Wasted $200 on those 'premium' welding caps from Ironworker Supply Co. last month

Bought a 3-pack of their flame-resistant welding caps thinking they'd last longer than the cheap ones from the hardware store. First one literally fell apart at the seams after 3 days of pipe work up in a refinery. The stitching just gave out, not even a spark hit it. Anyone else had bad luck with their gear or is it just me?

3 comments

3 Comments

josephbailey20h ago

Hang on, I gotta disagree a bit here. I've been using their caps for about a year now on heavy structural jobs and they've held up fine for me. Maybe you got a bad batch or something... it happens with any company. The stitching on mine has stayed tight even after washing them a bunch. Could be that the refinery work is harsher on gear than what I'm doing. But honestly, I'd give them a call before writing them off completely. They've got a pretty solid warranty, I bet they'd send you a replacement pack.

abby_cooper17h ago

Did you try soaking them in vinegar before the first wash? Solved it for me.

the_alex3h ago

Oh man, the vinegar trick. My buddy tried that on his work shirts once and ended up smelling like a salad bar for a week. I mean it worked for the stains but he said people at the job site kept asking if he was marinating chicken in his locker. Makes me wonder if there's some kind of weird trade-off with these things. Like maybe the vinegar does help but then you gotta deal with smelling like pickles for a few days. I guess if you're already around harsh chemicals it might not matter much. Still though, I'd rather just toss them in the wash hot and hope for the best.