Comparison: Performance Jeans

If you are of a certain age, the phrase ‘action slacks’ probably mean something to you – and not in a good way. Recently, there has been a number of companies that have introduced ‘performance jeans’. They’re not made by Haggar and unlike their leisure wear predecessors, they’re well worth your consideration for on bike wear.

While I did not get a chance to test anything from jeanswear stalwart Levi Strauss, I did get to spend time with models from Patagonia, Stio and the Cadence Collection. I also threw in a pair of ‘bespoke’ denim jeans from crowdsource maker Gustin.

Cadence Collection Raw Denim Jeans

While Cadence’s Raw Denim Jeans ($120) are likely the most engineered pair of jeans here. They have a gusseted crotch for flexibility as well as a reinforced seat and double layer pockets to prevent blowouts from saddle wear. There’s also a reflective patch on the rear for extra protection.

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to love them, or even wear them all that often. The fit of these jeans is called ‘straight’ by Cadence, but for my moderately muscled legs, I’d call them slim. I’d go so far as to even call them ‘leggings’. I understand that you want a close fit for riding wear, but I don’t go looking for a compression fit from my jeans. If you’ve seen the skater kids around with their tight jeans, you can get a feel for their look. As such, not really something to wear into the office.

That said, the denim for these jeans (with the exception of the Gustins) is the closest to raw selvedge denim, with just 2% lycra content in the 12 oz. denim for a little bit of stretch and will likely wear naturally, mold themselves to your body and soften with age.

Stio Rivet Jean

The Stio Rivet jean (was $125, now on sale) delivered classic jean fit. While the fit was on par, the fabric hewed closest to the polyester ‘action’ feel. They just didn’t feel like jean fabric. The pockets in particular were a little too baggy, and I often felt like my wallet was just going to flip out when I was riding. Not a comfortable feeling.

While they wouldn’t be a first choice for cycling, they were quite comfortable for working around the house, raking leaves and so on. I don’t know if you can call that ‘performance’ or ‘action’ but they did lend themselves quite well to movement and definitely offered a better fit than Cadence’s jeans.

Like the Cadences, the Rivet jeans do have a gusseted crotch, allowing the boys to move around a little more than your average 501s.

Stio has a good idea started here – just a few minor tweaks to fabric and fit and they could have a really good product.

Gustin Jeans

Gustin does not make performance jeans. That’s not their thing. What Gustin does offer are American made jeans with high quality fabrics at a wholesale price. Considering that raw denim jeans from brands like Levis, Acne Denim and Alexander Goldsmith can cost up to or over $300, Gustin’s crowdsourced wholesale sales model looks like a bargain with their jeans coming in at $80-120.

I had ordered a pair of Gustin’s American Standard jeans ($80) in a 12 oz. Cone Mills fabric (right off the antique looms that used to make all of Levi’s fabric before they took it overseas). The jeans had the certifiably vintage button fly, a raw denim finish, and a hand-stamped leather patch.

Gustin offers their jeans in three cuts: straight, slim and skinny. I’m glad that I went for the straight fit as they had the just right snug but not too tight fit right off the bat. The fabric, with its raw (unsanforized) finish started out stiff, but quickly began to soften and mold to my curves with repeated wear. I’m trying the ‘raw denim’ wearing method of avoiding the washing machine as much as possible, so it will be interesting to see how these age and break in over time.

As I noted, these jeans were not made for riding, but the cut worked well on the bike, not riding up or sliding down. As noted above, the straight leg fit was just snug enough to not bunch up and stay out of the front chainring while riding.

If I had to name just one thing that I didn’t like about these jeans, it would have to be the front pockets. They were and are remarkably tight. Getting keys (or my phone) out of my front pocket is difficult, and just sticking my hands in them like I regularly would isn’t comfortable.

Patagonia Performance Straight Fit

I’ve saved these for last because they seem to offer the best balance of fabric, fit and performance of the four jeans here.

Patagonia’s Performance Straight Fit jeans ($119) use a midweight organic cotton/polyester blend (organic polyester?) fabric, that, with the exception of the Gustin’s, seems to be the most jean-like of the bunch. Never a brand to miss out on ticking all of the ‘green’ bonafides, these jeans also use a new dyeing process that is supposed to minimize energy use, water use, and carbon dioxide emissions over conventional processes. They are also sewn in a Fair Trade Certified™ shop.

The fit is very close to those of the Gustin American Standard – just snug enough for the classic jean look while still offering some breathing room. They have what Patagonia calls ‘mechanical’ stretch. Sounds like marketing speak to me, but all I know is that they move with you as opposed to against you.

While I was only able to get a little bit of bike time with these jeans, but what really made an impression on me was a hike in the Smokies last fall. After camping in Cherokee, NC, we made a stop on the way home to hike to Chimney Tops mountain in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. While it was not my intent when I started hiking, the seemingly inconsequential 2 mile hike definitely served to test the capabilities of these jeans.

Conditions were rainy and windy throughout the hike. The first mile of the hike was largely flat, so the possibility of being wet and cold was definitely a possibility. Staying warm and dry was paramount, and the DWR (durable water repellent) finish of these jeans did the job. The second mile turned sharply uphill and even though the rain and wind continued, even though I was taking off my rain jacket, my legs stayed comfortable because of the COOLMAX™ moisture management. Finally, when we reached the summit, the scramble to the top was made easier by the stretch. I could definitely see myself rock climbing in these jeans.

Cons? Not many. The color of these jeans was just a little too purple to have the classic indigo look. Also, the waist button occasionally comes randomly unbuttoned.