any fans? i have enjoyed their catalog and website for years but have never bought anything. i'm in Iowa on business, and darn if they don't have a brick and mortar store right down the road from our site. i'm going to go check it out later today. let me know if you have any particular favorites that i should check out. if nothing else i'll just try some stuff on, figure out my sizes, and give my wife a Christmas list
I have a good amount of Duluth stuff. Great warranty and service, but I wish they had more USA made product. These are good shorts for the money and NO velcro (cant stand velcro pockets) http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/mens/mens-pants/mens-work-shorts/84019.aspx?processor=content and same design but in pants http://www.duluthtrading.com/search/searchresults/95016.aspx?kw=everyday pants&processor=content
Got a bunch of their work pants,shorts and shirts, super tuff but heavy. Well designed and useful pockets, that's a real sell point to me. Going to try some of their lighter "dry on the fly" stuff next summer.
Anything in their Firehose material is great. Duluth's pants are the only ones I've found that stand up to what I put them through between the homestead and my business, and I have a lot of other items by them as well. Not inexpensive, but a fair value because the quality is commensurate with the price.
thanks guys. i'm looking forward to a visit. i was always wary of ordering online and screwing up the sizing, so a visit should clear that up for me.
I have a pair of their 5 pocket flex ballroom jeans and a pair of the dry on the fly flex cargo fleece lined pants for camping and really like them both. I would own more but a little on the expensive side for me. The sizes seem true for what I usually wear at least for me.
I've wanted their pants for awhile, but they don't make many, if any, in 30's and most 32's are a hassle with a belt. I'm sure the store will be awesome though.
I've gotten a few pairs of their firehouse pants, the regular and thinner summer weight. I work in commercial construction and wear out clothes regularly. I find their warranty to be great, but the pants are far to thick and heavy for interior work. And they shrink terribly bad. I've had pants that fit wonderfully, but after one wash end up totally unwearable. Personally, I'll not spend my money there anymore. Although they will accept a return/exchange without argument, my time is worth too much to constantly deal with it. Just my experience.
None of mine have ever shrunken up on me. Makes me wonder if it was a problem isolated to the particular model(s) you had?
Nor have mine, even some 2-3 years old. I send them thru the machine in cold water/no soap when I get them and it turns a 36w into a 35 1/2 but none have ever went down after. I do that with jeans too. I would certainly report such a problem, make them aware that there might be an issue because as noted, the pants are not US made. Give them a chance to look into the issue anyway.
If anything, the ones I own have been the most stable over repeated washings over any I've ever owned (excepting synthetics which are inherently free from the problem, of course) and I don't pay attention to the settings too much. I just dump 'em in and run it. So I've had plenty of pants shrink on me over the years, but not my Duluths.
I bought one of their firehouse shirtjacs back around '06, maybe. It's still going strong. It's one of the reasons I look forward to cold weather. I also have a shore man's fleece and their 5 pocket firehouse jeans. It's getting pricey, but it's well worth the money.
you must be in Ankeny. their longtail T's are well worth the $$. most of their knit shirts run 1/2 size large, their pants 1/2 size small in the waist. I love my flannel lined firehose shirt. I loved my FH pants - until I outgrew them... while you're in the area, you should check out the Mills Fleet Farm store about 1/2 mile south of DT -- it's huge, and has gas prices almost as good as the Sam's next door. if you get hungry, check out Zombie Burger - and get a basket of the loaded fries to go with your burger, if you're hungry enough.
For maybe 10 years, I too had Duluth on my list to someday get a pair of the Fire Hose Cargo pants. Just too expensive & mail order only here. A couple of months ago I ordered a pair on a closeout sale. They are great. Really liking the pockets & heavy but soft feel of the fabric. Now I have 4 pairs in 3 styles & 4 colors. No un-expected shrinkage for me (maybe 1/2 to 1 inch?). About like any jeans in my experience. I don't baby them in washing & drying. I have several pairs of Tru-Spec 7/11's & while I like them, the Duluth's are a "work pants" based design, while the Tru-Spec's are "tactical" designed. Similar, but different. Catch them on sale & they are not that much more, if any, than than 5.11's or Tru-Spec's. I would say that the sizing runs real close to the same for me. Get on their email list. Common sales are 20% off with free shipping over $50, & on occasion, 25% off. I feel sure there will be a big mail order sale around black Friday, & it's going to be tough to resist. I'm still tempted on a pair of their overalls, but sizing can be crazy on those if you are not an ideal weight. If I could try some on & get a good fit, I would have a pair.
The firehose flex will shrink a bit ive noticed. They stretch out while wearing but can be uncomfortable for a bit. The fire hose pants in Missouri are good except for deep summer where the sweat turns them into a meat grinder. Those are my only complaints. The good stuff is that they are well thought out apparel with the toughness of an esee 5. The return policy is spot on awesome. Any issues and just return them.
