It's August, you're on a 4-pitch in Tottenville, the membrane is 140 degrees, and your shirt is a Class 2 polyester windbreaker someone handed you on day one. You're going to lose ten pounds and a kidney by 3 PM. There's a better way.
The big move for roofers in summer is hi-vis cooling tees. Carhartt Force Color Enhanced T-Shirts — they're not ANSI Class 2, but if you're working on a residential roof not adjacent to traffic, they're enough hi-vis to make the GC happy and they actually wick. The Carhartt 100493 short-sleeve is the move.
If you do need ANSI Class 2 — anything where you're near a road, a parking lot, or the boss is jumpy about OSHA — the Ergodyne GloWear 8425 short-sleeve mesh tee is what we push. It's full mesh on the back panel, which actually does something. The Pyramex RTS3110 is the cheaper version and it's also fine.
Avoid solid polyester long-sleeve hi-vis in summer. I know guys do it for sun protection. There are better ways — a Carhartt Force Sun Defender long-sleeve in safety green (UPF 50) gives you sun coverage AND it breathes. We sell a lot of those between June and September.
Pants. Don't wear duck canvas in July. I know that's controversial. A roofer in Carhartt Washed Duck B11 in 90-degree heat is just suffering for tradition. Switch to the Carhartt Rugged Flex Rigby Five-Pocket pant — it's lighter, it stretches, it dries faster. Or a Dickies LP710 Industrial Cargo for guys who want pockets. Save the duck for October.
"A roofer in washed duck in 90-degree heat is just suffering for tradition."
Boots are the part roofers fight about. You want a soft, flexible sole that grips on a hot membrane or shingle, but you don't want a soft toe because dropped tools and nail guns. The Thorogood Gen-Flex2 6-inch composite toe (804-4445) is a roofer favorite — soft, flexes, decent grip. The Cougar Paws Peak Performer is the dedicated roofer boot, with a replaceable foam pad on the sole — guys who do steep-pitch swear by them. We don't always carry the Cougar Paws but we'll order them.
Hat: a vented hard hat with a brim, not a cap-style. The MSA V-Gard 500 with vents and the Pyramex Ridgeline full-brim are the two we stock most. A neck shade clipped on under the hard hat — Ergodyne Chill-Its 6650 — those add UPF 50 and dunked in cold water they'll keep your neck cool for a couple hours.
Gloves for hot-mod and torch-down: a leather-palm work glove that'll take heat. The Mechanix M-Pact won't cut it for torch work — go to a Tillman 1338 goatskin or the Carhartt A553 leather palm. For shingle work, a nitrile-coated like the Showa 370 is fine.
Hydration is workwear. We stock Sqwincher pouches and Liquid IV at the counter because guys forget. A Camelbak under a hi-vis vest is a great move — the Hydration Antidote 50oz is what we keep in stock. You'll go through it twice on a tar day.
And if you're working on a Class 1 fall-protection roof, your harness is workwear. We don't fit harnesses on the floor — go to a fall-protection competent person — but we'll sell you the lanyard, the rope grab, and the snap hook to go with it.
Roofers in summer is the trade that punishes you fastest for buying the wrong shirt. Buy the mesh.