I’ve only recently been able to be picky about my clothes and now been trying to find a good pair of jeans that wont rip or tear.
I do a lot of labor so my jeans usually get pretty beat up, i don’t really expect a pair to last forever but i haven’t had a solid pair last more than a couple months without getting a tear. Every pair i have has both knees ripped open. I’ll fix them with a patch but they always rip in a different spot.
I’d spend $200 on a pair that’ll last at least year.
Any brand that uses Japanese selvage in the heavier weights lasts ages. Take a while to break in and are $$$, though.
One thing that makes them last longest is washing gently and only when necessary. Tumble dryers and fabric softeners plus dryer sheets accelerate wear drastically. I have a couple pairs from Naked and Famous that are roughly a decade old with no tears or holes.
Otherwise like mentioned here: canvas pants or the firehose material ones from Duluth last a long time too. Much easier to maintain and handle frequent washing more readily.
Naked and Famous are great but very expensive. They use exotic fabrics and make exclusive, limited edition runs that, IMHO, would be wasted on workwear.
If you’re looking for regular selvedge denim at a fraction of N&F’s price, while still uncompromising on quality, durability and fabric, their no-label sub-brand The Unbranded Brand are awesome. I’ve worn 2 pairs already (both lost to crotch blowout after 3-4 years of daily wear, the issue being me getting fatter, not the jeans themselves). I’ve just started wearing my latest pair, an UB301.
Interesting… didn’t know that existed. Will have to check them out. And yeah, i should have pointed out they may be too expensive to be used for harder labor, they’re just the ones i’ve owned that have held up the longest so they came to mind.