BDU sizes?

[kaizen410]

Hey all. Sorry if this question has been asked before. I've slimmed down a bit since I bought my last uniform back in the summer time. I now wear a size 30 jeans rather than a 34. So, I was wondering if I should get a small size or keep buying medium sized pants? I'm buying a new set of pants soon, so I could really use your help.

[Knief]

There's a size chart on this page for pants (there's a similar one for jackets on the Propper jacket page):

bdu.com/propper-poly-cotton-ripstop-bdu-pants

That'll be pretty close to universal for whatever brand you buy. If you're getting Chinese knock offs of a pattern, maybe not so much. But unless you're looking for something specific, Propper is a solid brand to buy your BDUs from anyway.

[edit] Here's a more direct link:

www.workinggear.com/gc/files/SizingChart/propper_sizing.html

[Thor]

Yeah, China-made uniforms are notoriously "Asian-sized", meaning they tend to run small, since you don't have as many people there who are 6 feet tall and upwards of 200 lbs. My general rule of thumb for ordering uniforms from Asia is at minimum to go one size bigger than what I would normally wear in BDU's, and sometimes two sizes if it's available. They tend to run really small in (of all places) the crotch.

To answer your question though, based off the sizing chart that Knief posted, I would recommend still buying medium pants, and wearing a belt. Better to have to cinch them up a bit than be at the top end of the size range, which is what would happen if you go down to a small. Then, if you somehow bump back up to say a 32, you'll likely find your pants a bit tight.

[kaizen410]

Yeah, I was going to buy Propper brand most likely anyway. Thanks.