In this article we discuss the best khaki work pants to wear on a job site. For some workers, you need a pair of work pants that is professional in appearance, but still tough enough to handle the intensity of a job site. That’s where these khaki work pants come into play.
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These are my choices for the best khaki work pants:
- Carhartt Men’s Rugged Relaxed Fit Work Khaki Pants (click here to view)
- Dickies Men’s Original 874 Work Pants (click here to view)
- Filson Draftsman Canvas Work Pants (click here to view)
- Wrangler Riggs Workwear Men’s Technician Pants (click here to view)
- Duluth Trading Co. Men’s DuluthFlex Relaxed Fit Khakis (click here to view)
- 5.11 Tactical Men’s Ridgeline Covert Pants (click here to view)
- Carhartt Men’s Relaxed Fit Washed Twill Dungaree Pants (click here to view)
- Wrangler Men’s Classic 5-Pocket Relaxed Fit Flex Pants (click here to view)
- *Women’s* Dickies Women’s Perfect Shape Bootcut Twill Pants (click here to view)
- *Women’s* Carhartt Women’s Original Fit Crawford Pants (click here to view)
This list contains a wide variety of khaki work pants. Carhartt, Wrangler, and Filson provide traditional toughness, and brands like Duluth, Diamond Gusset, and 5.11 prioritize flexibility and comfort.
I personally have owned several of the pants on this list. Let’s take a closer look at what I’ve learned about these pants, and discuss your best options so you can find a pair of work khaki pants that makes sense for your job.
Some khaki work shorts will have a gusset to help improve comfort and range of motion.
***If you prefer khaki jeans, visit our article about the best khaki jeans for men.
Best Khaki Work Pants
Carhartt Khaki Work Pants
Carhartt is a trusted name in workwear, and a brand that many workers prefer to wear. The good news for you if you need durable khaki pants for work, Carhartt has several options.
The Carhartt Men’s Rugged Relaxed Fit Work Khaki Pants gives you a tough work pant that still has a clean, professional look. Here’s what these pants look like on me:
This is the current price of these Carhartt work khakis available at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com). Although these are described as “relaxed fit”, in my opinion it is more of a standard fit that isn’t too tight or too loose.
Again, these pants have a clean, professional front, but are still tough enough to stand up to a job site. That’s the thing with some types of work utility pants, by the time you add in all the extra pockets, tool loops, and reinforced knees, they lose a little bit of professionalism.
If you are a site foreman, or if you spend part of your day in an office setting, and the rest of your day on a job site, you might be looking for a pair of pants that give you toughness, but in a clean professional way.
These pants are made with 100% 9.25-ounce cotton. Although they don’t have all the utility pockets you see on other work pants, they do have a small utility pocket on the back of the right leg, which is a good place to store a phone or multi-purpose tool:
Click here to buy these Carhartt durable khaki pants available at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com). Again, in my experience these have a standard fit that isn’t too loose or too tight.
Another style of Carhartt pants I want to mention specifically is Carhartt’s Washed Twill Dungaree Pants:
These khaki work pants have a few utility pockets and a hammer loop. Again, that might not be what you’re looking for if you need a work pant to wear in both an office setting and on a job site.
But if you do need clean-looking khaki work pants that have utility tool pockets, these give you a nice option. Just like the Carhartt pants we discussed first, these pants are described as relaxed, but in my experience, they have more of a standard fit.
These pants were not too tight or too loose. They are made with 100% washed cotton, which is durable but not stiff.
Again, these pants do have utility pockets and a hammer loop:
Click here to buy these Carhartt khaki dungaree work pants available at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com). These will be better for those of you who want a khaki look, but still need tool pockets.
Dickies Men’s Original 874 Work Pants
Dickies is another well-known name in workwear. They’re famous because they provide dependable work clothing for a wide range of jobs.
The Dickies 874 pants are a classic khaki work pant that fits many jobs.
This is the current price of these Dickies 874 pants available at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com).
Dickies 874 work pants have a relaxed, regular fit. Do not expect Dickies 874 pants to fit tight against your legs, but also do not expect these pants to be extremely baggy and loose.
Although the fit is a standard, regular fit, getting the sizing right in these pants is critical. The length of these pants runs true-to-size, but (in my experience) these pants run a full size too small in the waist. I had to size up.
This wasn’t one of those situations where I maybe could have fit in the waist but decided to size up anyway. These pants were a full size under-sized in the waistline and I couldn’t even button them. I had no choice but to size up.
The waistline in the Dickies 874 Original pants is not elastic (as you can see pictured above), so do not expect it to stretch. However, there is also a Dickies 874 Flex Pant that has more stretch to it – you can view the flex version at Amazon by clicking here (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com).
If you are ordering the 874 original (that doesn’t have stretch), I’d personally recommend sizing up one size in the waist. To read more, visit Dickies 874 sizing.
The material in the Dickies 874 Original Work Pants has a sturdy, durable feel to it. Although it is not a stretch fabric, overall the fit is still reasonably comfortable. I opted for this material over the flex because I wanted a bit more toughness and durability.
These pants have a clean, professional look. They do not have any side utility pockets or tool loops. These pants just have the standard front and back pockets.
Click here to view the price of the 874 pants at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com). Again, I personally had to size up the waist one size in these pants.
Wrangler Khaki Work Pants
Many are familiar with Wrangler jeans, but Wrangler has a specific line of apparel dedicated to work clothing called Wrangler Riggs Workwear. The Wrangler Riggs Men’s Technician Pants are durable khaki pants that have a blend of toughness and professionalism.
Here’s what these Wrangler Riggs Men’s Technician Pants look like (multiple colors available):
This is the current price of these Wrangler work pants available at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com). Expect these pants to fit true to size.
- Ripstop Fabric – These pants are made with a 100% cotton ripstop fabric to help prevent tears and rips. They also have a reinforced front pocket that can handle tape measure clips without wearing out.
- Comfortable Fit – These pants have a comfortable fit in the seat and thigh, and also have a built-in crotch gusset to give you more freedom of movement while bending, crouching, and driving
- Pockets – These pants have traditional front and back pockets, and also have a small side utility pocket that can handle a cell phone or a multi-purpose tool.
Click here to buy these Wrangler khaki work pants available at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com). Again, expect these pants to fit true to size.
If you are looking for a pair of khaki pants that feel more like jeans, Wrangler has a nice option. The Wrangler Men’s Classic 5-Pocket Jeans come in a khaki color.
This is what these pants look like:
This is the current price of these Wrangler khaki work jeans available at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com). Expect these pants to fit true to size, and have a relaxed fit.
These pants are made with a cotton/spandex blend which makes them flexible. This will give you more freedom of movement while working. However, if you prefer cotton, Wrangler also has khaki jeans made with 100% cotton – click here to view (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com).
Duluth Trading Co. Khaki Work Pants
Duluth Trading is a workwear brand established in 1989, but has really gained steam during the recent decade. One thing I personally like about Duluth is they put an emphasis on creating comfortable, easy-to-wear clothing that is still tough and dependable.
They have a lot of work pants, but there is one specific option that will work well if you are looking for durable khaki pants.
- Duluth Trading Co. Men’s DuluthFlex Ballroom Relaxed Fit Khakis – Duluth “Ballroom” pants put an emphasis on comfort. They have a gusseted crotch for freedom of movement while bending and crouching. These pants also are made with a stretch fabric blend for added comfort (best elastic waist khaki pants). Like some of the other pants on this list, these Duluth Khakis have the side drop-in cell phone pocket. Duluth prioritizes comfort, so if you need khakis, but prefer a relaxed, comfortable fit, these will be a nice option. Click here to view these pants.
Filson Bremerton Khaki Work Pants
Filson is a clothing company based in Seattle WA that has a deep-rooted tradition in providing heavy-duty dependable workwear. Their founder, C.C. Filson, opened shop in 1897 and, at that time, specialized in making ultra-tough, ultra-dependable clothing for stampeders heading north for the Klondike Gold Rush.
The Stampeders who marched north towards the Klondike region put their lives at risk in search of gold. The conditions in the Yukon were brutal. Winters were dark and devastatingly long.
The stampeders faced blinding snow storms, avalanches, hypothermia, towering terrain, malnutrition, disease, and all the other perils of wilderness. It is estimated that out of the 100,000 people who set out to stampede for gold, only 30,000 actually made it to the Klondike region.
Making clothes that could hold up in the sub-freezing wilderness meant C.C. Filson couldn’t cut corners, and had to emphasize toughness and dependability. And although the Klondike Gold Rush has long since passed, that tradition of toughness and dependability has carried over to Filson’s current collection of workwear.
The Filson Bremerton Work Pants give you an option that is rooted in that toughness, but still has a clean professional look.
Filson describes these pants as being suitable for “work or field use”. They have a clean design, but are made with a durable cotton/poly blend that can stand up to a work site.
Like the other khaki pants on this list, these pants have a minimalistic design, which means they don’t have a bunch of extra utility pockets. They are made with 8-ounce fabric, which makes these mid-weight work pants suitable to be worn year-round.
5.11 Tactical Men’s Ridgeline Covert Pants
5.11 is well known for making tactical service clothing, and many of their pants also function well as work pants. Some people like wearing tactical pants as work pants because tactical pants prioritize flexibility.
The 5.11 Tactical Men’s Ridgeline Covert Pants
have a clean design that allows them to function as khaki pants. Here’s what these 5.11 pants look like (multiple colors available):
This is the current price of these 5.11 work pants available at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com). These pants are made with a flex fabric that makes them easy to move around in.
They also have a gusseted crotch for extra freedom of movement while bending, crouching, and driving. Although these pants have more pockets than most of the other pants on this list, the pockets are located up near the waist, which gives the legs of these pants a clean, professional look.
The fabric in these pants is a ripstop fabric that helps reduce tearing, making these pants tough enough to handle a job site. Overall, 5.11 creates flexible, easy-to-wear tactical pants that also make a lot of sense for most workers.
Click here to buy these 5.11 tactical khaki work pants available at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com). Expect these pants to fit true to size.