I bought these coveralls to replace the ones that I bought in NW Minnesota 22 years ago. Those ones are actually still in pretty good shape. I have, unfortunately, expanded. I’m a soft-handed desk jockey who uses the coveralls for the occasional messy project around the house—so they don’t see hard daily use.
These new ones are largely the same as my vintage ones. The fisher stripe is much more durable and—to me at least—visually appealing than standard twill that cheaper coveralls are made of. There are some added features I really appreciate—more pockets, the elbow pleats, and the boot zippers are definite improvements. I would order them again in a heartbeat.
A size recommendation when you order: If you plan to wear more than very light clothing underneath your coveralls, order one size larger than even Key recommends. Mine shrunk a bit in the wash (not much) so when I wear a thicker shirt or sweatshirt under the coveralls they’re a bit hard to get on and zipped. I still live in Minnesota and I need to wear more under my coveralls than a t-shirt in the winter. Also, I never usually order Tall but if I were to order again I would order the Tall size—the torso is a little snug and it makes the coveralls a bit harder to take off than I’d like.
There are two reasons why these excellent coveralls didn’t get 5 stars from me:
The top snap on the garment failed and then fell off almost as soon as I put the coveralls on. I replaced it myself—the time and effort to exchange them was more of a hassle. But the failure of this important feature was disappointing—though not devastatingly so.
This may relate to the snap failure—the fit and finish on these coveralls seem a step below that of my vintage ones. My 2000 models were sewn in the U.S. and, in the intervening years, Key has outsourced assembly to, in this case, China. I have no basic objections imported goods (though I wish American other non-Chinese firms would get out of China until they improve their human rights record) but sometimes contract manufacturers (which Key undoubtedly uses—I highly doubt Key setup its own shop in China) don’t have the same level of quality that direct domestic manufacturers have. That’s likely what happened here.
(Note:I don’t think Key outsourced assembly to China because they had a burning desire to lay off American workers. No doubt Key did this to keep the price point of this highly competitive work garment competitive. American workers’ demand for the cheapest possible price is what led Key to outsource production. Though I suppose a venture capital firm could have bought the brand and are simply trying to maximize their ROI by getting the cheapest possible labor. I don’t know the story behind the outsourcing.)
I know these garments are made for skilled laborers who want the best product they can get for the lowest price. My demographic of soft-handed desk jockeys aren’t buying loads of coveralls—but I would be willing to pay $20-$40 more for this garment if it were sewn domestically. And I don’t think I’m alone. Heck, I’d even recommend Key makes a “premium” line of their stuff made in the U.S.A. for those of us willing to pay a premium. It could even be on demand manufacture that requires order placement before manufacture takes place. That way there would not be a big capital outlay required. I’d order and wait six months—in fact I’d probably order two if I had to wait a while.
Hope you didn’t mind the digressions. But these coveralls. They’re great.