These were my first pair of Carhartt pants. Overall I like these pants, but there are some things to consider. Let me break it out into the different areas:
Quality:
As other have said many times before, Carhartt makes very high quality clothing - these are no exception. Every thing is triple stitched, the material is durable and thick but still comfortable. They feel like they will last a long time.
Fit:
Here is where I ran into issues. I bought these in the same size as all of my other pants - big mistake, The legs were a bit longer than I would expect and the waist was nearly a size small. I normally wear a 36 waist in many other brands. "out of the box" these were a bit tight, but after the first wash they fit more like a loose 34 waist. I actually thought about returning them for a larger size - however, the thighs are pretty generously cut, and I was afraid a 38 would make them look like clown pants. Instead, I bought a waist band extender, which worked GREAT (by the way, I really can't recommend waist band extenders enough to all of my brethren who are approaching or past middle age and find their gut to be a bit bigger than in their 20s...). If you are on the larger size of your waist measurement, you might consider sizing up. If your normal waist size is a bit loose on you, these might be more snug. As for the "flex" aspect - I have become hooked on stretch / flex pants. I found these to have very little if any "flex," perhaps because of the thicker material.
Appearance:
I'm torn on the appearance. They really aren't what I would call stylish. The cellphone pocket strikes me as pointless as it isn't very deep and is awkwardly located - if I'm working around the house, my phone would fall out, and if I am out running errands, I would be afraid someone would be tempted to snatch it out of the pocket. I also think the cell pocket detracts from the overall look of the pants. Other than the tight waist band, these definitely have a relaxed cut in the legs, but apparently not as much as other Carhartt pants (so I'm told), I wouldn't really recommend these for a professional environment, but YMMV. That being said, they have a very rugged, "manly" look to them that I really like. I think they'll be great for working around the house or just casual weekend pants.
Conclusion:
I was ready to give these 1-star just based on the odd sizing, but the waist band extender saved it for me - however, I'm not sure its fair to judge a product based on improvements from an unrelated product. I would recommend trying them on in a store if you can - also remember that they do shrink noticeably in the wash, so get them a tad bit loose. Once you get past the sizing issues and the weird cell pocket, I think these are pretty good casual / chore pants. They are definitely very high quality and feel like they will stand up to a lot of abuse.
Amazon Customer