If you’re anything like us, the bottom half of your daily uniform is always denim. As much as we’d like to wear jeans everyday, it’s not always feasible in the months when your breath can be seen and beards freeze… or is it? Turns out there are quite a few options when it comes to winter, which means you can keep rocking the easiest to pair, most durable and comfiest option even though it’s cold as hell outside. There are plenty of different options on this list when it comes to price, features or brand name, but one thing they all have in common is that each option has a fabric weight of over 16 oz., which is what everyone generally agrees is the line when it comes to heavyweight denim.
Unbranded 21oz Heavyweight Red Weft Selvedge
Want heavyweight, selvedge denim for the winter without having to commit a couple hundred dollars to a pair? Enter Unbranded Brand, created by the founder of Naked & Famous as an entry level into the world of high quality denim for guys suffering from sticker shock at denim prices. Unbranded 21 oz. Heavyweight Red Weft Selvedge jeans combine the perfect winter weight denim with a unique pop of color and the brand’s philosophy (No branding. No washes. No embroidery. No ad campaigns. No celebrities) to create the best cheap winter denim on the market. Even better, these jeans are available in skinny, tapered, straight, tight or relaxed tapered fits, so there is, quite literally, a fit/cut for every single one of you reading this. $118
3sixteen SL-140x Heavyweight Brown Weft Denim
A more than deserving member of our 6 Small Denim Brands You Should Know, 3sixteen has been producing simple staples with superior quality for more than a decade. 3sixteen has always prided themselves on a focus more concerned with build quality, attention to detail and the ability to develop character over time than selling thousands of pairs or keeping up with trends. The 3sixteen SL-140X Heavyweight Brown Weft Denim is a great example of this philosophy. Heavyweight 17oz. selvedge denim woven exclusively for 3sixteen by renowned Kuroki Mills is cut and sewn into a pair of jeans with a modern slim, straight fit that tapers from the knee down, which makes them a great, easy-wearing pair of jeans. One more reason we like this particular pair is the brown weft that adds a really nice bit of contrast in the legs if you’re a fan of the cuff or roll. $190
Tellason Gustave Slim Tapered Selvedge
When we decided that we needed our own pair of heavy denim perfect for winter—which ultimately led us to creating this entire piece—one of the first brands we thought of was San Francisco based Tellason. The brand continually produces high quality, durable and stylish denim that easily competes with the significantly more expensive options on the market. This particular pair, Tellason Gustave Slim Tapered Selvedge, weighs in at 16.5 oz., which makes it heavy enough for colder weather while also being comfortable enough out of the box to not have to worry about an extensive break-in period. Add to that the Cone Mills White Oak orange line sanforized fabric, button fly, extra heavy pocket bags and lined back pockets, and it’s to see why this would be a pair Tellason co-founder Tony Patella would be proud of. $230
Naked & Famous Tenpi Treated “Made in Japan” 4
Canadian brand Naked & Famous has been producing interesting pairs of Japanese denim for a decade. That, coupled with the fact they’re available everywhere from Nordstrom to Amazon, makes them an obvious choice for any list of perfect heavyweight denim. Despite the fact that the brand holds the record for heaviest denim with their 32 oz. option that stands up on its own, we opted for the Tenpi Treated “Made in Japan” 4 because it’s still heavy as hell at 21 oz. but is actually wearable. The “Made in Japan” line is a modified version of the popular N&F “Weird Guy” with a slim fit and a taper from the knee down. Along with the Tenpi treatment (basically, you don’t have to worry about a pre-soak), there are little details like a maple leaf on the back pocket, selvedge coin pocket detail and copper rivets throughout. $275
Pure Blue Japan 22oz-013 Slim Tapered
The focal point of all great denim is always the fabric, and the Pure Blue Japan 22oz-013 Slim Tapered jeans do not disappoint in that department. Heavyweight 22 oz. Japanese selvedge fabric produced specifically for Pure Blue Japan (PBJ) from a low-tension shuttle loom for that signature PBJ combination of slubby and hairy. A favorite amongst denim geeks, business execs and everyone in between, this pair has a particularly flattering profile because of the combination of the heavy denim (PBJ has said they’re not making this fabric again because it broke sewing machines during production) and the slim tapered cut. $315
The Strike Gold SG009LTD “Deep Indigo” Limited Jeans
To this day, Self Edge remains one of the best menswear shops in America. If they’re stocking a brand, especially when it comes to denim, you know the wares are going to be great. Case in point: The Strike Gold with their SG009LTD “Deep Indigo” Limited Jeans. 17 oz. unsanforized right hand twill Japanese selvedge denim. High density yarn. Pure indigo dyed warp threads. Natural cotton colored weft threads. Custom iron/copper rivets. Sounds perfect, right? It gets better. Strike Gold is so particular about their denim that they stopped the full production run when the jeans didn’t match the samples and it couldn’t be fixed without adding pigment dye to the indigo bath. Because of that, these 100% pure indigo dyed jeans are limited to 175 pairs, which makes them even better. $330
Iron Heart Indigo 25oz Selvedge Denim
Described as super extra heavy denim, this option from Iron Heart has a weight of 25oz, which makes them the perfect example of “bigger is better” turned in to jeans. Just to be clear, Iron Heart Indigo 25 oz. Selvedge Denim is ridiculously heavy duty, so much so that the people making them had to wear protective glasses because of random sewing machine needle explosions. They’re going to take a while to break in, but once you do make them yours they’re great for everything from riding to everyday wear. These jeans are just one more reason why Iron Heart makes some of the best Japanese denim on the market. $400
