Workwear; or, Dandy rigouts in which to perform manual labour.

You'd never be allowed to work in Knightsbridge without the correct 'uniform', preferably with the trousers held up by your old school tie.

But seriously, if the Grauniad muppets turned up like that, would you rate your chances of them actually doing anything very highly?

We had a bloke work with us very briefly who we named Will Scarlet. Dozy muswell hill hippy lad, turned up in a £500 felt overcoat, plus fours and fancy boots for a days labouring on trees.
I was embarrassed to be seen with him.

These days I’m all about dirt cheap overalls for allotment/workshop

I just looked at Arbortec, I think if I am looking for 'best', I would scroll past to Armani.....

I more meant - they are just being used as models, to give a bit of 'authenticity' to a fashion column. They're just handed those clothes to wear for the shoot.

Multi-Colour Chain-Saw trousers.

https://arbortec.com/collections/all-products/products/multi-colour-breatheflex-pro-type-a-chainsaw-trousers

First world problems solved!

I love Arbortec, would get a good 18months climbing out of a pair before they’re reduced to tatters. Overkill for landscaping tho but toasty warm on a winters day.

Any recommendations for decent PPE for tree surgery groundwork, boots, trousers and helmet. Also any recommendations for doing tickets near se London

Pfanner or arbortec trousers. Nothing else is worth the money. Get 18months out of a pair if you keep on top of sewing up rips.
Petzl lid with chipper spec ear defenders is the minimum you want, you’ll look a dork in anything less... Keep it clear and wash the foam forehead band.

I wore standard black meindl chainsaw boots, the climber spec red ones are a bit spendier. A year or 18months per pair of you treat them well. The red ones look ace but the soles are soft and sticky which is great for climbing but they wear out quicker on the ground. Make sure you can wear 2 pairs of socks comfortably in them.

A good set of thermals and loads of pairs of gloves plus one pair cable handling/foundry gloves for brambles.

Either invest in an arbortec waterproof or just accept that you’ll kill cheap ones every couple of weeks.

Can’t help you with tickets se but any arb questions just ask. I recently left after 12yrs of it.

My gardening outfits would probably induce convulsions in you. I have a great pair of v12 rigger boots which are brilliant for garden work. Tend to wear dungarees either Carhartt or Filson tin cloth in wet weather with a pendleton wool shirt.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

Shit middle class lords of the manor say thread >>>>

I’m only jealous coz I can’t afford Filson dungarees...

My SIP chainsaw trousers were a gift from my wife as I had trouser envy when I saw hers - a huge improvement on the basic bitch ones I used to wear and overheat in.

Am also a fan of the meindl boots, so comfy I have forgotten I have them on and gone on dog walks in them.

Yeah my last chainsaw meindls were also my hiking boots.
I prob went through at least 5-6pairs of them. I tried vegan chainsaw boots but they fell apart in about 3 months sadly.
The meindls would fit me bang on straight out the box and be broken in after the first week of work. Perfect.

I've got stihl ones, well made but they weigh 1kg each. Also, might be teaching you to suck eggs but I ended up with front and back leg protection which are horrible to work in on the ground and are not a requirement for the course/ticket

Cheers for the info, nice one

Just chopped down a huge dead tree in my garden. About a quarter of the way through I shit myself but there was no going back in case it fell down in the wind on a kid or something. Pretty awesome when it went down though.

Was wearing battered haglofs trousers and a RRL leather jacket 😂

Got mine at 60% off but still pricey!

I would be briefly jealous of your working (wandering around your acres looking mean, moody and purposeful) clothing. The problem is that although your gear would certainly last at least twice as long as mine, it costs probably four times as much.

I have been slightly dishonest, when I can get away with wellies in winter, Le Chameau Vierzonord are superb, they are not inexpensive.

Best thing I bought when I started working outside was an Austrian M65 army jacket made from Sympatex, which is essentially the same as Gore Tex. £40 from an online army surplus place and it has kept me dry in some long spells of rain, while being completely breathable too.

https://forcesuniformandkit.co.uk/products/austrian-army-m65-gore-tex-jacket?variant=839703117

It gets Nik Waxed every now and again but often just hosed down and hung to dry if it’s shitty from me handling stone.

twice as long as mine, it costs probably four times as much

I'm a great believer in there being a sensible price point for most things. If you're doing hard manual labour you'll destroy clothes and that's a business expense. There's a reason basically everyone on domestic sites wears those DeWalt trousers and boots.

If it's recreational wear then it's whatever you can or choose to spend on your clothes really.

That said I am after a pair of non-technical looking work trousers as my DIY jeans are on their last legs. But as nothing I use gets more than occasional use I'd prefer it not to look too geeky in case I go out. Looking either at Dickies from Screwfix, or seeing if I can find some cheap Carhartt somewhere. It's annoying as they're the sort of thing pre covid I would have got from a charity shop or army surplus.

https://forcesuniformandkit.co.uk/produc­ts/austrian-army-m65-gore-tex-jacket?var­iant=839703117

That's an excellent find.

Thanks to someone in the Golf Club thread suggesting Hoggs of Fife as a cheap but decent Barbour alternative I picked a padded one up for gardening and dad duties. It's probed to be great. But that would have been perfect if I hadn't.

Source for lined overalls in the uk? I’d be prepared to treat myself to Carhartt but they only appear to stock the dungarees over here.
I usually buy Castle or Dickies overalls(just the cheap ones) but fancy something warmer for winter. Anyone got a recommendation? Obvs they both do lined ones but happy to get something a bit heavier gauge/long lasting this time.
I get cold really fucking easily and stay that way all day so being able to wear a full overall makes a huge difference to me over seperates. Don’t get me started on layering, I’m already a pro at that for any situation!

I imagine you'd find lots of stuff in here
https://www.varusteleka.com/en

Helly Hansen workwear do lined overalls. Not sure if you can get them in the uk ?

Cool, will have a look. Ideally I’d like a real shop I can go and try them on in. Frustrating that Carhartt US has an overall for every occasion but fuck all over here....