpants and found the best price at that time at

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Were ok to deal with, and it looks like they have a few brands of overalls.

Reply to
Carl

I didn't know about that company, thanks for the link!

Is there anything to be said for brand preference? Dickies are relatively inexpensive, Cat and Carhartt are considerably more expensive. Is there a corresponding difference in quality?

There are also a few brands I don't recognize; Red Kap, Occunomix and Key. Flame resistance isn't necessary, but if other features merit the cost they're worth considering.

Thanks for reading!

bob prohaska

Reply to
bob prohaska

Do yourself a favor and use ramps for the car, then utilize a creeper. It takes far less effort during the day, believe me. BTDT

I've worn a few of those through the years, and coveralls can be good for auto repair work. I know that Carhartts are usually at least half again as thick as most, 12oz twill vs the 7.75oz Dickies, but I never owned Carhartts due to the price and/or babyshitbrindle color. I see they only make them in flame resistant now, pricing them at $120. American Made, American Overpriced, sorry.

I had trouble with knees blowing out in work pants and coveralls. I wore Dickies and a couple other brands, with no real difference between them. All were cotton/poly twill.

If I were buying today, I'd go with Dickies or other cheap brand. If they proved to be too flimsy, I'd look more closely at Carhartt. About half the people I've talked to about Carhartt love them and swear by them. The rest say they can't see the price difference, though they do see a longer wear from the pricy brand. That's likely to be from the thicker material. But denim outwears twill by 3x, and Rustler jeans at Bimart go on sale for $9.99 a pair often, so I stay in Rustler jeans.

If you're going to be on your knees a lot (I'd take a knee for a minute or three 10+ times a day as a mechanic), reinforce the knees with iron-on patches. Some of the workwear I see nowadays has reinforced knees.

At to bunny suits, I don't think I've ever gotten a full work day out of a set of Tyveks. It's terrible for clothing, and they scuff through on the first little shuffle with any weight on them.

Coveralls can be convenient when you want to save your day clothes, but I don't think I'd want to be rolling around in the dirt in them. YMMV

Reply to
Larry Jaques

go to your LOCAL workwear store, or TSC or Orchard Supply - whatever you have where you are and buy them off the rack - or contact your LOCAL uniform supply company and ask to buy from them - either used or new depending how fussy you are.

Reply to
Clare Snyder

Years ago I use to do some caving. And some of the cavers sewed pockets on their pants and would stuff knee pads in them. Much better than knee pads with straps.

If you are going to sew reinforcing on some coveralls or pockets for knee pads, you might want to check out " Seattle Fabrics ". They sell mail order or at their store , and have material such as nylon suitable for back packs.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

My favorite coveralls:

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Excellent quality & workmanship, very comfortable, heavier than average material, zippers on arm & leg cuffs. And a loop of webbing at the back of the neck to faciltate extraction thru the hatch of your burning tank turret.

The sizing is undecipherable -- my coveralls say 50/82 and are a bit large for me. I'm 5'-9" and 150 pounds. My best guess is that the 82 means an 82cm (32") inseam. I could probably wear one size smaller.

I purchased mine at a local surplus place for about $30.

The only downside for me is that I'm often wearing them working outside in deer season and need to remember to put on an orange vest at that time.

Reply to
Ned Simmons

The only option in my area seemed to be TSC, which stocked nothing smaller than medium. I gave up and ordered Dickies from Amazon.

The coveralls seem decent, though I can understand a desire for better materials and detailing; cuff zippers would be convenient, and the fabric feels thin. If they get worn very much I'll probably buy a pair of Carhartts, just to see how they compare. The Dickies were made in Guatemala, which at least is in the correct hemisphere 8-)

Thanks to everybody for reading and replying!

bob prohaska

Reply to
bob prohaska

The best coveralls I ever owned were bought at Sears about 50 years ago - and they had exactly the same ones on the rack abouit 30 years ago. (back when sears was something - and had their own products)

Stalworth Groundforce from Marks look like a pretty decent deal up hear in Canada for aboiut $50 (polycotton) (zipper) - or full cotton twill Stalworths for about $73 (button)

Reply to
Clare Snyder

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