This is a Carhartt Duck Chore Coat review. If you are looking for a Carhartt Coat that has the traditional, chore style, you have several options. Here are 4 of the most popular:
- Carhartt Full Swing Traditional Coat – Tough, 12-ounce cotton duck. Traditional style. Full Swing gussets for easy movement. Corduroy Collar. Full front zip with weather flap. Storm cuff sleeves. Six pockets.
- Carhartt Arctic Quilt-Lined Yukon Coat – Made with Carhartt’s toughest outer fabric (Cordura Nylon) and Carhartt’s warmest insulation (arctic) making this Carhartt’s toughest and warmest coat. Water-resistant, wind-repellent. Perfect for northern US winters. Bi-swing back for easy movement.
- Carhartt Ridge Sherpa-Lined Sandstone Coat – Sandstone cotton duck that has that tough, but broken-in feeling off the rack. Comfortable. Sherpa lining for ultra warmth. Fold-over collar. Clean, classic style.
- Carhartt Full Swing Chore Coat – Medium-warmth perfect for spring/fall or deep south winters. Drop-tail back with 6 total pockets. This is the coat we review in this article.
The Carhartt Chore Coat combines that traditional tough outer-shell duck lining that Carhartt is famous for, with a clean, simple style that has a classic look, but offers a lot of functional storage space. In this article I will review the Carhartt Full Swing Chore Coat that I own (style #102707):
What You Need To Know
The Carhartt Duck Chore Coat combines the outer-shell toughness of Carhartt with a soft fleece inner-lining to make a work coat that is both durable and comfortable to wear. The collar is sherpa-lined to give you added warmth up around the neck.
This jacket features 6 pockets, including 2 zip-close pockets. This gives you plenty of storage space to safely store essentials plus other tools or items you may be using on-the-job (what are chore coats used for?).
This is a Carhartt Full-Swing jacket, meaning it is made with flexibility in mind. Moving your arms up and around will not be a problem.
The Carhartt Chore coat is a medium-warmth coat that is best used during the spring or fall months (or Texas winters), or when layered during the winter. The coat has built-in space to comfortably pair it with a hooded jacket underneath.
This coat’s main drawback is its versatility is a bit limited due to the length of the coat. While the length does provide added weather protection, it makes this coat very difficult to pair with a tool belt. This coat (as its name suggests) is best used for outdoor chores, or supervising a work site.
The Carhartt Chore Coat is perfect for tasks like:
- Chopping Fire Wood
- Driving Fence Posts
- Shoveling Snow or Feed
- Working on Car Repairs
- Completing Farm Chores
- Supervising a Work Site
Carhartt Duck Chore Coat Fit
One of the biggest issues with work coats is finding the right size. If it’s too small it can restrict movement, but if it’s too big, it can be a safety hazard and also just be annoying to work with. Let’s discuss how the Carhartt Chore Coat fits.
How does the Carhartt Chore Coat fit?
The Carhartt Chore coat has a relaxed fit that does run a little bit loose. If you are in between sizes, you will want to size down. Below is a look at me wearing my size medium Carhartt Chore coat (I am 6’3″ 200 pounds). For reference, here I am wearing a medium t-shirt:
Here I am wearing the size medium Carhartt Chore Coat:
As you can see, the Carhartt Chore Coat has plenty of length. This may be a reason why you want to size down. At 6’3″ tall, the size medium hits below my pant’s pockets.
As I stated earlier in the review, the extra drop-tail length does give this coat added weather protection, but it does also restrict its versatility because it makes this coat very hard to pair with a tool belt.
Here is a look at my size medium Carhartt Chore Coat vs a size medium Hanes undershirt straight out of the package:
As you can see there is a decent amount of extra room built-in. If you are in-between sizes, then size down. One thing you will want to consider is whether or not you will plan to layer under this coat.
The Carhartt Chore Coat has an inner-fleece lining, making it warm, but please understand that this is not one of the warmest Carhartt winter jackets. It is a medium-warmth jacket that is perfect for spring and fall, or deep south winters.
If you live in a colder state, the extra room built-in may come in handy so that you can layer a jacket underneath this chore coat during the coldest winter months. Here is a look at my Carhartt Chore Coat with a jacket layered underneath:
Carhartt Duck Chore Coat: In-Depth Breakdown
So far in the article we have discussed a summary of the Carhartt Chore Coat, and how it fits, now let’s discuss some of the finer details so that you know exactly what you are getting with this work coat.
Flexibility and Comfort
We graded this coat as a 10 on comfort and on flexibility. It has that hard outer-shell toughness that you expect in a Carhartt Duck Coat, but the fleece inner-lining gives it a very soft, comfortable feel against the skin.
One thing that makes this coat so comfortable (and easy to work in) is the Carhartt Full Swing technology that is built-in to the coat. The Full Swing technology gives you freedom of movement with your shoulders and elbows.
Again, not only is this very helpful while working, it also just makes the coat, in general, easier to function in. Having a work coat that is easy to operate in is essential for those long work days.
The Full Swing technology by Carhartt is aimed to give you, the worker, greater range of motion by creating pieces of performance work wear (like the Carhartt Chore Coat) that have more stretch and recovery than other types of typical outerwear.
Thanks to this technology, the coat has that broken-in feel even when you put it on for the first time.
Carhartt achieves this Full Swing technology by creating gusset-style stretch panels in the elbows and shoulders to allow you free range of motion to execute whatever work task you are confronted with.
Here is a look at the gusset-style stretch paneling on my coat near the shoulders and elbows:
This coat is perfect for tasks like cutting fire wood, driving posts with a post driver, or shoveling snow. Not only does it give you the Full Swing technology for easy movement, but the fleece lining is perfect because it does provide warmth, but not so much warmth that you will sweat out of the coat after 10 minutes of working.
The Carhartt Chore Coat also has the sherpa-lined collar which gives it a warm, comfortable feel up around your neck:
One potential drawback for this coat is the overall weight. To me personally, it did not cause discomfort, but due to the stretch paneling and the extra length for the droptail, the Chore Coat does weigh a bit more than most Carhartt jackets. My size medium weighed in at 3.47 pounds:
Toughness, Style, and Storage
This Carhartt Duck Chore Coat has that tough outer-shell style that Carhartt is famous for, meaning it is strong enough to hold up over the long term.
If you are unfamiliar with Carhartt’s outer shells, the Duck-cotton outer shells have a crisp, tough surface. For more options, visit our article about the best canvas chore coats.
Again, as mentioned earlier, the inside of the coat is a soft and comfortable fleece, but the outside is that traditional hard outer-shell you expect from a Carhartt jacket.
This coat has a very clean, classic style to it. The collar and button look give it that sort of traditional feel, and overall, this coat has a nice combination of keeping it simple, while still providing plenty of storage space.
The Carhartt Chore Coat has 6 pockets – four pockets on the outside front, and two on the inside (including 2 zip-close pockets overall).
The 4 outside pockets feature 2 traditional hand warming pockets near the waist, and two chest pockets for essentials. The left chest pocket is a zip-close pocket, a good place to store a phone, wallet, matches, or anything else you might want to keep dry.
The right chest pocket is a traditional pocket that has a top-side opening perfect for attaching a pen, marker, clip-flashlight, utility knife, or any other type of basic item that you want within an easy reach.
The waist hand pockets are traditional pockets that are very large so you can still fit your hands in there even if you are wearing work gloves:
On the inside of the coat, you have one pocket on each side. The left inside chest pocket is another zip-close pocket perfect for your phone, keys, or other essentials:
The right inside chest pocket opens from the top:
Together, these 6 pockets give you plenty of storage options, making this coat a great outdoor work companion. As we discussed earlier in the article, one drawback for this coat is the droptail makes it hard to combine with a tool belt.
The 6 pockets do make up for this a little bit by giving you some added versatility, which obviously can’t fully replace a tool belt, but does give you some storage options while wearing this coat.
Warmth, Water Resistance, and Versatility
Warmth is obviously a major issue for outdoor work coats. That said, depending on season and situation, there are times where a medium-warmth jacket just makes more sense.
This Carhartt Chore Coat is a medium-warmth coat, perfect for those 30-40 degree days. If you need something warmer, see our article that discusses the warmest Carhartt jackets.
There is another type of Carhartt Chore Coat (model C100 style 103825) that has the blanket-lining, which is warmer than the poly-fleece lining that the Carhartt Full Swing Chore Coat has. To read more visit my article about Carhartt blanket lined coats.
But, as I said earlier in the article, my Full Swing Carhartt Chore Coat, although it isn’t as warm as the blanket-lined coats, does have built-in room so that you can layer a jacket underneath.
This may be a nice solution if you live in a cold-weather state, need extra warmth, but like the style and functionality of this Full Swing Chore coat. Here is a look at mine layered:
The Chore Coat does not come with a hood, but it does have buttons on the back collar in case you want to buy a Carhartt hood to go with it. Here is a look at the hood buttons on the back collar:
The Chore Coat has the traditional sleeves with a button cuff, which gives it that classic look that many people love. Here is a look at the sleeve cuffs on the Chore Coat:
The drawback though is the Carhartt storm cuffs that are featured on other Carhartt jackets do help keep the weather and cold out of your sleeves. With these traditional cuffs, moisture and cold can easily get up into your forearm area.
One positive about the open-ended cuffs that this Carhartt Chore Coat has is they are very compatible with all types of work gloves.
The Carhartt Chore Coat is water-resistant, which means it can withstand short-term exposure to rain, but do not expect this coat to be water-proof. If you are outside in a driving rain storm, this coat will get wet, but a light mist or shower will have little effect.
One of the drawbacks of this coat, as I have mentioned above, is it does not function well with a tool belt because of the added length from the drop tail. If you are an electrician or construction worker looking for a winter work coat, the Chore Coat won’t be a great solution for you. Instead, I would suggest the Carhartt Duck Active Jacket.
The Carhartt Chore Coat is perfect for tasks like:
- Chopping Fire Wood
- Driving Fence Posts
- Shoveling Snow or Feed
- Working on Car Repairs
- Completing Farm Chores
- Supervising a Work Site
***Don’t forget, we cover a wide range of Carhartt gear. If you want to browse through our entire collection of Carhartt gear articles, visit our Carhartt Gear Guide.