Carhartt built its new ultra-tough Steel series workwear to flex and stretch like athletic gear

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I have a pair of Carhartt’s iconic double-knee work pants that are basically indestructible. I love them, but the rigid material isn’t very flexible. Carhartt’s new Steel Series is the company’s attempt to match the stretch offered by athletic wear without giving up abrasion resistance. The six-piece line goes on sale today at Carhartt.com and select retailers, starting at $89.99 for the Relaxed Tapered Steel Buffalo Pant and topping out at $209.99 for the Steel Braddock Jacket.

It’s a forward-looking project for a brand that has spent recent years revisiting its archive, from the Icons Re-Engineered program that modernized the 1954 Detroit jacket to the Crafted Series chore coat in our Father’s Day gift guide. Steel pairs new fabrics with reinforced knees, kick panels, and stretchy pockets, to create garments that are even more durable than some existing duck, canvas, or fleece fabrics.

Steel Series began on ski lifts and in steel shops

Carhartt’s design team makes two to three dozen job-site visits a year, according to Ben Ewy, the company’s vice president of global product design. On those trips, the team kept seeing workers dressed in jogging pants or tactical gear meant for the military. They moved well and wore out fast, while technical (or tactical) gear lasted but restricted how they moved.

Ski lift operators spend long days in cold, punishing conditions and still need to bend and climb. Steel fabricators crouch, kneel on pads, and wear through fabric in predictable spots. Ewy said the project took almost three years, partly because Carhartt engineered the materials from the fiber up, and prototypes went through rounds of wear-testing with Carhartt’s own crew before production.

What’s in the Steel Series fabrics

Carhartt calls the blend in select Steel pieces Ny-co, short for nylon-cotton, but the spec sheet is more mixed than the name. The 9.5-ounce canvas on the Braddock jacket, bib, and pant is 42 percent polyester, 41 percent cotton, 14 percent nylon, and 3 percent elastane. Ewy explained that the cotton keeps the dull finish and coarse texture people expect from Carhartt, while the nylon adds strength. The 3 percent elastane introduces a mechanical stretch that won’t wear out over time.

Ny-co blends aren’t new for Carhartt, but Ewy said this is the most durable version the company has made. The Baltimore and Buffalo pants skip cotton entirely in favor of nylon-elastane weaves, and the Bridgeport sweatshirt is a cotton-polyester fleece. Each piece carries a claim against a Carhartt fabric that already exists.

Steel Series piece	Price	Fabric	Carhartt’s claim
Steel Braddock Jacket	$189.99 to $209.99	9.5-oz poly/cotton/nylon canvas, insulated	4x abrasion resistance, 2x stretch vs. stretch duck
Steel Braddock Bib Overall	$169.99 to $174.99	9.5-oz poly/cotton/nylon canvas	4x abrasion resistance, 2x stretch vs. stretch duck
Relaxed Straight Steel Braddock Pant	$119.99	9.5-oz poly/cotton/nylon canvas	10x abrasion resistance, 3x strength vs. stretch canvas
Relaxed Straight Steel Baltimore Pant	$99.99	8.3-oz nylon/elastane double weave	5x abrasion resistance, 2x strength vs. stretch canvas
Relaxed Tapered Steel Buffalo Pant	$89.99	6.4-oz nylon/elastane	5x abrasion resistance, 2x strength vs. stretch canvas
Steel Bridgeport Sweatshirt	$99.99 to $109.99	10.5-oz cotton/polyester fleece	2x abrasion resistance vs. 10.5-oz fleece

Those multipliers come from Carhartt’s internal testing, and the launch materials don’t describe the methods. Carhartt did compare Steel to its own duck, canvas, and fleece rather than to a generic lab sample, so each number describes the gap from gear many Carhartt buyers already own. The Braddock pant, which has the heaviest fabric of the three pants at 9.5 ounces and the highest price, claims the biggest jump at 10x.

Steel’s double knee gets stretch

Ewy traces Carhartt’s double knee back to its B01 work pants, where the reinforcement is a second layer of the same fabric sewn over the knees. Steel changes the overlay itself. “Instead of being the same fabric twice, it’s a whole new material that has stretch and recovery and durability,” Ewy said. The knee panel bends with you instead of adding a stiff second layer.

Those knees double as knee pad pockets. The Braddock and Buffalo pants load pads from the top, the bib’s double knees open at the bottom, and the Baltimore’s double fronts are also pad-compatible. Carhartt engineered its own knee pads to fit these pockets, which is extremely handy if you spend a lot of time getting down on the ground.

The reinforcement continues below the knee. Kick panels at the back of the hem on all three pants cover the spot that drags on the ground and rubs on boot heels. Pocket bottoms are reinforced so tools don’t poke through, and an overlay on the side pockets protects the area where a tape measure or folding knife wears through. On the Braddock Jacket, the pocket fabric stretches to hold more gear. It’s truly capable workwear with tons of features typical track pants don’t offer.

Steel Series price and availability

There is a cost premium that comes with this mix of comfort and durability. The closest existing pant is the Relaxed Straight Rugged Flex Duck Double-Front Dungaree, a 12-ounce cotton duck pant with pad-ready double knees that lists for $74.99 to $79.99 on Carhartt.com. Steel pants run $89.99 to $119.99, so the Braddock pant costs $40 to $45 more than the duck dungaree while using a lighter fabric. The added toughness, however, makes Steel capable of lasting longer, even under gnarly conditions.

Care doesn’t change. Steel meets the same laundry specs as the rest of Carhartt’s workwear, so it’s wash-and-wear. The full line is available starting October 7 at Carhartt.com and select retailers. The jacket and sweatshirt come in regular and tall sizes, the pants run 30 to 44 inches at the waist, and the bib goes up to a 50.

Carhartt Steel Braddock Jacket from $189.99

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There’s 80-gram polyester insulation under the Braddock Jacket’s canvas shell, which makes it the Steel piece for cold mornings. Carhartt adds its Wind Fighter windproofing and a water-repellent finish, plus a removable hood, adjustable cuffs, and a drop-tail hem that covers your lower back when you bend over. It comes in Black and Field Fatigue, with tall sizes available.

Carhartt Steel Braddock Bib Overall from $169.99

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The Braddock Bib Overall uses the same shell and Wind Fighter windproofing as the jacket, so the two work as a set. Its double knees open at the bottom for pads, and the zippered bib pocket is split into compartments. The adjustable leg openings close with what Carhartt calls anti-gunk hook-and-loop, and the suspenders are adjustable elastic.

Carhartt Relaxed Straight Steel Braddock Pant $119.99

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Ten times the abrasion resistance of stretch canvas is the biggest number in the Steel lineup, and it belongs to this pant. It’s cut from the same 9.5-ounce shell as the jacket and bib, with a four-way stretch gusset and back panel so the seat moves when you squat. Top-loading double knees take pads, and it only comes in black.

Carhartt Relaxed Straight Steel Baltimore Pant $99.99

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If you want the Braddock’s straight cut without the canvas, the Baltimore swaps in an 8.3-ounce nylon-elastane double weave. It keeps the four-way stretch gusset and back panel, pad-compatible double fronts, and reinforced cargo and back pockets. Carhartt rates it at twice the strength and five times the abrasion resistance of stretch canvas, and it comes in Mud Gray or Field Fatigue, which makes it the only Steel pant offered in the latter.

Carhartt Relaxed Tapered Steel Buffalo Pant $89.99

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The Buffalo is the only Steel pant with a tapered leg opening, and its 6.4-ounce fabric is the lightest in the line. The fabric is 92 percent nylon and 8 percent elastane, and it still gets top-loading double knees, reinforced kick panels, and reinforced tool pockets. It comes in Black and Mud Gray, and it’s the least expensive way into the Steel Series.

Carhartt Steel Bridgeport Sweatshirt from $99.99

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Carhartt Steel Bridgeport Sweatshirt from $99.99

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I was wearing a Bridgeport during my interview with Carhartt because I refused to turn on my heat . It’s a 10.5-ounce cotton-polyester fleece with a zip neck, a chest pocket, a three-piece hood, and Carhartt’s Rain Defender water-repellent finish. Carhartt says it’s twice as abrasion-resistant as 10.5-ounce fleece, with reinforced overlays on the sleeves. It comes in Black, Mud Gray, and Field Fatigue.