rmorrison
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Any suggestions for EMT pants for women that come in sizes 0 or 2? I've had a lot of trouble finding pants that are high quality and small enough. I see a lot in a size 4 but nothing lower than that.
EMT Pants
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Rmorrison,
Welcome to EMTLife! I've cleaned up this thread.
Welcome to EMTLife! I've cleaned up this thread.
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rmorrison
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Thanks 
DesertMedic66
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5.11 has some women pants. The quick search I did shows they go down to size 2.
http://www.511tactical.com
http://www.511tactical.com
sirengirl
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(Hark, a wild sirengirl appears, at the behest of Chimpie...)
As someone who has always struggled with this, I went through about 4 different brands before I found the pants I have now. I bought some craptastic off-the rack local ones that I promptly threw away, a pair of Ladies' Choice TekTwill pants by Elbeco (their older version, not usually available anymore) which had problems and has since been regulated to my part-time IFT job, the horrible Cintas that the IFT company supplies (which I took one look at, laughed, and handed back), and the equally terrible random brand that my primary 911 agency supplies, "Mardac by Martins" which are actually men's pants and almost the worst things ever given to me.
However!
I retired my first pair of Ladies' Choice by Elbeco in order to buy myself a new pair a bit over a year ago. I did some research and was about to invest in some 5.11's, but then I found Elbeco's website and saw that the Ladies' Choice line had been upgraded and now has something called the Tek2 design. It was vastly improved from the pair I had bought 2 years prior fresh out of EMT school, and the fact that it is designed specifically for EMS, and moreover that it has an elastic waistband in it which promised to help provide a better fit while reducing the probability of Plumber's @$$ while on a call. Well, that appealed to me, plus it was a brand I already knew and had relative success with. Not to mention it actually came in sizes small enough for me. And, I won't lie, the video kinda suckered me in too.
If you haven't guessed, I can easily pass for a middle-school student, so it has been difficult for me to find pants which fit. I normally wear anywhere from a 0 to a 2 just depending on the brand. If you don't count that godforsaken pair of amazing shorts I got from Bealls and had to buy in a 3 so that my thighs weren't threatening to eat the material, because apparently people now want to look as though they are bursting from their clothes... Alas, that is a different gripe.
The point is, Elbeco makes pants small enough for Us Small People. So I took the plunge.
And, holy mother of paramedics (yes, I mean you, Nancy Caroline), these pants are the best thing that has happened to me. In a uniform sense, of course (please, don't tell Mr. Sirengirl that I said that).
They are awesome. They're made out of a moisture resistant (re: not PROOF) material, which in and of itself is a must. I can't count how many times I've gotten rain water, mud, saline, blood, you name it on the pants and as long as I wipe it off within a minute or two, it doesn't stain. Actually, that's a lie- these pants have never held a stain, ever. They still look pristine. Blood comes out easily with a quick scrub of some peroxide and the pants are dry again by the time you get to the ER. Not only that, but it helps to keep it's color in the wash. I only bought one pair, and I wear them every third day, so you can imagine how often they get washed, and they still look relatively new after a year. Not only that, but you have pockets, pockets, pockets. It's your typical EMS style cargo pant, with two front pockets, two back pockets, and a cargo on each knee. The right cargo has a slit with snap-button closure for your trauma shears, a pen slit, and a flap-top big cargo pocket; the left has the pen slit and the big flap cargo pocket. AND hidden on the inside of each cargo pocket is an interior little pocket which happens to fit a cell phone perfectly, so my phone sits protected in there away from all the equipment and nasty stuff which inevitably gets shoved in my pockets.
The fit is perfect too. It sits a little higher on the hip, but still just slightly under the belly button, and I've never once gotten Plumber's Crack while crouching or bending. The inseam for the crotch is a tad bit long, but as far as women's EMS pants go, it's the best you're going to find, and you don't want these pants fitting close to the body anyway. My only problems that I've ever had with these pants is that the thread for one of the hems on the bottom came out, but the fabric didn't fray at all and I just folded it back up and re-stitched it. That, and they sew a tag on the inside back pocket over the right butt-cheek, which if you're well past laundry day and end up wearing some- ahem- smaller undies to work, always ended up poking me in the cheek, so I just cut the thread out of the tag and pulled it out of the pants all together.
Looking at Elbeco's website for EMS in the Women's trouser section, they have the Tek2, which is what I have, the new Tek3 which I think just has some features on the belt and some of the weaving changed, and an ADU Ripstop version. When I purchased mine, I bought mine in a size 2, which fits me perfectly. You don't buy directly through their website, which is HERE: Elbeco Ladies' Choice, but you can click on a regional map HERE which will show you dealers in your area. Or, if you're like me and too lazy to look for someone local that has them, you can always buy them from Gall's like I did while keeping in mind that Galls has a good inventory of Ladies' Choice brand here, or even search for them on The Fire Store (which has a conveniently awesome sizing chart as well as a ton of very fancy advertising in regards to how spiffy these pants are).
That being said, I hope my long-winded, link-filled post helped you some. I would say Chimpie would tell you that I'm not as crazy as I seem, but, who are we kidding...
As someone who has always struggled with this, I went through about 4 different brands before I found the pants I have now. I bought some craptastic off-the rack local ones that I promptly threw away, a pair of Ladies' Choice TekTwill pants by Elbeco (their older version, not usually available anymore) which had problems and has since been regulated to my part-time IFT job, the horrible Cintas that the IFT company supplies (which I took one look at, laughed, and handed back), and the equally terrible random brand that my primary 911 agency supplies, "Mardac by Martins" which are actually men's pants and almost the worst things ever given to me.
However!
I retired my first pair of Ladies' Choice by Elbeco in order to buy myself a new pair a bit over a year ago. I did some research and was about to invest in some 5.11's, but then I found Elbeco's website and saw that the Ladies' Choice line had been upgraded and now has something called the Tek2 design. It was vastly improved from the pair I had bought 2 years prior fresh out of EMT school, and the fact that it is designed specifically for EMS, and moreover that it has an elastic waistband in it which promised to help provide a better fit while reducing the probability of Plumber's @$$ while on a call. Well, that appealed to me, plus it was a brand I already knew and had relative success with. Not to mention it actually came in sizes small enough for me. And, I won't lie, the video kinda suckered me in too.
If you haven't guessed, I can easily pass for a middle-school student, so it has been difficult for me to find pants which fit. I normally wear anywhere from a 0 to a 2 just depending on the brand. If you don't count that godforsaken pair of amazing shorts I got from Bealls and had to buy in a 3 so that my thighs weren't threatening to eat the material, because apparently people now want to look as though they are bursting from their clothes... Alas, that is a different gripe.
The point is, Elbeco makes pants small enough for Us Small People. So I took the plunge.
And, holy mother of paramedics (yes, I mean you, Nancy Caroline), these pants are the best thing that has happened to me. In a uniform sense, of course (please, don't tell Mr. Sirengirl that I said that).
They are awesome. They're made out of a moisture resistant (re: not PROOF) material, which in and of itself is a must. I can't count how many times I've gotten rain water, mud, saline, blood, you name it on the pants and as long as I wipe it off within a minute or two, it doesn't stain. Actually, that's a lie- these pants have never held a stain, ever. They still look pristine. Blood comes out easily with a quick scrub of some peroxide and the pants are dry again by the time you get to the ER. Not only that, but it helps to keep it's color in the wash. I only bought one pair, and I wear them every third day, so you can imagine how often they get washed, and they still look relatively new after a year. Not only that, but you have pockets, pockets, pockets. It's your typical EMS style cargo pant, with two front pockets, two back pockets, and a cargo on each knee. The right cargo has a slit with snap-button closure for your trauma shears, a pen slit, and a flap-top big cargo pocket; the left has the pen slit and the big flap cargo pocket. AND hidden on the inside of each cargo pocket is an interior little pocket which happens to fit a cell phone perfectly, so my phone sits protected in there away from all the equipment and nasty stuff which inevitably gets shoved in my pockets.
The fit is perfect too. It sits a little higher on the hip, but still just slightly under the belly button, and I've never once gotten Plumber's Crack while crouching or bending. The inseam for the crotch is a tad bit long, but as far as women's EMS pants go, it's the best you're going to find, and you don't want these pants fitting close to the body anyway. My only problems that I've ever had with these pants is that the thread for one of the hems on the bottom came out, but the fabric didn't fray at all and I just folded it back up and re-stitched it. That, and they sew a tag on the inside back pocket over the right butt-cheek, which if you're well past laundry day and end up wearing some- ahem- smaller undies to work, always ended up poking me in the cheek, so I just cut the thread out of the tag and pulled it out of the pants all together.
Looking at Elbeco's website for EMS in the Women's trouser section, they have the Tek2, which is what I have, the new Tek3 which I think just has some features on the belt and some of the weaving changed, and an ADU Ripstop version. When I purchased mine, I bought mine in a size 2, which fits me perfectly. You don't buy directly through their website, which is HERE: Elbeco Ladies' Choice, but you can click on a regional map HERE which will show you dealers in your area. Or, if you're like me and too lazy to look for someone local that has them, you can always buy them from Gall's like I did while keeping in mind that Galls has a good inventory of Ladies' Choice brand here, or even search for them on The Fire Store (which has a conveniently awesome sizing chart as well as a ton of very fancy advertising in regards to how spiffy these pants are).
That being said, I hope my long-winded, link-filled post helped you some. I would say Chimpie would tell you that I'm not as crazy as I seem, but, who are we kidding...
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rmorrison
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I'm going to get the Duty Wear ones as soon as I figure out how I can buy something off of firestoreonline.com.
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Thanks for the very informative post sirengirl. I knew if anyone would be able to help you would.
And thanks for going the extra step and providing links.
And thanks for going the extra step and providing links.
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rmorrison
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I got the Elbeco tek3's! Thank you so much @sirengirl
sirengirl
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rmorrison
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Kevinf
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Thanks for your post, I'd been looking for a pair of EMT pants myself (though I'm a normal sized human!) and the 5.11s never really held my interest. I've ordered the Elbeco TEK3 pants (with new and improved "essential fit pattern", whatever that means) to give them a shot as I love expanding waistband pants as they are fantastically more comfortable when you actually need to do ANYTHING other than stand up straight.