Levi's 512 with better quality

Submitted by Dwarfmetalhead t3_117jzzq in BuyItForLife

Hello everyone

I currently have two Levi's 512 jeans and I am really disappointed on the durability. Both are less than a year old, one almost has an hole in it and the other has the mark of my phone in the pocket...

I'm commuting to work by bike.

Can you make some recommendation for jeans with the same cut has the 512 but with better durability ? I'm in France.

Budget wise I'm willing to go up to 200€ but even if your recommendation is higher please make it.

Thank you for your help !

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lingueenee t1_j9fmccx wrote

Saying this as a long time cyclist. Cotton (denim) is probably the poorest choice for cycling gear. There are very few, if any, makers of casual cycling kit that use 100% cotton fabrics and a chief reason is what you've noticed: cotton fibre is not in the same league as polyester or nylon in strength and durability.

Yes, you can cycle constantly in jeans; if you do you'll experience exactly what's happening: soon the seat of your pants will wear and tear to nothing.

Accordingly one should favour nylon/polyester pants (with some elastane for flexibility). Or if you really must have denim consider purpose designed jeans from Duer et al. They're cotton/poly/elastane blends engineered for greater motion and durability, look like regular jeans, with your use case in mind.

Lastly, you can resort to thrift shops and buy cheap used denim for the purpose. That way when you wear out the arse of a pair of jeans it's no big loss.

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Dwarfmetalhead OP t1_j9fvdbw wrote

I know the best option would be to have dedicated cycling gear and to change at the office but I would like to avoid to take this time

Duer et al seems nice but it looks like they doesn't ship to France :/

Thank you !

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lingueenee t1_j9golm3 wrote

Dedicated cycling gear is not what I'm referring to. There's no shortage of casual pants that are durable, far superior for your purposes, without the cycling esthetic, eg., Prana. What's important is the composition of the fabric, i.e., ideally no or little cotton. Perhaps Decathlon would have what I'm talking about. Good luck.

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Dwarfmetalhead OP t1_j9gs1gy wrote

Oh okay.

I don't think Decathlon has this yet. But I know they are working on a commuter pants.

Do you have suggestion for the fabric ? I would like to avoid fabric like polyester in profit of more natural fabric (linen,wool,etc)

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lingueenee t1_j9gx3o4 wrote

I did mention cotton/poly/spandex blends as more durable--and comfortable--alternatives to 100% cotton. Wool? It has a long history in cycling, particularly in jerseys--I use merino regularly there--where it's not subjected to constant abrasion (legs/ass on saddle) that'll kill it. Wool has great properties but again durability isn't one of them. You'll notice that it's often blended with nylon, partially for that reason. Other factors such as cost, reaction to moisture, dyes, sweat, abrasion, etc must also be considered too, so it's not all about durability.

To reiterate, there's nothing wrong with riding in 100% natural cotton, wool, linen, or what-have-you. Just that, commuting regularly in such clothing will prematurely wear it out. I have ten year old Levis that if worn to commute by bike (40 km round trip) wouldn't have lasted a year.

Some natural clothing products may last marginally longer than others but they will succumb earlier than their synthetic counterparts, as nylon and poly have been deliberately engineered in the lab to be more durable.

The key here is not so much the brand, i.e., Levis or Wrangler, but in knowing the nature of the textiles used. And the nature of natural fibres is that they rank well below synthetics in durability.

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Foreign-Cookie-2871 t1_j9qds9f wrote

I have the heattech "jeans" from uniqlo. They are a blend of cotton and synthetic and pretty elastic, while keeping the jeans look. I don't expect them to last decades but they are decently cheap - and will last some years even with daily use.

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Dwarfmetalhead OP t1_j9r1k17 wrote

I don't think they still exist. I cant find any on the french website atleast :/

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Muncie4 t1_j9des8m wrote

People don't magically know what the 512 cut is so for those playing the home game, it is slim tapered. Durable jeans start with weight and you want the heaviest jeans you can find/afford in that cut. Will they be the same as 512? No. Each maker has a unique cut and you can try on 32 pair of slip tapered jeans by 32 makers and get a different feeling from each. https://bravestarselvage.com/products/the-slim-taper-21-5oz-heavyweight-japan-selvage-denim is one option.

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wumpz t1_j9ds2h8 wrote

someone who used to work a levi's told me that if you want a replacement, all you have to say is that your jeans shrunk when you washed them and theyll replace them for you.

but this was a few years ago i dont know if it will work.

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gsjanbevsb t1_j9qxm0p wrote

Try Nudie Jeans. They do life time free repairs on there jeans. Super impressed by the quality. They can be bought for £20 online second hand or about £200 new. Highly recommend.

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F-21 t1_j9egzst wrote

Quality denim is a huge rabbit hole. I don't know much about it but I like my Carhartt jeans, maybe try some styles from them?

Thinking about trying out Red Tornado jeans from aliexpress, I've read good stuff but it's obviously a bit of a gamble. However from the photos they seem really nice, and they use an asian model to show them so they should be the real deal (prejudice about aliexpress aside...).

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ComprehensiveRow4189 t1_j9en7i9 wrote

Carthart has gone down the drain.

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F-21 t1_j9f18ut wrote

For the 50€ I paid for mine, I think it would be hard to find anything better over in Europe (consider Levis and Wranger ar 100€+ here, but IMO quality is at least similar).

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ComprehensiveRow4189 t1_j9en6zc wrote

1083fr or nudiejeans.

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Dwarfmetalhead OP t1_j9fvo68 wrote

I had a pretty bad experience with 1083, I bought a jeans in a store that was defective (didn't notice at this time) and the next week I came back and refused to do an exchange because they said it was a cigarette burn, considering that I don't smoke and no one in my house does it was not the case.

I will look at nudiejeans thank you !

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