Work Wear
The importance of high quality work wear when performing high quality construction work.
Quality work wear is your first line of defense in the trades. When it comes to achieving peak performance on the job site what you wear head to toe can make all the difference. Whether its how you feel personally about yourself or how others perceive you on the job site, what you wear will set you apart from the rest.
CLOTHS MAKE THE MAN
Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “Clothes make the man,” once before. I can’t really attest to whether this phrase is totally true but one thing I do know is that these apparel brands manage to fit a lot of MAN in their clothes and these are the men that arguably make the clothes. There are few if any workwear manufacturers that have worked to advance the durability and technical performance of workwear over the past century. When I think of workwear that is raising the bar to meet the needs of trades men today, two brands come to mind. The first being Truewerk, with their extensive line of innovative fabric technologies they continue to make breakthroughs in the world of workwear. I know through first hand experience that for every five(5) pair of jeans you’d buy for work one(1) pair of T1-3 pants could outlive them all!
Another name or should I say number that comes to mind when I think quality is 1620 Workwear, a US based company that also takes pride and producing some of the most technologically advanced fabrics found in work wear today. The initial investment for their apparel can appear steep to someone used to throwing away their jeans every other month. With a 5x longer lifetime guarantee, 1620 stands behind the quality of their product and the savings you will achieve by not having to buy 20 pairs of your average work pants a year.
You’ll Love these GLOVES!
Gloves protect our hands from injury every step of the way, although we should always be looking where we place our hands it may not always be possible so having an adequate pair of gloves is crucial to our safety. Gloves that are rated for a certain level of abrasion or laceration are what you want to look for when it comes to protection. When handling chemicals be sure to use the recommended gloves for chemical handling. The gloves I am talking about here are specifically for blunt force or cut protection. Milwaukees Cut level 1-3 Gloves are a durable pair of gloves that are great to have for demo work or when working with rough building materials that could cause cuts, scrapes and bruises when handling. Huskies Micro Armor Latex Foam Dipped Cut 1 Gloves are one of my favorites to use on the job site for its versatility, it performs like a higher cut level while providing great flexibility and grip when executing most tasks on the job site.
BOOTS were made for walking!
TIMBERLAND PRO
The comfort of the boot you wear on a job site can be the main factor in deciding whether or not you’re going to have a good day. Summer time may be a good time to go for a low cut or winter a high top boot. Some cases you may need a composite toe as opposed to a heavier and clunkier steel toe. But if you want a boot that just may have you covered across the board for comfort and resilience the Timberland Pro Rigmasters are it for me. The Ringmaster is a Laceless, Waterproof, secure fitting pull-on boot with steel toe and doesn’t feel too heavy and doesn’t have any laces making it safer in work environments where a person could get snagged or trip over laces and cause an injury.
KEEN UTILITY
Keen utility Mens Cincinnati Wellington with carbon fiber toe has a similar boot design that shares the benefit of being laceless but does not have a steel toe if that is what you were looking for. This boot may be more desirable for someone that is exposed to a lot of live electricity or heat around their feet that could cause over heating or heat exhaustion since Carbon doesn’t transfer heat as much as steel
KEEP YOUR HEAD ON STRAIGHT
You’d think I’d start from the top with this but these are usually the last pieces of PPE to go on before a tradesman goes about their business. Hard Hat, Hearing protection and Safety Glasses!
HARD HAT
A Hard hat is the most common piece of PPE you’ll likely see on an active job site. Over the years there have been many different designs for the hard hat but the most common style prevails on the store shelves. The Safety Helmet you see here is a little different from the traditional hard hat due to its chin strap feature and padding designed to address possible side impact as well.
HEARING PROTECTION
The most common hearing protection we may all be used to is the foam ear plug. For more comfort and optimal hearing protection earmuffs are recommended. These particular earmuffs are designed by 3M and I find them to be comfortable and durable for site use.
When It comes to STYLISH Eye Protection, Hyspecs has you covered!
Eye protection for many trades can be one of the most important pieces of PPE used daily. Welders use special face masks, sometimes plumbers may use goggles, and framers may be seen wearing a simple pair of wrap around safety glasses. One thing most of these forms of PPE have in common is that they may tend to look a bit goofy or awkward on someones face, maybe even uncomfortable after wearing them all day. Hyspecs is a game changer with its availability of different lenses for its safety rated glasses that have a stylish and appealing design. The model you see here in red is the ICON series with clear UV400 lenses and side shields. Although Hyspecs are more for tasks where you don’t require sealed eye protection like goggles, they work exceptionally well with framing and most building applications for which you would use eye protection. The custom lens options are another great feature that HySpecs offer, you can have your prescription lens installed into a pair of Hyspecs or you can have Shaded, transitions, High def, and even blue filter lenses installed for your Hyspecs to meet the needs of your demanding work.
