Durability Workwear Guide
Your Shopping Guide for Workwear that Lasts
Durability is something that must always be demanded of trade workwear. Work that involves frequent contact with rough surfaces, tools, and materials causes rapid wear and tear on ordinary garments. As a consequence, reputable workwear manufacturers must treat clothing design and production as a science—not just focusing on style and comfort, but rigorously testing garments to withstand industrial-grade wear and provide lab-certified protection against the elements.
Not every workwear brand or garment is made equally, however, which is why it's important to research and compare.
But first you need to know what goes into the workwear to make it durable.
This workwear buying guide will help you understand what makes our garments at Bisley stand out in terms of longevity, functionality, and safety. Thus ensuring you can make an informed decision with your purchase when you're after workwear that lasts.
The Significance of Durable Workwear in the Trades
Durability goes beyond how long the fibres of the material stay together in one piece. The work that goes into quality tradework extends to colours that can undergo many washes over time before they begin to fade, longer comfort from the feeling of the fabrics, and function that is maintained by stitching around pockets and seams that stay intact.
Regular clothing in comparison, when worn on a work site, just can’t compete. It tears, gets punctured, and its basic stitching and lack of reinforced stitching means when key stress areas of the garment undergo frequent use, they come apart.
It costs you more in time and money in replacement costs, and costs the planet more waste. This is not even mentioning one of the most critical reasons to wear durable workwear: it’s made to protect workers. That means you. Durable heavy-duty fabrics and abrasion-resistant fabrics like Cordura Kelvar protects individuals from cuts, grazes and other injuries that can occur from handling specialised tools, materials and environments at work.
At Bisley, our workwear is crafted with the most demanding work environments in mind, integrating the best of heavy-duty fabrics and reinforced designs to keep you safe and comfortable all day long.
Heavy Duty Materials that Withstand Industrial Wear and Tear
When shopping for heavy durability, look for heavy-duty fabrics like these.
Cotton Drill
- Breathable and comfortable
- Resists wear and fading
- Easy to maintain
This versatile fabric is a workwear staple, offering a balance between comfort, breathability, and toughness. Cotton drill fabrics used in Bisley garments, such as trousers and shirts, are woven tightly in a diagonal pattern to ensure they resist wear and maintain comfort, even during long shifts in hot or cold environments. It’s a smooth, breathable fabric that offers excellent comfort during long shifts, making it perfect for shirts and trousers.
Cotton Canvas
- Withstands abrasion and wear
- Naturally repels water
- Easy to clean, no ironing needed, and stain-resistant
Cotton Canvas is a durable and protective fabric, offering superior strength and resilience in tough environments. Unlike cotton drill, which has a diagonal weave, canvas features a plain weave, making it thicker and coarser in texture. This gives it excellent abrasion resistance and natural water resistance, making it ideal for outdoor and rugged work. While cotton canvas and cotton drill are both durable cotton weaves, canvas provides added protection and is easier to clean, requiring minimal ironing. Combined with some elastic fibres, and you get stretch cotton canvas: a material that easily stretches and recovers, that you’ll commonly find in our stretch cargo trousers.
How Cotton Canvas performs under tests
Cotton canvas is widely used in industrial applications due to its high tensile strength and ability to endure wear and tear. Testing reveals:
- Tensile Strength – Standard cotton canvas fabrics achieve breaking forces of at least 800 Newtons (N) warpwise and 600 N weftwise (ISO 13934-1:1999).
- Tear Strength – While lower than synthetic materials, such as 400 denier nylon, cotton canvas still provides reliable resistance to tearing in workwear applications.
- Abrasion Resistance – Canvas is rated as having lower abrasion resistance than synthetic alternatives like Cordura®, though it remains durable for general industrial wear.
Invista™ Cordura®
- Abrasion and tear resistance
- Lightweight and flexible
- Ideal for high-stress areas
For those working in high-intensity environments, the addition of Cordura® fabric provides exceptional strength and abrasion resistance. Used strategically in high-stress areas like knees and seat panels, Cordura® reinforces Bisley Workwear’s shorts and trousers, ensuring they can withstand tough tasks without sacrificing comfort. This also gives more material options for movement, stretch and comfort for garments, while still creating a durable product.
When incorporated at the knees, Cordura® provides an extra layer of protection against grazing and impact, reducing discomfort and wear when kneeling on rough surfaces like concrete, gravel, or metal grates. Engineered for extreme durability, Cordura® fabrics undergo rigorous testing to outperform traditional materials.
How Cordura ® performs under tests
Here’s how they outperform traditional materials when put to the test:
- Abrasion Resistance – The Martindale Abrasion Test shows that Cordura® can endure over 100,000 cycles of rubbing before showing significant wear—far exceeding the 30,000 to 40,000 cycles required for heavy-duty use in public spaces.
- Tensile Strength – With breaking forces up to 3,000 Newtons (N) in certain variants, Cordura® can withstand intense pulling forces without tearing.
- Tear Resistance – Some Cordura® fabrics boast tear strengths of up to 185 N, ensuring small rips don’t turn into major failures under stress.
Polyester Ripstop
- Tear-resistant and flexible
- Lightweight for comfort
- Ideal for trousers and jackets
Polyester ripstop fabric offers exceptional durability for demanding work environments. Its reinforced grid weave prevents small rips from spreading, enhancing tear resistance and extending its lifespan. Despite being lightweight and flexible, it withstands frequent friction and rough surfaces, ensuring high wear resistance. Ideal for trousers, jackets, and high-wear garments, polyester ripstop prevents major fabric failures, providing long-term protection in tough conditions.
How Polyester Ripstop performs under tests
- Tensile Strength – Tests show that 40D polyester ripstop can withstand breaking forces of 400 to 600 Newtons (N), equivalent to 40 to 60 kg of force, without tearing.
Reinforced Craftsmanship for Maximum Durability
While fabric is crucial in creating durable workwear, how the garments are stitched together is just as important. Bisley Workwear goes above and beyond to ensure that garments hold up under the most demanding conditions.
Our workwear that features Industrial Strength is crafted with reinforced stitching, bartacks, and rivets, along with heavy duty fabrics. Resulting in high-quality trade workwear that has been designed to withstand harsh industrial conditions when it's put to the test.
Reinforced Stitching
Areas prone to excessive strain, such as the crotch, knees, and side seams, feature multiple rows of strong stitching to prevent rips or tears. This reinforced design ensures that the fabric holds together, even with continuous movement or weight-bearing tasks.
Bartacks
This technique uses a form of heavy-duty stitching to strengthen areas such as pocket corners, belt loops, and the base of zippers. These areas bear the brunt of wear and tear, so bartacking ensures that the stitching remains intact despite frequent use.
Rivets
Bisley incorporates small metal fasteners at vulnerable points, such as pocket openings or the crotch, to prevent fabric from tearing. The rivets add an extra layer of strength to these high-stress areas, ensuring longevity and reducing the risk of garment failure.
Men’s Workwear with Industrial Strength
- FLX & MOVE Utility Work Shirt (Short Sleeve and Long Sleeve)
- FLX & MOVE Stretch Utility Zip Cargo Short
- FLX & MOVE Stretch Utility Holster Pocket Short
- Stretch Cotton Drill Cargo Trousers
- FLX & MOVE Stretch Utility Cargo Trousers
- X Airflow Stretch Stove Pipe Trousers
- FLX & MOVE Stretch Utility Zip Cargo Trouser with Kevlar Knee Pad Pockets
- FLX & Move Stretch Utility Cargo Trouser with Holster Tool Pockets
- FLX & MOVE Taped Hi Vis 4-Way Stretch Jogger
- Taped Biomotion Hi Vis Cargo Trousers
Women’s Workwear with Industrial Strength
- Women’s Stretch V-Neck Closed Front Shirt
- Women’s Stretch Cotton Drill Short
- Women’s FLX & MOVE Shield Panel Trousers
- Women’s Mid Rise Stretch Cotton Trousers
- Women’s FLX & Move Cargo Trousers
- Women’s Taped Biomotion Hi Vis Cargo Trousers
For more Bisley Workwear tips: Top 5 Features Every Worker Needs
Shop Our Inclusive Range of Durable Workwear for Men and Women
Bisley understands that workwear needs to cater to all workers, which is why they offer a wide and inclusive size range from XS to 6XL.
Whether you’re looking for workwear for men, or women’s workwear that’s actually designed for women, Bisley’s designs are crafted to fit a variety of body shapes while maintaining the same level of durability and comfort.