With the reinforced knee and oversized pockets, I'd buy a pair for hiking and camping - but I have no idea why they are "machinist" pants.
I'm pretty familiar with hiking/camping/backpacking territory but haven't heard of "machinist" in that realm until today. But, given the description I found elsewhere while price shopping, it seems to be actual-machinist:
"The Black Diamond Machinist Pant is ideal whether you day takes you climbing your favorite route, or to the workshop for an impromptu project. These pants feature a durable reinforced cotton/nylon canvas that handles the abuse of both climbing and life in the shop."
It's not hiker-code for something else.
I got slip-on knee pads that go over the pants. I like the extra sewn layer on the knee for dirt/gravel/mud. For shop work, if I need knee reinforcement, I want the knee pad, not one more layer of cloth.
Meh. It's not $90 cool, either. I'll stick with Carhartt 'carpenter' pants for now. I'm no carpenter though, I just like the pockets
ETA:
The one thing it has that's nice for some shops is the 'internal belt' - no belt buckle to ding or scratch things accidentally. I know there are special belts for that purpose (or some types of suspenders) but being integral to the pants could be nice for some, I suppose.
