The trouble with Levi's is that when you buy, say, a pair of 501s, there are a bunch of things that factor into what you're getting. Bought them on eBay for a good deal? Solid chance they're counterfeit. Bought them at WalMart or Target? You're getting a variant that was manufactured for downmarket, price-sensitive consumers - thinner denim, cheaper manufacturing. Is it stretch denim, or 100% cotton? Shrink to fit? Levi's Premium? Or maybe you're splurging for something from the Made & Crafted line. Or if you're really looking to spend on Levi's, you've bought something from the Levi's Vintage Clothing line. (In the US, you can still sometimes find LVC and Made & Crafted items at TJ Maxx and Marshalls for a tenth of their retail price) Sometimes the fit is inconsistent, but if you buy from levi.com, you get free returns if you have an account with them, or if you can drop them off at a nearby Levi's store.

And that's just Levi's... I don't have the time or the energy to bother with the kind of denim fanaticism that blew up over the last decade or so.

Before they IPO'd, my trick to long-lasting Levi's was to wait until whatever seasonal collection they had with 'toughness' in mind went on sale or blowout, because they used to experiment more with fabrics. I've got a pair of 501s made with Dyneema, the stuff they make ropes for ships out of. The Skateboard line was marketed as being able to take more abuse than normal, and so far has lived up to that. For better or for worse, they've simplified their product line a lot since being publicly traded.

And if you want to get real weird, the other thing that I found helps is... that's right, not washing my jeans every time I wear them. There are exceptions, but I work from home, I'm generally not doing much to stink up my jeans. I have a rolling rack that I keep 10 pairs of jeans on, and I cycle through them, so that at the very most, any pair gets worn once every week and a half.

Anyway... I haven't had to buy new jeans in a long time, and I switched over to all-Levi's years ago - but It took a little trial and error to get a lay of the land.

The problem I have is that I have burned through many pairs of Levi’s in under a year of use for each pair. I’m not sure how long they’re supposed to last but that is my experience.

I don’t was my jeans, I wear them a couple days a week and let them sit for the other few days. I wash them about every 2 months (though washing does take a noticeable toll).

I’m not sure the “no true Levi’s” can apply to me however; I bought them from the official Levi’s store in Malmö.

Huh! Well, the other factors I can think of are body chemistry, and what you use to wash your clothes. I've got Levi's that are over a decade old, but the sweat from my wrists will erode the edge off a Macbook Pro in a couple of years. You win some, you lose some

Levi’s are my baseline; they seem to last 1.5x as long as Nudie jeans before getting holes in the thigh or crotch.

Levi’s seem to last well for me but I admittedly don’t wear jeans all that often.