Arborwear

Arborwear enjoys near-universal praise in the r/BuyItForLife community, particularly for its double thick hoodie and work pants, which are consistently described as among the most durable workwear available. Originally designed for arborists and tree climbers, the brand's clothing is praised for outlasting competitors like Carhartt through years of hard use. A handful of minor criticisms exist — mainly around price, inconsistent sizing, and the purely functional (not stylish) aesthetic — but they rarely dissuade community members from recommending it.

Arborwear earns a strong recommend based on consistent community reports of 8–12+ years of heavy-use durability, purpose-built workwear construction, and near-unanimous preference over Carhartt and similar brands — with minor caveats around price and sizing inconsistency.

The community overwhelmingly highlights Arborwear's extreme durability and warmth, especially the double thick hoodie, with many users reporting a decade or more of heavy use. Work-specific design features like reinforced gussets, hardhat-compatible hoods, and multi-layer construction set it apart from mainstream workwear brands.

• Double thick hoodie made from two 13oz cotton layers for extreme warmth
• Pants feature reinforced crotch gussets designed for tree climbers
• Reported to outlast Carhartt and other workwear brands significantly
• Hood designed to fit over a hard hat, highly functional in the field
• Multiple product lines for varying temperatures and work conditions
• Pants break in beautifully after initial stiffness, fitting like a glove

The main criticisms are the premium price point and some fit/durability quirks, including inconsistent sizing, heavy water absorption when wet, and occasional seam failures on pants with heavy use. One user noted the oversized hood can be a safety hazard around heavy equipment without a hard hat.

• Pricing is high, especially for hoodies at $80+ and chainsaw pants at $300
• Sizing can be inconsistent, requiring ordering multiple sizes to confirm fit
• 100% cotton double thick soaks up enormous amounts of water when wet
• Nylon tech pants reported to rip at quad seams within a year of heavy use
• Too stiff and utilitarian for casual or loungewear use

One long-time user described the double thick hoodie as essentially having two of the best hoodies you've ever owned combined into one, with a hood so large it fits over a hard hat — though warned that soaking wet it can feel like it weighs 40 pounds.

A former lumberjack noted that their Arborwear piece outlasted every other clothing item they owned while enduring the toughest conditions of the job.

A welder and tree climber who switched from Carhartt said Arborwear is far superior in quality and construction, calling it real work pants — though noted they are expensive and heavy, and not indestructible.

One user with nearly a decade of use on their double thick hoodie said it still looks just as solid as the day they bought it, with only some sun fading to show for years of job site wear.