northwest
Searching for the Holy Grail.........
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- 5,401
- Location
- Manchester UK
So, a couple of months back now I decided that I would get myself some "proper welders gear" and the name Tranemo cropped up a couple of times as the best you can get. What attracted me to the brand is their claim that the clothing is naturally flame retardant, I always had a fear in the past of washing out the flame retardant coatings. Being able to wash the gear regularly without fear of degrading it's inherent flame retardant properties was a big attraction.
I don't know about you lot, but clothing is always a lottery, the sizes printed on most stuff bear no resemblance to the actual fitting when I try stuff on, buying mail order clothing is something I just don't do unless I know the brand. But this stuff is stocked by no-one so I called @Jim Davey up and took advice.
I ordered a long sleeve top, a shirt and a pair of braces. Just recently I have found my chest has slipped a bit down my front and it is pushing my trousers down, hence the braces (my excuse and I am sticking to it!).
So, here we go: The braces are fine but as with all things "designed" and then never worn by the designer they have a flaw. The clips that hold them on to the trousers are, well, pants! They have this bloody great cover thing to make them look more "industrial" and when you sit down they dig in to you and because they are quite big bits of metal they really get hot and hold the heat, being so big. Compared to my usual Albert Thurston braces they are pretty poor. I may modify them with the angle grinder.
The long sleeved top. Great fit, great quality material. Really soft and a very tight weave, definitely expensive stuff. The snag? Well, the sleeves are such a tight fit I struggle to get my hands through. It is true, the cuffs will definitely stop spatter going up them, but they also leave great marks around your wrists being so tight. Same with the shirt, very, very good quality material, I took a pair of scissors to the sleeves so I could get my hands through. The Swedes I have met have all been regular or biggish sized blokes so where this fitting size has come from I have no idea.
It was my birthday recently and my MIL asked me what I wanted. She bought me a Portwest Bizflame Pro coverall, it was a fraction of the cost of the Tranemo gear and fits just perfect after I had ten inches taken off the legs! The big bonus of course is it says Welder on the little tag so that's my qualification sorted then.
My thanks to Jim Davy and his staff for sorting the clothing for me as it is not a line they keep in stock, in reality he probably didn't make any money from the sale as he had to send the first lot back at his expense as it was wrong but not his fault, I felt bad about that but he insisted it was no trouble, first class no-nonsense service.
Would I buy again? Not a chance, there are other simpler less costly alternatives out there. If the clothing fits you it will last a lifetime but it is going to be a gamble, something you definitely need to try before you buy.
I don't know about you lot, but clothing is always a lottery, the sizes printed on most stuff bear no resemblance to the actual fitting when I try stuff on, buying mail order clothing is something I just don't do unless I know the brand. But this stuff is stocked by no-one so I called @Jim Davey up and took advice.
I ordered a long sleeve top, a shirt and a pair of braces. Just recently I have found my chest has slipped a bit down my front and it is pushing my trousers down, hence the braces (my excuse and I am sticking to it!).
So, here we go: The braces are fine but as with all things "designed" and then never worn by the designer they have a flaw. The clips that hold them on to the trousers are, well, pants! They have this bloody great cover thing to make them look more "industrial" and when you sit down they dig in to you and because they are quite big bits of metal they really get hot and hold the heat, being so big. Compared to my usual Albert Thurston braces they are pretty poor. I may modify them with the angle grinder.
The long sleeved top. Great fit, great quality material. Really soft and a very tight weave, definitely expensive stuff. The snag? Well, the sleeves are such a tight fit I struggle to get my hands through. It is true, the cuffs will definitely stop spatter going up them, but they also leave great marks around your wrists being so tight. Same with the shirt, very, very good quality material, I took a pair of scissors to the sleeves so I could get my hands through. The Swedes I have met have all been regular or biggish sized blokes so where this fitting size has come from I have no idea.
It was my birthday recently and my MIL asked me what I wanted. She bought me a Portwest Bizflame Pro coverall, it was a fraction of the cost of the Tranemo gear and fits just perfect after I had ten inches taken off the legs! The big bonus of course is it says Welder on the little tag so that's my qualification sorted then.
My thanks to Jim Davy and his staff for sorting the clothing for me as it is not a line they keep in stock, in reality he probably didn't make any money from the sale as he had to send the first lot back at his expense as it was wrong but not his fault, I felt bad about that but he insisted it was no trouble, first class no-nonsense service.
Would I buy again? Not a chance, there are other simpler less costly alternatives out there. If the clothing fits you it will last a lifetime but it is going to be a gamble, something you definitely need to try before you buy.