Who makes the best, strongest duck cotton work jackets?

[Seb Lucas]

I just got a Carhartt Detroit jacket which is nice enough but doesn't appear to be all that much better made than what I might get from any old store. Threads loose all over the place; basic materials. Will need to see how it wears.

Any other makes of this kind of classic item?

 

[bretron]

Iron Heart probably has the thickest material available (18-21oz). Most other offerings are a 10-12oz variety. For me, I'd say stick with the blue collar American made stuff like Pointer Brand or Roundhouse. Can't get myself to spend $300 on a duck jacket that I can get for $80 (no matter how thick!!).

Well, that's my two pesos

 

[Will015]

That Carhartt will wear pretty hard. I wear them for pretty rough construction work through the fall/winter and usually get 6-7 years before replacement. And even at that point they aren't junk, the cuffs are usually worn through with small holes on the underside of the arms, just not presentable enough to the companies that I work for.

I couldn't imagine spending Iron Heart money on a jacket and really testing it's durability. Just couldn't bring myself to forget about the jacket and just work. I'd always be concerned that I'd damage it or snag it on something. Though, I used to feel this way about my White's boots. Now they're just work boots. Amazing work boots. I just couldn't imagine an Iron Heart wearing that much tougher to justify the price discrepancy. Either way, cotton duck is extremely durable material and I'd imagine any decently constructed item made from it would wear pretty hard.

 

[majormajor]

I couldn't imagine spending Iron Heart money on a jacket and really testing it's durability.

A lot of the recent swathe of Duck jackets have been aimed at the denim collectors' market, rather than the regular workwear segment.

Given that some of the very first jackets made by Levi Strauss, back in the 1800's, were Duck rather than Denim, then this is suddenly the "must have" jean jacket. The LVC repro has pretty much sold out, and Rising Sun do their own similar pleated front version.

The Iron Heart version seems to have managed to completely miss both markets! The price is pitched at the same level as Levi/Rising Sun, thus making it too expensive to use as regular workwear, but, instead of having "retro" appeal, the jacket is based on one of the least collectable jackets on the planet - the Type III Levi with handwarmers!

They do the same style in other fabrics without the extra pockets, so what possessed them to saddle the Duck version with them beats me (IMHO). I can go down to the Mall and buy any number of Type III w/pockets. So a NO from me:eeek:

If I could find a pleated front Levi in my size I would buy one.The Rising Sun is very nice, tho.......

 

[Interbak]

I don't know what the work wear market is like in OZ, up here in Canada we have three basic choices, Carhartt, Tough Duck, and Denver Hayes (Mark's Workwear house brand). Carhartt wins hands down. The others are slightly cheaper imitators, that lose out on style and fit. I still have my 25 year old Carhartt parka around for blowing snow and working under vehicles in the winter. Like WillO15 said, it's not pretty enough for polite company, but it's still going strong 2 and a half decades later!

B

 

[frussell]

I've got a twenty year old Carhartt blanket-lined jacket that I've used as a riding/stable/work coat/emergency bedroll in all kinds of rough conditions, and other than being very faded color-wise, it doesn't have a mark on it. A few stains here and there, but no holes, tears, or worn-through areas. It's not my best looking jacket by any means, but it's paid for itself a hundred times over. Frank

 

[gtdean48]

I have 2 Carhartt's, 1 chore coat & 1 rancher coat. Doubt I'll ever wear out either one of them or ever need another.
I got them on clearance since they were not the tan color. I rather like the moss color myself.
I've always wondered how tough Duluth Trading Co. fire hose jackets are...http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/...se-workwear/mens-fire-hose-jackets/14005.aspx

 

[Nathan Flowers]

I haven't tried one of their jackets, but the Duluth Trading fire hose trousers are superior to Carhartt.

 

[sal]

Wow
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Filson.
I have some of their stuff and IMHO they are superior to Carhartt. I have a couple of things that are ten years old (hunting) and it wears like new

 

[Seb Lucas]

Here in Oz you can't get decent workwear. There is nothing like Carhartt and no duck cotton jackets. That's why I'm interested. Thanks everyone for your observations. Keep them coming.

 

[casechopper]

I have a couple of their shirt jackets and they've done well for a few years use. A couple of years they were the only jackets I wore. The material is less stiff than Carhartt IMO but is heavier with a looser weave. They've faded some from washing but other than that they're as good as new.

I have 2 Carhartt's, 1 chore coat & 1 rancher coat. Doubt I'll ever wear out either one of them or ever need another.
I got them on clearance since they were not the tan color. I rather like the moss color myself.
I've always wondered how tough Duluth Trading Co. fire hose jackets are...http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/...se-workwear/mens-fire-hose-jackets/14005.aspx

 

[Fanch]

Wow
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Filson.
I have some of their stuff and IMHO they are superior to Carhartt. I have a couple of things that are ten years old (hunting) and it wears like new

I am with you on your take regarding the Filson product. I own "Weekender" and "Trucker" jackets. If I were limited to only one Filson jacket, I would choose their "Tin Jacket" model with a separate zip in Moleskin and/or 24 oz. Mackinaw vest. When I was in a huge Army Navy store in Anchorage, Alaska last August, I had an opportunity to carefully compare Filson and Carhartt jackets and found that I greatly prefer the former over the latter, although I do own a couple of heavy cotton flannel Carhartt shirts that I wear during the winter seasons.

 

[Lafayette]

Praise for Filson tin cloth jackets

I recently acquired a Filson dry finish tin cloth ranch jacket.

They're pricey, but I got mine on Sierra Trading Post for 35% off their already discounted price, so I paid about $80 (seriously!) for a Filson garment that retails for over $200.

My version is unlined (the only pic on Filson's site right now is for the lined version).

As a side note, many classic Filson products aren't so classic anymore as they're shipping production to overseas and apparently suffering in the quality control department, but this jacket is still USA made (of imported fabric).

Like most / all of Filson's USA made products, this one seems built to outlast me.

 

[apba1166]

I have a Filson and a Woolrich. Imho the Woolrich is so far better it is not even a comparison. Trumps Carhartt as well but may be pricier. Mine is about fifteen years old, removable blanket lining, chore/barn jacket....been through plenty...might not be as well made these days as it was then, or especially even longer ago, but who knows. I will try and get pics up tomorrow when I am home if anyone wants to see.

 

[Interbak]

Yes, I forgot about Woolrich, great stuff, but hard to find and expensive up here. I did visit the factory outlet in Woolrich PA a few years back, great deals there.

B

 

[Doublegun]

I just got a Carhartt Detroit jacket which is nice enough but doesn't appear to be all that much better made than what I might get from any old store. Threads loose all over the place; basic materials. Will need to see how it wears.

Any other makes of this kind of classic item?

You're not going to wear out that Detroit jacket. People who earn their living working hard outdoors live in them. Construction workers, road workers, farmers, ranchers...they all swear by them. Filson's catalogues look nice but your aren't going to find many working men wearing their jackets or pants.

A tattered Carhartt jacket says more about the man than it does the jacket. It's tells everyone that this guy actually works for a living and is not some poser hipster who is just trying to look like they work. The more honest wear they show the better they are.

 

[Seb Lucas]

But I am a poser hipster and don't want to look like a common laborer who has to work for a living.

 

[apba1166]

Actually, in my work life I find guys wearing Carhartt do work hard, as we all do, but are a bit self-conscious about the brand ever since it has become chic. Key, Revco, and a couple other welding shirt mfrs far surpass Carhartt out on the job, from what I see, and rightfully so, being better made and less than half the price; and now Duluth, perhaps thnx to their vast direct mail campaign and very practical stuff. Once in awhile I do see some heavy denim...a concrete mixer working w/me last week had on some sort of heavy tight low rise denim...he could work in them but i wouldn't want to. There's a finishing dude, in his late 20s, tall guy, who wears a pair of supertight heavy duck, perhaps Iron Heart, every single day.
But yes, I agree w/you Doublegun, when it comes to jackets, Carhartt gets worn hard; and with Seb too, 'cause i just want to fit in with everyone who doesn't fit in in whatever they fit in to.

 

[Highwaymanman]

Can I chime in and mention the Dickies lined Eisenhower jackets? About forty bucks and you have a practical jacket wearable from depths of NY winter to late spring and early fall. They make them in many colors too. I've had two and both were stolen despite each being about four years old with daily wear. Dickies should take it as a compliment.

 

[Seb Lucas]

I have a Dikies Ike. Unlined. It's okay but it's really just a bog-standard polycotton work jacket.