Helly Hansen Chelsea Evolution Service Pant

Helly Hansen Chelsea Evolution Brings the Best of Two Materials Together

If you haven’t heard of Helly Hansen in your construction workwear searching, you’re not alone. They’re well-known in the outdoor industry and are turning their attention to making workwear more comfortable and functional. To kick things off, I pulled on the Helly Hansen Chelsea Evolution Service Pant. This hybrid design takes some of the best from two schools of thought on workwear design.

Pros

• Cordura/Chelsea material combination offers both flexibility and durability
• Segmented thigh and cargo pockets let you carry and organize a handful of tools
• True-to-size fit

Cons

• Leg bottom is a little small when you’re wearing mid-length or tall boots
• Front pockets are a bit tight

Helly Hansen Chelsea Evolution Service Pant

Design

A quick look at the Helly Hansen Chelsea Evolution reveals two distinct materials. On the back of both legs, waistband, and thighs, you get Helly Hansen’s Chelsea 4-way stretch fabric (hence the name). It’s very similar to the feel of Truewerk’s Werkpant fabric.

The second material is Cordura and it covers your lower legs and creates the thigh pockets. This is a material that’s really tough and great of jobsites. It’s fairly stiff out of the package, but it will soften some over time.

The pant comes together with double stitching on all of the seams. Despite the potential complication of sewing together two very different materials, the folks who made it did an excellent job with its construction.

Comfort

With a morning of chainsaw work in front of me, I had plenty of opportunities to see how the pants react to a variety of movement and sweat. The overall feel took a little getting used to. I’m not used to having a combination of stretchy material with stiffer Cordura.

However, working in them is pretty comfortable. The Chelsea stretch material did its job well, letting me bend and move easily without much restriction.

I didn’t try to put a chainsaw through the pants (I was wearing chaps, anyway), but I’m familiar with Cordura in other workwear and I don’t have any concerns about its durability.

You can definitely feel the difference in the material on your knees and around your calves while you’re working. I didn’t really feel like it was in the way or uncomfortable, though.

In fact, by the time I got into my workflow, I wasn’t thinking about it at all. That’s what I want from my workwear: do your job without drawing my attention away from the work at hand.

Fit

I’m ordered my normal 36W x 34L and the Helly Hansen Chelsea Evolution Service Pant fits true to size. The lower leg opening is on the narrow size. I was able to get them over my boots without too much trouble, but I did wish they were a little roomier at the bottom.

Function

You get traditional front and back pockets with Velcro closures on the back. While the fit is comfortable, the front pockets are a bit tight to get your hands in and out of. The back pockets are deep enough to hold my iPhone 7 Plus and still close without an issue.

Two thigh pockets take the place of toolbelt pouches and have Velcro closures. One is just a basic pocket and the other has several segments to store a few tools or other gear. With a drill and/or impact driver on your belt, you can carry accessories and fasteners in the pockets and eliminate the need for a tool belt in some cases.

I’d like to see Helly Hansen add kneepad pockets. The Cordura material is plenty durable enough when you have to work on your knees, but you’re still going to want kneepads to ease your pain. It’s not a major knock against the pants, just an area that could take these up a notch.

Price

The Helly Hansen Chelsea Evolution Service Pant has an MSRP of $110. It’s not available just yet, so we’re not sure if retailers will be matching that or if they’ll come in a little lower.

You can get them in either black with orange trim like I did or with a camo pattern on the Chelsea material. I generally like camo, but I’m a little “meh” about that look on these pants. On the other hand, the black looks pretty slick in my opinion.

The Bottom Line

The Helly Hansen Chelsea Evolution Service Pant pulls off a really nice mix of flexibility, durability, and function with its design. Truewerk still holds my #1 spot in overall comfort but doesn’t have the level of function these do. Deciding if one is more durable than the other is still up in the air. Both are excellent and it may come down to how well Helly Hansen’s stitching holds up over the long haul rather than the individual materials.

These work pants are a good fit for nearly any Pro. The Cordura part of the build is a big win for anyone who has to work or crawl on their knees as part of the job.