Tactical Shirt or Cargo Trousers with Built-In Pads, Sold Singly

Shirt or Trousers — One Garment, Pads Included.

The jobs that ruin trousers happen at ground level. Down on the gravel to reach a hydraulic fitting, kneeling in a trench pulling cable, flat on a deck chasing a leak. Ordinary work trousers go at the knee first, and strap-on pads either slide down your shin or live in the crib bag.

That is the same failure as losing a glove. The pad does not have to break to fail you — it only has to not be there when you go down on one knee. Then it is bare cloth on blue metal, a knee that is sore by smoko and useless by Thursday.

These are the two halves of a tactical kit, sold one at a time, and each one comes with a pair of pads — knee pads with the trousers, elbow pads with the shirt. The knee pads sit in pockets built into the trousers, so they are on you whenever the trousers are.

Read This Before you Choose: every option in the list is a single garment. “CP Shirts with Pads” is a shirt on its own. “CP Pants with Pads” is a pair of trousers on its own. If you want the pair, put both in the cart. Nothing on this page ships as a two-piece set.

The Colour Decides the Cut: CP, Black Camo and Green come in the combat cut — a close-fitting shirt with a stretch knit body, woven sleeves and no hood, and trousers with stretch panels at the knees and the back of the waist. Navy, Grey and Green CP come in the hooded cut — a quarter-zip shirt with a zip-off hood and black panels, and straight-leg trousers with black knee panels (Green CP is trousers only). Each option’s photo shows its own cut.

What it Does

• Keeps the Pads on you: the knee pads live in pockets built into the trousers instead of strapped round your leg, so there is nothing to slide down and nothing to leave behind.
• Doubles the Wear Points: elbows and seat carry a second layer of cloth on both cuts, and the hooded cut doubles the knees too — the places where trousers and sleeves normally give out first.
• Sheds a Splash: the woven outer cloth is finished to bead light water off, so a spilt drink or a passing shower does not soak straight through.
• Moves Without Fighting you: both shirts have a stretchy knit body with the hard-wearing woven cloth kept to the sleeves and shoulders, and the combat-cut trousers add stretch panels at the knees and the back of the waist.
• Hood on or Hood Off: the hooded cut’s hood unzips from the collar completely, and the combat cut has no hood at all, so either shirt works under a pack strap or a harness without a lump behind your neck.
• Carries What you Need: arm pockets on both shirts; cargo, calf and hook-and-loop pockets on the trousers; plus loop panels for your own patches.

Key Features

• Two Pads per Garment: a matched pair with every shirt and every pair of trousers. The knee pads on both cuts, and the hooded cut’s elbow pads, come out before the wash.
• Adjustable Knee Pad Height: on the combat-cut trousers, a drawstring set from inside the front thigh pocket moves the knee pads up or down, and a built-in flap covers the pad opening when the pads are out — as the supplier describes it.
• Detachable Hood: on the hooded cut only; it zips off the stand-up collar and pulls in on a drawstring.
• Quarter-Zip Front: on both shirts, so they go on over the head and vent at the chest.
• Adjustable Cuffs: hook-and-loop tabs at the wrists on both shirts and at the ankles on both trousers.
• Patch Panels: loop panels on the upper arms take your own patches; nothing is supplied fitted.
• Reinforced Seat: double-layer cloth across the seat on both cuts, and across the hips as well on the hooded cut.
• Eleven Options, Two Cuts: five shirts and six pairs of trousers — CP, Black Camo and Green in the combat cut; Navy, Grey and (trousers only) Green CP in the hooded cut.
• Sizes S to XXXL: with a measurement chart for each cut in the Specs tab, so you can check the centimetres before you order.

Limits

The honest list of what this is not.

• It is Not a Set: the title reads like a two-piece uniform and it is not one. Every option is one garment. Order the shirt and the trousers separately if you want both.
• Two Cuts, Two Looks: the combat cut and the hooded cut come from different suppliers and they do not match. A CP shirt has no hood, and a CP shirt with Navy trousers is two different styles. Go by the photo of the option you pick.
• It is Not Waterproof: both suppliers’ artwork prints the word, and both then say “water splashing resistance” in the small print. There is no hydrostatic head figure and no standard behind it. It will bead a splash and it will wet through in sustained rain.
• The Pads are Not Certified: no impact rating, no standard number, nothing marked on them, and neither supplier says what they are made of. Treat them as cushioning against gravel and grit, not as protection against a real impact. If you need kneeling protection tested to EN 14404, this is not it.
• The Size Charts Disagree: each supplier’s size buttons and size chart give different weight ranges — on the combat cut the buttons say S suits 45–55 kg while the chart says 60–65 kg. Go by the centimetres in the Specs tab, not the size letter or the weight.
• The Fabric Spec is Unsettled: the hooded cut’s cotton and polyester ratio is stated two opposite ways; the combat cut is cotton and polyester with no ratio given. No fabric weight is stated for either.
• It is Not Site PPE: not hi-vis, not flame resistant, not cut resistant, and no part of it is tested or marked to AS/NZS 1906.4, AS/NZS 4602.1 or any flame standard. If your site mandates hi-vis or FR clothing, this does not meet it.
• Camouflage is a Pattern, Not a Pedigree: this is civilian clothing cut in a tactical style. It is not issue kit, it is not defence-approved, and it carries no service affiliation of any kind.
• Only the Garment & the Pads Ship: the belts, boots, gloves, caps, packs and patches in the supplier photographs are not supplied.

Returns cover faulty or not-as-described only. Change of mind is not covered, so use the measurement charts in the Specs tab rather than the size letter.

Q & A

Do I Get the Shirt and the Trousers Together?

No. Every option in the list is one garment. The shirt options and the trouser options are priced separately and ship separately. If you want the pair, add one of each to the cart. This is the single thing people get wrong on this page.

Why does the CP Shirt Look Different from the Navy One?

Because they are two different cuts from two different suppliers. CP, Black Camo and Green are the combat cut: a fitted shirt with a stretch knit body and no hood, and trousers with stretch knees and a stretch panel at the back of the waist. Navy, Grey and Green CP are the hooded cut: a shirt with a zip-off hood, and straight-leg trousers with black knee panels. If you want a matching shirt and trousers, pick both in the same colour.

Are the Knee and Elbow Pads Actually in the Bag, or Just the Pockets?

The pads are supplied — two with every garment, elbow pads with a shirt and knee pads with trousers. On the hooded cut they slide into hook-and-loop pockets sewn inside the sleeve or the leg. On the combat-cut trousers they sit in a pocket at the knee, with a drawstring to set the height. The combat-cut supplier does not show how the elbow pads fit its shirt. Neither supplier says what the pads are made of, how thick they are, or what impact they are rated to, so those rows read “not specified” in the Specs tab.

What Size do I Order? I Have Heard These Run Small.

Go by the centimetres, not the letter. Both cuts come in S to XXXL, and the size you pick maps straight across — S is the supplier’s S, XXL is their 2XL, XXXL is their 3XL. But each supplier’s weight guide disagrees with its own chart, so ignore the kilograms. Lay a shirt or a pair of trousers you already own flat, measure the chest or the waist, and match it to the chart for the cut you are buying in the Specs tab. The combat cut runs a little roomier at the waist: about 2–6 cm more than the hooded cut, size for size. If you fall between two sizes, take the larger one.

Will These Keep Me Dry in the Rain?

No. The shell has a repellent finish that beads water off for a while, which is enough for a shower on the way to the ute or a splash off a hose. It is not a wet-weather layer, no immersion or rain rating is stated anywhere, and it will wet through if you stay out in steady rain. Put a shell over the top if the weather has set in.

Can I Wear These on a Mine Site or a Construction Job?

Depends entirely on your site rules. They are hard-wearing trousers and a hard-wearing shirt, and the reinforced knees suit anyone working off the ground. But they carry no hi-vis, no flame resistance and no certification, so on a site that mandates any of those they will not pass a gate check. Plenty of trades, farm work, camping, hunting, paintball and airsoft have no such rule and these suit that work well.

Can I Take the Pads Out?

The knee pads, yes, on both cuts. On the hooded cut each pocket closes with hook-and-loop, so the knee and elbow pads come out in a couple of seconds. On the combat-cut trousers the knee pads come out of the knee pocket, and the supplier says a built-in flap covers the opening when they are out. The combat-cut supplier does not show how its elbow pads fit the shirt. Take the pads out before you wash the garment, and on a hot day if you want the knee to breathe — the hooded cut keeps its double-layer knee panel with the pad removed, and the combat cut’s knee is stretch cloth.

Specs

Combat-Cut Shirt Measurements

For CP, Black Camo and Green. The supplier’s own chart — its 2XL and 3XL are our XXL and XXXL. Height and weight are the wearer; the rest are the garment. Millimetres in brackets.

Combat-Cut Trouser Measurements

The combat-cut size buttons on the supplier’s listing give different weights again — S 45–55 kg up to 3XL 92–102 kg — so go by the centimetres.

Hooded-Cut Shirt Measurements

For Navy and Grey. The supplier’s own chart. Height and weight are the wearer; the rest are the garment. Millimetres in brackets.

Hooded-Cut Trouser Measurements

For Navy, Grey and Green CP.

The size names in the buy box carry the hooded-cut supplier’s weight ranges — S 50–60 kg, M 60–70 kg, L 70–80 kg, XL 75–85 kg, XXL 80–90 kg, XXXL 90–100 kg. Where they disagree with a chart above, the chart is the one to trust, because it is the only source giving actual garment dimensions.