Long popular in Europe, Scandinavian-style work wear is catching on in this country. Björnkläder and Blåkläder are two of the better-known brands being imported. The defining feature of their work pants are built-in kneepads, waist-level pouches, and pockets all over the place (video below).
I first encountered this type of clothing 30+ years ago in Maine. A fellow I worked with had some Skillers gardening pants with built-in kneepads and more than the usual number of pockets. He raved about the kneepads and the fingerless leather sailing gloves he wore while working. At the time, I thought of him as eccentric; little did I know he was just ahead of his time. Fingerless work gloves are now very common and pants with kneepads are becoming that way.
Greg Dibernardo reviewed Björnkläder’s Ace Carpenter pants for us a couple years back. This is your chance to see a video of them that was shot last week at JLC LIVE. The fellow being interviewed is David Bender, a contractor who currently works in facilities MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) and was helping out at J&R Distributors’ booth. A fan of Björnkläder pants, he was kind enough to talk to me on camera when I walked up and said I wanted to shoot video. He showed me the Ace Carpenter pants he was wearing and some of the company’s new Nordic Carpenter pants. Nordic pants are similar to Ace pants, but have stretchable fabric panels in the crotch and non-wear areas on the back of the legs—which is said to make them more comfortable to wear.
Unlike Blåkläder workwear, Björnkläder is not widely distributed in this country. The only vendors I am aware of are J&R Distributors and Faceline Inc.
Fun facts: Björnkläder translates from Swedish as “bear clothing” (note the bear in their logo) and Blåkläder as “blue clothing”.
