During my tenure with JLC, my primary influence was Don Dunkley, author of many JLC articles and a progenitor of JLC Live. If there is one word to say about Dunk, it could be efficiency. As a framer, he was ruthless in rooting out wasted motion or time. That brings me to the Brunt Martin work pants that I’ve been wearing—and trying to wear out (see photo, below). They embody Dunk.
The pants have no flaps, velcro, “cargo” pockets, loops, or pen holders—not a lick of wasted motion. All storage points are easily accessible, front and back. The belt loops make sense. The thigh pockets are awesome for wallet, keys, and phone. They have a hidden, double knee layer. The pants fit and move when I move in all kinds of weather.
During my testing of the pants, I demoed a bathroom, built a few decks, and dry-stacked a stone wall. On one particularly low deck that had what I call “critter countermeasures,” I spent several days on my knees trenching around the bases of two 16-by-18-foot platforms and integrating chicken wire with the deck structure. The Martins show no signs of wear.
I also wore the Martins (with a base layer) while doing snow removal on my tractor in 20°F weather. In all cases, the durable water repellent (DWR) finish provided a protective layer that prevented me from getting soaked. I didn’t know these pants even had the DWR when I was wearing them, but it made a noticeable difference in my comfort level.
For everything from crouching to shoveling snow off a stoop to picking up another scoop of shattered tile from a bathroom floor to sitting in the truck while running from home center to client meeting back to the current job, they’re comfortable. They bend, they flex, they breathe—and they don’t cost a million dollars. No motion wasted in delivering maximum motion. Dunk approved. The pants sell for $80. bruntworkwear.com
Editor's note: Since publication of this review, Brunt Workwear has issued the Martin as the Torra HD work pant. According to its maker: "Our Torra and Martin products have now been combined into one unified product family ... We want to reassure you that both the Torra and the Martin, now the Torra HD, are still exceptional products, designed with the same attention to detail and quality you’ve come to expect from us. This merge allows us to focus on improving the overall customer experience and provide even better value, ensuring you get the best of both worlds in one."
