Current best 100% cotton cargo pants?

WValtakis

WValtakis

Hand engraving & Titanium anodizing
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
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I was looking at the 5.11 Tactical model, but some of the recent reviews have said the quality has changed (snaps instead of buttons, poor fit and finishing). What have you guys bought recently that has impressed you? Durability is key, these will be work pants in an industrial setting. Bonus points for extra pockets, internal pockets for flashlights and stuff, etc.

Thanks in advance,
~Chip
 
I've been using Riggs workwear ranger pants for the last couple of years and like them. Seems to be tough, tightly woven material. No tears yet, even from barbed wire snags. The cargo pockets are snaps, but I've had zero problems with them so far. Since this is a knife site, I'd also point out that there's a leather reinforcement on the corner of the right front pocket where I personally carry folders with pocket clips.

Edited to add: there are a number of extra pockets including a plier pocket and hammer loop if you use those.
 
Old thread started by me

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1189796-Comfortable-Cargo-Pants

Craghoppers Kiwi are ideal for me, but they are 65% polyester travel pants and not what you want. I got lucky and bought 5.11 and Vertx closeouts, one as shorts for my wife. We found them well made and totally overbuilt for our use, and that sounds like what you're looking for. That was two years ago, so I cannot comment on 5.11's alleged downgrade. Both brands have web sites with store locators: find a uniform store, go try them on and see what you think. They sell 5.11 everywhere but you may have to drive to Oakland for Vertx.
 
Thanks guys, I'll check all those out :) Might be a trip to Oakland in the future...

~Chip
 
hexenjager said:
I've been using Riggs workwear ranger pants for the last couple of years and like them. Seems to be tough, tightly woven material. No tears yet, even from barbed wire snags. The cargo pockets are snaps, but I've had zero problems with them so far. Since this is a knife site, I'd also point out that there's a leather reinforcement on the corner of the right front pocket where I personally carry folders with pocket clips.

Edited to add: there are a number of extra pockets including a plier pocket and hammer loop if you use those.
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Wow...those look like a great deal. And they're under $40 on the big river site, I think I'm going to order a pair and check em out.

~Chip
 
WValtakis said:
Wow...those look like a great deal. And they're under $40 on the big river site, I think I'm going to order a pair and check em out.

~Chip
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Glad I could help and I hope they're what you're looking for. I've been impressed with mine. Just like everything else, I'm sure that they'll be great until they get really popular and cut the quality to increase profit margin. Then the search for good pants begins anew...
 
Another vote for the Riggs. Great durability. They seem to run a tiny bit on the small side waist-wise, so if you're at all borderline order on the larger side.
 
hexenjager said:
I've been using Riggs workwear ranger pants for the last couple of years and like them. Seems to be tough, tightly woven material. No tears yet, even from barbed wire snags. The cargo pockets are snaps, but I've had zero problems with them so far. Since this is a knife site, I'd also point out that there's a leather reinforcement on the corner of the right front pocket where I personally carry folders with pocket clips.

Edited to add: there are a number of extra pockets including a plier pocket and hammer loop if you use those.
Click to expand...
I wore Riggs in Iraq. Barely got through a deployment with three pair. They looked great (for awhile), but they didn't hold up. Next time I took plain jane canvas Dickies from wallyworld at $23-$24 a pair. I still have those and still wear them. They are tougher pants than the Riggs (which hit the trash heap long ago). The Dickies canvas are cheaper too.
 
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leghog said:
I wore Riggs in Iraq. Barely got through a deployment with three pair. They looked great (for awhile), but they didn't hold up. Next time I took plain jane canvas Dickies from wallyworld at $23-$24 a pair. I still have those and still wear them. They are tougher pants than the Riggs (which hit the trash heap long ago). The Dickies canvas are cheaper too.
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Just curious how yours failed (seams, tearing, etc). Mine have held up great in daily farm and ranch work, but that would probably be a very different set of circumstances than a deployment.
 
I've only worn mine for 4 shifts so far, but I am pretty impressed with the value. They seem well made and durable, a little stiff but they should soften up with a few washes :). If I had one nit to pick it would be the "leather" pocket reinforcement, it seem to me a little plastic-y.

I think I will be ordering a couple more pairs for the work rotation, thanks again for the recommendation.

~Chip
 
WValtakis said:
I've only worn mine for 4 shifts so far, but I am pretty impressed with the value. They seem well made and durable, a little stiff but they should soften up with a few washes :). If I had one nit to pick it would be the "leather" pocket reinforcement, it seem to me a little plastic-y.

I think I will be ordering a couple more pairs for the work rotation, thanks again for the recommendation.

~Chip
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Glad I could help. :thumbup:
 
hexenjager said:
Just curious how yours failed (seams, tearing, etc). Mine have held up great in daily farm and ranch work, but that would probably be a very different set of circumstances than a deployment.
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Fabric wear. Rips/tears along hem (vs hem ripping) and holes in fabric. Washing them wore/thinned the fabric out more quickly than I find acceptable. Washing and drying fabrics in clothes washers and dryers really is tough on fabrics --- hence WValtakis' comment that "they should soften up with a few washes".
 
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My Riggs jeans hold up to daily farm work, working horses, bucking hay, working fencelines, and so on. No probs. But not cargo pants. I wear the carpenter variety.

Zieg
 
My only pair of Riggs (carpenter style) also wore out faster than expected. It looks like the cotton fibers broke down or something like that. The fabric just seemed to come apart in some areas, particularly above the knees. Other areas look virtually new. They were never bleached, so that isn't a factor. They did see some hard use in my workshop, working on cars and bikes, but I have other work pants that are 10+ years old and in better condition than the ~2 year old Riggs.

Disappointing...
 
I sitting here wearing a Dickies green canvas carpenters that are over two years old now. The color is quite faded from two plus years of washing, but my wife still wonders how I can wear such stiff and thick pants as she calls them. Again $23 a pair at wallyworld. I have two orange pair, two brown pair, and a green pair. Some are about five years old but aren't anywhere near giving up the ghost. Had to find an alternative when Carhartt started using thinner cheaper fabric. Tried Riggs, but they weren't it. The Dickies canvas pants have proven themselves to me so I'm sticking with them.

It should be noted that the Dickies canvas is 12 ounce duck while Wrangler Riggs use 7 and 8 cotton/polyester ripstop or 10 ounce canvas duck .

I'm wearing that one pair of green Dickies canvas carpenter pants in these two pics taken last year.

Bill%2520%2526%2520Charlie%2520at%2520Bull%2520Pasture%2520Gorge%252013%2520Mar%25202016%2520Resized.jpg

Humpback%2520Bridge%2520-%2520Bill%2520-%25206%2520Mar%252016.JPG
 
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16VGTIDave said:
My only pair of Riggs (carpenter style) also wore out faster than expected. It looks like the cotton fibers broke down or something like that. The fabric just seemed to come apart in some areas, particularly above the knees. Other areas look virtually new. They were never bleached, so that isn't a factor. They did see some hard use in my workshop, working on cars and bikes, but I have other work pants that are 10+ years old and in better condition than the ~2 year old Riggs.

Disappointing...
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Just above the knees in a horizontal line? That's what mine did. Each pair.
 
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