Has anyone here ever tried Prison Blues or Wild *** jeans? I was looking for US made jeans (tired of the decreasing quality of Levis, and the fact that they are no longer made in US), and found the "Prison Blues" jeans on an Arborist site. They have a LOT of features that are appealing:

• Made in US
• under 30 bucks a pair
• uses US sourced denim
• If they're made to last when used by loggers, Construction workers, etc, should last forever in normal wear
• Made by Oregon Correctional inmates...I like that it's teaching them a trade, something to benefit them in the future (hopefully), and they're doing something useful
• Did I mention UNDER 30 BUCKS?

Only downsides I can find is (a) Mail order only, so there's no way to know how they fit when compared to my levis, and (b) they have suspender rivets in place...no biggie, and nothing a wrench can fix.

The Wild *** are also made in US and appear to be long lasting as well, but the reviews are usually 3 out of 5 (where the PB brand has 5/5).

Here's the links to what I'm lookin at
http://www.prisonblues.net/
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdet...m=12011&catID=
https://www.baileysonline.com/itemde...+3630&catID=#a

So what say y'all? Anyone wear them that can tell me about wear, fitment, etc?

 

Cool. Might get some!

 

Same here...I know the whole "only good protection in a spill is leathers", but I'll be damned if I'm wearin chaps in the heat. From what I see online by the loggin cats, in spite of slidin the denim up & down against trees and what-not, they still wear like iron. And every other set of "heavy duty" jeans are 50 bucks & up. 30 bucks for jeans and keepin some folks productive? I'm down with that. Just hesitant to order without knowing how they fit (as well as some ridin folks opinions)....

 

Try Daimond Gussett jeans, about any size you want is available because the jeans are pre-washed and measured by hand after being washed so what you order is what you get.

They have a line called the Defender jeans reinforced with Kevlar specifically for riding.

http://store.americangusset.com/index.php

 

thanks for the research

 

That's one of the ones I initially looked at...120 for the kevlar, 60 bucks for the regular (non-hd) sets.

 

I discovered Prison Blues several years ago in a saw shop when I was looking for Jeans made in America to replace outsourced Levis. They are made the way Levis used to be made. They make them with or without the suspender buttons & the double knee work jeans that I buy for riding:
http://www.prisonblues.net/product/1231111
They come in black or blue, with or without suspender buttons. They are shrink to fit & as I recall, I wore the same size as the Levis I used to buy.

 

This has been one of my fav sites for tough jeans regardless the country of origen. Ive spent a lot of $$$ with them and never been disappointed.

http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/m...ens-pants.aspx

 

Cool...that's what I was wondering. Thanks! For the double knee, how would you rate the wear? How bout overall wear? My levis have taken to either having a tear start at back pocket, or the damn belt loop coming off...Since I ccw, that is unacceptable...


Duluth is good (I've shopped there a ton...love the fire-hose gear), But their Ballroom Jeans are imported, lighter denim, and higher priced (50 & up).

Found this on unionlabel.com, gives a great description of the PB jeans. Wish I could find more about the Wild *** jeans. I like that these are the older types one had to "break in" when first gettin them. Also like that 80% of the inmate wages goes to restitution, court fees, etc...66cruiser pretty much convinced me.

Product Description

These are 14.5 ounce 100% Cotton rinsed stiff denim five pocket blue jeans. Material is from cotton grown in the USA and woven in the USA, it is sent to this facility to be cut and sewn. These old style jeans are like the ones you used to buy for work, thick, tough &, dependable. Best of all they are 100 Percent MADE IN the USA. Remember one thing, you will have to break these babies in wear 'em & wash 'em and you will love the style, durability and comfort of days gone by.

Please read the story below for more information.

About Prison Blues Jeans,

We have tried for the last five years to find a USA supplier for suspender and double knee work jeans to no avail, all the sewing plants have all gone offshore for this type of jean because of all the extra sewing involved.

That is when we found the Prison Blues Brand, we can now offer our customers a made in USA product for these styles of jeans. The cloth is grown & woven here in the USA and then it is cut and assembled by inmates from the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution.

We think this program beats the alternative of buying from Mexico, Viet Nam or Communist China.

When you buy Prison Blues© products, you support a program that teaches inmates valuable working skills.

The inmates who make Prison Blues© products earn prevailing industry wages.

Eighty percent of their earnings are deducted to pay victim restitution, child support, incarceration costs, court costs and taxes. A small portion of about 20 percent is available for personal expenses at the prison canteen, voluntary family support, or an inmate trust account available to inmates upon their release. Thank you for considering this product, please contact us with any concerns or comments, we always welcome your input.

Best of all they don't compete with any USA sewing plants. The competition is from Mexico, VietNam & Communist China.

 

Do they have a hole in the ***? I mean, prison jeans made by prisoners . Seems logical