Top 5 Workwear Stretch Trousers and Pants

Arguably, what you wear on your bottom half at work has the greatest influence on your comfort of any part of your workwear outfit. While a good work jacket can provide pockets, waterproofing and warmth, work trousers arguably are the most important part of your get-up. After all, work pants need to cope with higher demands of flexibility and movement which are created by walking, bending and moving around all day alongside coping with weather conditions and providing pocket access at the often most useful waist and leg areas.

Flexibility is an underrated concern when it comes to putting together an outfit for work. Lots of craftsmen like plumbers, electricians and painters need real freedom of movement to get into the hard-to-reach places their job demands. Even those such as construction workers and some office workers will want this flexibility, to enhance both functionality and especially comfort. The key fabric technology that many workwear manufacturers implement to create this freedom of movement into their clothing is through their use of stretch material.

Combine this material with other tough, hard wearing fabrics in the right places, and you get highly capable stretch work trousers. Pants that make a real difference providing comfort and  unrestricted movement all day long - while still offering a durable and long life. Our Gurus are taking a look at a few of the best stretch workwear trousers on the market across a range of prices to keep you informed on some of the best workwear trousers on the market, and why you should consider them next time you are looking for work pants.

1. Blaklader X1900 Craftsmen 4-way-stretch trousers - 1998 - Top 5 Blaklader Work Pants

Looking for work pants for men? Let us introduce you to arguably one of the strongest offerings from this top Swedish workwear brand, the Blaklader X1900 1998 craftsmen trousers. These are arguably some of the best work pants around, and show how stretch material improves workers lives for the better. The 1998 work pants use stretch to create an item that has struck the ideal balance of being both practical and comfortable work pants.

These pants take advantage of 4-way stretch material specifically, meaning they are flexible in any direction. This has a direct impact on comfort, as the user has the freedom to sit, stand, kneel and lie without any hindering restrictions. But 4-way stretch also means that otherwise difficult workloads become achievable in a much easier way than before.

With these top mens work pants, the right fabrics are used in all the right places. 2-way stretch is also applied on the outside of the kneepad pockets to ensure the inserted kneepads stay exactly where they need to be, whilst also not digging in or annoying the wearer which is important for safety and comfort.

Blaklader’s stretch material integrates top-grade CORDURA for a durable and long-lasting end result. This CORDURA 1000 material is implemented throughout the design, including on the pockets and tool holders to ensure that every aspect of these work trousers has been made to last.

2. Mascot Advanced Trousers - 17031-311 - Mascot Advanced Trousers

It’s difficult to choose a definitive pair of Mascot stretch trousers from amidst their vast library of items, but for this list we chose the Mascot 17031 advanced trousers. As the name suggests, these work pants are from the Mascot advanced range, which many still regard as the best of the best in Mascot’s arsenal. The Mascot Advanced range deploys a lot of the latest industry design expertise and materials to create a highly practical and top performance end product.

Naturally, as part of such a product range, the 17031-31 workwear trousers utilise stretch material effectively to enhance their capabilities and those of the wearer. Mascot’s aptly-named “ultimate stretch” is in full effect here, offering 4-way stretch for ultimate manoeuvrability. There is real freedom of movement with these trousers, so much so that we have whole videos on our YouTube channel full of acrobatic moves that demonstrate very clearly the range of movement they provide.

The stretch in the 17031 mens work pants also means that the trousers adapt to the size of the wearer, which improves comfort drastically and gives them a slim, stylish, modern workwear look. We find this a very practical addition for many workers as the stretch will keep excess fabric out of your way while you work.

Ultimate stretch is also applied on other key areas of the trousers, most notably the pockets. Already tough due to the combination of CORDURA, Kevlar and Dyneema (the worlds strongest fibre), stretch material allows for you to fill your pockets without worry of them fraying, breaking or leaving long lasting crease marks.

3. 18179-511 Mascot Accelerate Pants - Mascot Stretch Review

Next up for comparison is one pair of workwear pants from the Mascot Accelerate range. Designed to be a more accessible alternative to the advanced range, accelerate still uses many of the same fabrics and technologies, but offers them at a more affordable price. This range of trousers have been greatly growing in popularity.

The particular pair we have put on this list is the Mascot Accelerate 18179-511 lightweight work pants. Along with the use of Mascot ultimate stretch material providing the usual freedom of movement, the stretch material in this instance has a few additional features worth noting. These mens work pants utilise water-repellent stretch material that is lightweight and highly durable. In addition, this stretch material can be industry laundered without losing its elasticity or effectiveness. Not only will the trousers last longer, but they will continue to function the same as the first time they are worn with little to no degradation of the materials after repeated washes.

There is also still Cordura reinforcement here as with the Advanced range, which means you are getting the same movement opportunities and some degree of long lasting durability at a slightly lower price point.

For those looking for a pair of lightweight work trousers with great value for money, the 18179-511 Mascot Accelerate trousers are an excellent choice.

4. Portwest DX440 Detachable Holster Pocket Trouser - top 5 portwest trousers

Coming in next are Portwest, with their Portwest DX440 holster pocket trousers. Portwest are a well-established brand and are known for including workwear features typically found on more expensive garments on their own reasonably priced range. As an all around option at a reasonable price, the DX440’s don’t disappoint.

Starting at the obvious stretch features, these trousers have the 4-way omnidirectional stretch that is the standard for stretch workwear, giving the trousers the ability to move precisely to aid in the workers tasks. These work trousers have a high-rise waistband which is elasticated on all sides, which, when paired with the 4 way stretch, results in the wearer having an even easier time moving around.

These stretch trousers are also exceptional from a practicality standpoint with multiple pockets integrated into the design. Along with kneepad pockets for workers on their knees all day, they also offer zip off holster pockets for extra storage, which can then be zipped on or off depending on your needs on any particular day. These pockets, and the several other ones, are also triple stitched to ensure the trousers will have a long life, which is usually something normally associated with more expensive trouser brands.

These pants also come with hi vis trouser features. In this case, that hi vis comes in the form of lightweight HiVisTex Pro reflective tape which has been placed on the bottom of each trouser leg, and reflective piping used to add discrete hi vis on small areas like the zips.

5. Caterpillar H2O Defender Trousers

Lastly, we have one of the most well-known construction and workwear brands all over the world: Caterpillar. The Caterpillar H20 Defender Trousers are built to be the ideal workwear companion, from the materials used in its construction to the utility and practicality of its included features.

Let's start by looking at the materials. The H20 defender work pants are made from a cotton/polyester blend, giving them a good mix of comfort and durability. Of course, this is also paired with stretch material to allow for optimal movement. This is a type of stretch material you don’t often see on workwear, making these trousers a standout across Caterpillars whole range.

The comfort and ease of movement is improved further by the gripper waistband (to keep the trousers where you need them) and the articulated knees which follow the body’s natural shape to maintain bloodflow on the back of the knees.

Practically, the defender trousers have CORDURA implemented on the knee pad pockets, scuff guards made from durable nylon and the whole garment is coated in a water resistant finish to keep you dry while you work.

In conclusion

The use of stretch material in work trousers is a trend that continues it’s momentum for good reason. It has made a real difference to comfort for people working in so many industries. The design and fabric technology has become really quite advanced now which means that easy-fitting work trousers can be flexible whilst remaining performant and durable. There are now good stretch trousers from almost all the top workwear brands and the ones we have chosen here are a sample of those on offer.

We at Workwear Gurus are more than happy to help you find the correct stretch trousers for you. If the weathers particularly warm, you may be interested in our range of ¾ length trousers or our work shorts ranges, both of which have stretch garments in them.

Here at Workwear Gurus, we stock a wide range of work trousers in many different sizes and colours. We specialise in global shipping and deliver our full collection regularly to the US, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Europe and Worldwide.

To see our full range of trousers from plenty of top brands including Portwest, Caterpillar, Blaklader and Mascot, visit our main trousers collection.