Carhartt’s Cotton Ripstop Pants are woven with a reinforcing yarn running perpendicular to the main weave of the fabric. If you look closely, the Ripstop threads form small squares. This literally stops rips, and the technique has been used for tents, kites, parachutes and hang gliders for years. The cloth is also doubled in the front to just below the knees for durability in harsh applications. And whereas the pockets of blue jeans are typically horizontal, making it difficult to get stuff out of them if you’re wearing gloves, the more vertical slant of the front pockets in Carhartt Cotton Ripstop pants enables you to reach the bottom singlehandedly, even with gloves on. The pockets also have a Cordura reinforced horizontal “ledge” which makes it easy to secure a folding knife, tape measure or other small objects with clips. Bonus: the pockets’ Cordura lining prevents screwdrivers, box knives and other tools with sharp edges won’t from poking holes. Hammer loops on both sides, and another tighter loop on each side, make it possible to hang just about anything with a clip on it to either leg. The pants come in moss, desert, black and dark coffee. $55.
