Most durable pants/pant material, best repair options

Forrest Carver wrote:

I have a problem with destroying pants even in regular, everyday conditions. I have tried a lot of different brands, including Arborwear, with no success. Three issues in order of frequency:

1.) Crotch rips during squat type movements

2.) Button pops off when I get up

3.) Walk into something sharp, causing triangular rip

What are the strongest, most rugged pants you own? What do you think is the strongest material or blend for pants? How have you successfully repaired/reinforced your pants?

I realize there are behavioral solutions to this (get up carefully, wear a belt, don't be clumsy) but that's a different subject.

Checkout the Taiga Madison trousers 2.0.

My dad has had the 1.0 version for 20 years and has been using them a lot. He is a wilderness guide and uses them during several week long hikes every year. And also just for normal outside stuff. They havent gotten a single hole as far as i know. The only thing that has happened is that some of the zippers are now starting to break. The only negative thing is the ~400€ price point. But for 20 years of heavy use, id say thats well worth it. Taiga is a swedish outdoor clothing brand that focuses on making gear for the swedish military, rescue units and police. 

Forrest, since you are looking for overall use vs climbing I would recommend you look into upland hunting pants.
ll bean has some as well as many bird shooting type places.
Made for thorns and heavy brush walking, generally a canvas type base, sometimes a synthetic with a corduroy front face.
i have a pair that have hundreds of days of gardening and wood cutting of use and they have not one hole or wear point.
Best work pants I ever have had!

I’ve been climbing and living in Duluth Firehose Flex pants lately. Comfortable, flexible, love the pockets, sturdy. Very happy with them.

Cordura Denim is nearly indestructible. A number of brands make product out of it. Be sure to get a good fit, if the rise is too long you will blow out the crotch.
https://www.cordura.com/Fabrics/denim-fabric

Carhartt 

Had very good success with some MEC pants made of Schoeller fabric.  Bought them ~15 years ago, and they're still going strong.  Use them in summer and don't overheat; use them in winter with a pair of biking tights underneath and am perfectly comfortable.  Use them for skiing, alpine, climbing, whatever.  A couple of snags from cacti on a bushwack in Sedona and a nice crampon tear, but even those didn't run.  Throw them in the wash every once in awhile and renew the DWR in the dryer.

Jonny d wrote: Had very good success with some MEC pants made of Schoeller fabric.  Bought them ~15 years ago, and they're still going strong.  Use them in summer and don't overheat; use them in winter with a pair of biking tights underneath and am perfectly comfortable.  Use them for skiing, alpine, climbing, whatever.  A couple of snags from cacti on a bushwack in Sedona and a nice crampon tear, but even those didn't run.  Throw them in the wash every once in awhile and renew the DWR in the dryer.

They just changed their cheaper models of softshell pant from Schoeller this year to something... inferior. I've got a pair which was previously made of Schoeller with great reviews that now is made of something else. I've climbed in them a few times (just in the gym) and they've already started to pill. No bueno. Super comfy but definitely not durable (and really short, too!).

Carhartt double front loggers, the blue denim ones, but with a caveat: suspenders.

Im a carpenter/ranchhand/concrete countertop fabricator/installer, and I used to blow the crotch of them way before the rest of the pant was worn out, until I started wearing good, heavy duty button-on suspenders. The part of the leg in front of the bottom of the pocket, just above the double front, is what now blows out first, after 3x the wear, though. I also carry way too much crap in my pockets; drill bits, driver bits, knives, other tools, etc.

They used to sell the pants with the buttons attached, but now they sell the buttons separately. They are “batchelor buttons” so no sewing necessary, just a hammer. I actually prefer an awl and some channel locks, though. Poke a hole, squeeze them on.

Wright’s suspenders, in NW Washington State, is a great small family company that makes awesome suspenders for loggers and firefighters. I’m only on my second pair, with almost daily wear, and I bought my first pair in ‘08 or ‘09, and only bought my current pair last year.

Thanks for the further advice. In the 2 years since this topic I have gone through 2x pair of Ferrosi pants. I like them but they seem to run big and stretch out way too fast. I wear a 36 and the first pair I got was 36, way too big in waist. So I got the 34s, and within a year they were too big again. Now I have a pair of 32s and they work fine but they're skintight. Durability was fine.

I am also trying a pair of the Duluth Firehose pants. So far they are great but I only have 6 months on them.

I will look into Taiga and upland hunting pants. Thanks again

Norrona Svalbards for the win...

I’d like to have a report on the Duluth stuff. I wear a 36x36 in Carhart, and would wear a 36x38 if they had it.

But, seriously, suspenders are a game-changer. I spend way less on pants these days.