The answer to this is YES! Many people think safety glasses are obstructive or won’t do any good. The facts are these are one of the most important pieces of safety gear there is as well as being the least expensive. You lose an eye you can’t replace it.

Watch the above video and decide for yourself. Then shop all our great Edge Safety Glasses here and protect one of your most valuable assets…your eyesight.

Brian
Hanks Clothing

We are keeping a close watch on hurricane Irene here at Hanks. We are right on the edge and a storm shift of 40 miles could mean the difference between receiving nothing but a little rain or loads of rain and high winds.  All we can do is wait and see.

Our data centers for our website is located in New Jersey though right in the storms path. They have geared up and topped off all the backup diesel generators, arranged for emergency diesel delivery if needed and the data center will be manned during the storm. Hopefully with all the precautions in place interruption to our website will be minimal or nonexistent. We are as prepared as we can be so hopefully our site will stay up for the duration of Hurricane Irene.

Brian
Hanks Clothing

Read about the flood of 1972 in our area here.

Wow...lots of snow

Well we got blasted last night with our biggest storm of the season so far. What started out as a heavy rain in the morning developed into a full blown old fashioned NY snowstorm that ended up dumping over 20 Inches of snow across our area in Upstate NY. This is what my friend Jeff was greeted to when he opened his garage door! He lives up on a hill and boy does it drift. I bet no sooner he got it plowed it drifted in again! For those of you in warmer weather we envy you today!

Brian
Hanks Clothing

It sure is feeling like fall out there. It’s our favorite time of the year at Hanks and we are all ready for the cold weather ahead. We’ve got a big event coming this month soon to be announced. This year marks a milestone in Hanks Clothing’s history and we are going to celebrate big! So stay tune here and I’ll be announcing the event shortly!

Brian

Brian has worked at Hanks Clothing for over 27 years and knows all the ins and outs of the clothing and shoe business. He is inspired to share his insight and experience with others. Brian has lived in scenic upstate NY for most of his life.

Fog at -5° below zero

Well I decided to go take a few pictures early this morning as it was a bright sunny day although very cold. I walked outside to start up the car and it was that weather where your nostrils stick together when you breathe. The snow was cold enough to crunch under your feet when you walked. I opened the car door and the half empty soda I left in the cup holder just 5 hours ago was frozen solid as a brick. Yep it was colder than normal. I started the car to let it warm up a bit and the car thermometer said -5°. I had second thoughts about going but then thought about what our Alaskan customers would say if I let -5° stop me. Where we are in upstate NY we don’t get subzero weather to often so although it gets cold there is a big difference between 15 above and -5° below. I went back inside and layered up with my flannel lined jeans, thermal tops, over shirts, hooded sweatshirt, along with my Wigwam good wool socks and of course my Woody Max Muck Boots. I grabbed my camera and headed out the door…..

Tioga Point

When it gets below zero the area along the river is very scenic so I headed there first to take some pictures before the river fog burned off. I headed to a place called Tioga Point where you can see from above the two rivers that flow through the valley, the Chemung and the Susquehanna,  meet. I snapped a bunch of pictures from there and headed back down into the valley.

Closed For The Season

Solitary Bench

I headed over to our local park which is closed for the season but has hiking trails open all year. Above this park are the reservoirs which supply water to the Village. It is very scenic and they are actually turning the area into a State Park. I headed up in and by now my legs are a bit cold as I didn’t wear my thermal bottoms, just the top. I figured the flannel lined jeans would be enough but when it’s this cold you do need some thermals under the flannel lined jeans also. My feet were still nice and warm though and not the least bit cold. I hiked up through the park to the waterfall and of course it was frozen up pretty good. You could still hear the water running but it was under the ice on the falls.

Frozen Falls

From here I Hiked on over the hill that takes you up to the edge of the reservoir. It’s a bit of a climb but I made it up and the Woody Max Muck Boots so far are doing the job great. Lots of traction and most importantly my feet are still nice and warm. I get to the top of the hill that overlooks the reservoir and snap some more pics.

Frozen Over

Tracks on the ice

From here I start the hike back to my car. By now my moustache is caked with ice and the only part of me that is cold is my legs. I knew I should I have put on the Duofold bottoms but didn’t so it’s my own fault. I head on down the hill back to the car and the walking is much easier now. I’m not exerting and if there was a time my feet would start to cold this would be it as it’s an easy walk and I’m not generating as much heat as the walk in. I make it back to the car and start it up and enjoy the heat!

Woody Max Hunting Boots

Arctic Sport Muck Boot

So after about 2 hours out in sub zero weather on this part of my hike my feet didn’t show any signs of cold at all in the Woody Max Boots. I do believe I could have stayed out all day long. My feet were as warm as I would need them to be. They did sweat a little bit on the uphill trip in so this is why it’s important to wear a wool or an acrylic sock and stay away from cotton. Had I had cotton on, my feet would have been damp and I think they would have been cold. You can get the same warmth in the Arctic Sport Boot. It’s a bit less money because it doesn’t have the Camo on it but other than the color it’s the same boot. So if Camo isn’t your thing go with the Arctic Sport and save a few bucks. I highly recommend these to anyone who wants a lightweight and warm boot. They are very comfortable and easy to walk in. If I had my big pacs on I wouldn’t have been any warmer but I would have enjoyed the hike much less carrying around the extra weight.

The old saying holds true..”There is no such thing as bad weather…just bad clothes.”

Brian

To help you understand I’ll use the Rocky Boot Brand as an example. Rocky has 3 separate boot divisions within it’s brand. They have a work, outdoor, and uniform division…all branded under the Rocky name. Now these different divisions all have a line of boots designed for different environments. If you buy the wrong boot for your working conditions then you could end up with a boot that performs poorly in your working environment.

One of the common errors customers make is buying a boot from the hunting or uniform division and using it in a work environment. Hunting boots will perform no better as a work boot than a Corvette will as a pickup truck. Try using a $60,000 Corvette as a pickup and it won’t last 6 months. Same deal with using a hunting boot as a work boot. You’ll get about 4-6 months out of them. This is were the brand gets blamed by mistake. If you mistakenly buy a work boot for use in a hunting or uniform environment the wear won’t be an issue as they will hold up. You’ll sacrifice some comfort and features though that are present in the proper boot for those uses.

So when out shopping for footwear ask a clerk what’s the best boot for you. They should ask you what you are using the boot for. If it’s for work they should ask you where you work, what your job duties are, and what a normal day is like on your job. They can then point you towards the right boot for what you are using it for. This will prevent you from buying the wrong boot for the wrong purpose.

Brian
Hanks Clothing

Through Sunday Nov 18th, 2007 Save 30% on any Acorn Fleece sock purchase!

Enjoy warm cozy feet with comfort you won’t believe. All at a once a year savings and only for Hanks Newsletter subscribers.

Shop for Acorn Fleece socks here.

Use Promo Code WENL-XX46 at checkout

As always Free Shipping on orders over $99

**Does not apply to previous purchases

Through Sunday Nov 11th, 2007 Save an additional $5.00 on any Acorn Slipper Sock purchase. Regularly $34.95 and on sale for $29.95 and add to this the $5.00 coupon and you pay only $24.95. A great savings!

Use Promo Code WENL-XX45 at checkout

As always Free Shipping on orders over $99

**Does not apply to previous purchases

Through Friday October 19th, 2007 take 15% off any Sock purchase. A great time to stock up on all your socks for the cold weather ahead.

Use Promo Code WENL-X142 at checkout

As always Free Shipping on orders over $99