Why I keep buying helly for our crew (and 1 thing I get somewhere else)

If you manage purchasing for a crew, helly is probably your most reliable bet for rainwear, hi-vis, and basic workwear—but skip their general-purpose nitrile gloves and get those from a dedicated safety supplier. I say that after five years of ordering for about 400 people spread across three locations. When I took over purchasing in 2020, I assumed high price meant high value across the board. That assumption cost us about $4,800 in wasted glove inventory before I figured out where helly actually shines.

What makes helly my go-to for rainwear and hi-vis

My company runs maintenance crews that work outdoors year-round. Rain, snow, mud—they deal with it all. When I first started sourcing rain gear, I tried a few cheaper brands because, honestly, $70 rain jacket vs. $140 helly jacket? Easy choice on paper.

Took about one wet season to learn the difference. The cheap jackets leaked at the seams after three months. The zippers failed. The hi-vis faded unevenly. I got complaints from the crew leads that felt personal (they were, actually—they'd blame me for the poor gear).

Switching to helly's rainwear line (specifically the Helly Hansen workwear jackets and bibs) cut our per-person annual cost by about 35%. How? A helly jacket lasts two seasons instead of one. Less replacement frequency, less hassle, fewer complaints. Plus, the size consistency means I don't have to deal with returns because one batch runs small and another runs large.

For hi-vis, I've been buying their Class 3 vests and pants for the past three years. They hold up to industrial washing better than anything else I've tested. That matters because our accounting department tracks uniform costs per employee—and when gear needs replacement every six months, someone has to explain it to finance. With helly, we're getting 10–12 months out of hi-vis gear.

The nitrile glove problem (and where helly falls short)

Here's where my initial misjudgment bit me. I assumed that a brand as solid as helly for outerwear would make equally good general-purpose gloves. They do make gloves, and they're decent for light-duty work. But for food-safe handling, our maintenance crews actually need nitrile gloves that meet specific certification standards—and helly's general catalog doesn't quite get there.

We do food facility cleaning. That means we need gloves that are:

• FDA-compliant for food contact
• Powder-free and low dermatitis risk
• Available in specific sizes (S–XXL) with consistent thickness

I tried helly's nitrile gloves for about six months. The boxes were fine, but the sizing ran inconsistent. I'd get a box where medium felt like small, then a batch where medium was actually medium-ish. That kind of variability is a deal-breaker when you're ordering for 80 people and you can't have some guys wearing gloves that don't fit properly.

So I switched that one category to a dedicated safety supplier (we use a regional distributor that specializes in food facility PPE). That single change saved us about $1,800 annually in wasted gloves and reduced complaints from the crew leads. Lesson: even a great brand has blind spots.

3 things I always check before ordering helly gear

After making plenty of ordering mistakes (and eating the cost on some returns), I developed a checklist. It's saved me a lot of hassle, and it might help if you're in a similar role:

1. Check the weight rating for rainwear. Helly has different levels (lightweight vs. heavy-duty). For our outdoor maintenance crew, the midweight waterproof line holds up best. The lightweight version tore too easily around the elbows.
2. Verify hi-vis class with your crew's actual work conditions. Class 2 is fine for most roadside work, but if your team works near high-speed traffic, you need Class 3. Helly's catalog clearly labels this—but ordering the wrong class means a compliance issue, not just a preference.
3. Cross-reference boot sizing with the exact model. Helly's safety boots vary in fit by about half a size between models. I once ordered 30 pairs of one boot model and 20 of another, assuming they'd fit the same. They didn't. Ended up with 10 returns and a stern email from the crew lead. Now I order one sample pair first.

What about Pit Viper safety glasses and Brunt workwear?

I get asked about these fairly often, so I'll include what I've found (as of early 2025, at least):

Pit Viper safety glasses are a polarizing brand. Some of our guys love them because they look cool and the lens clarity is good. But honestly? For the price, they're not doing much that a well-rated 3M or Uvex pair does for half the cost. The style matters for some crews—I get that—but from a pure safety compliance standpoint, they pass ANSI Z87.1 and that's the bar. Unless your team specifically wants the look, I'd spend the extra budget on something more impactful (like better gloves or more comfortable boots).

Is Brunt workwear legit? Based on what I've seen from a few crew members who own their boots, yes—they're legit and the quality seems good for the price point. But we haven't made them a standard vendor because their catalog isn't as comprehensive as helly's. If you're looking for just boots, Brunt is worth a look. If you need rainwear + hi-vis + boots + gloves from one vendor to streamline ordering, helly wins.

The honest trade-off: convenience vs. specialization

For me, the bottom line is this: using helly as my primary vendor for rainwear, hi-vis, and basic workwear saves me about 6 hours of ordering time per month compared to juggling three or four suppliers. That's real time I can spend on other procurement tasks (or, honestly, just catching up on emails).

But I keep two backup suppliers for specialized gear—one for food-grade gloves and one for tactical/emergency boots (we have a small emergency response team that needs boots with specific certifications).

The risk of going all-in on one brand is that you get comfortable and stop checking whether they're still the best option for every category. Helly makes great rainwear and hi-vis. Their boots are solid for general use. But for specialized PPE, you owe it to your crew—and your budget—to do the comparison work.

And that's it. No dramatic conclusion. Just: know where your vendor is good, know where they're not, and don't be afraid to split the spend. It's cheaper than eating a bad order.

A quick note: pricing and availability mentioned here reflect what I've seen as of early 2025. Helly's catalog and pricing do change seasonally, so always verify current specs before ordering. I've learned that lesson the hard way (see: the batch of rain pants that didn't quite fit right because I didn't check the updated sizing chart).