Review: Defender Jeans from Patriot Jean Co

Editor’s Note: James Alavosus is my son, and this is his first bylined piece. I’ve published it just as he wrote it, with some very minor edits. He’s a pretty darned good writer — but I get to say that because I’m his mom.

Hi! I’m James, a software developer in Brooklyn, NY. I occasionally do work for Huff Industrial Marketing, such as building and maintaining a core piece of the Conversion Reporting system used by many HIM clients. But this isn’t a post to toot my own horn — it’s review time!

Today, I’ll be reviewing an amazing pair of Made in USA jeans from Patriot Jean Co, specifically their Defender line. Disclaimer: Patriot Jean Co did not provide these for free, they were purchased at their regular price ($119 USD), and Patriot did not ask for this review to be written. However, I’m a huge fan of quality products in general, especially those which are quite literally grown, spun, sewn, designed, and built entirely in the USA.

Patrick Mate’s amazing customer service

To set the scene: I’m a powerlifter, a sport which lends itself to having larger quads and glutes, and being on the bigger side in terms of waist size. For reference, I’m 5’9” (175cm), have a waist size of about 35 inches, and an inseam of about 32 inches.

It’s hard to find clothing that fits in general, let alone 100% denim jeans: for the longest time, I’ve worn Levis 541 (athletic cut) in 34×32, which are made with their proprietary stretch denim, entirely because other companies don’t really make anything which matches the fit of that cut.

I obviously had many questions about the reported fit and structure of the Defender line, since I didn’t want to have to return these after two days of potentially awkwardly waddling around in too-tight jeans.

Lucky for me, Patriot’s founder Patrick Mate was more than willing to hop on the phone with me for over a half hour and answer every single one of them. He gave me good advice for sizing, as well as reviews and reports from other Defender wearers about how they fit on various body types.

I’m not a “quadzilla” (Patrick’s word, not mine), so my legs would very likely fit into these without much of any issue. I truly cannot express my thanks to and appreciation for Patrick taking time out of his busy day not once, but twice (don’t worry I’ll get to the second call), to answer all of my (sometimes stupid) questions about denim and Patriot’s jeans.

One very useful and potentially overlooked offering from Patriot is their Fit Guarantee: for $3 extra (seriously, only $3), if your new jeans don’t fit or fit weird or whatever else, Patriot will pay for the return shipping and send you the next size up. If you don’t pay the Fit Guarantee, you’re on the hook for return shipping. Given the cost of USPS shipping these days, that’s a steal and a half.

Unboxing!

Once I got the package in the mail, I was ecstatic. The first thing of note is the entire unboxing experience: from opening the box, to unpacking everything – yes, there were stickers! – to actually putting the jeans on for the first time, I was hyped up the whole way through.

The Fit

As I mentioned earlier, finding jeans that fit is always an adventure for me. I put my new Defenders on, and immediately felt right at home in them. One hundred percent denim jeans take some time to break in, more so than stretch jeans, and these definitely did need some break-in before they started to feel like they do now (I’m wearing them as I write this post).

The denim was very stiff at first, and sitting down with my knees bent was a bit difficult for the first hour or so. Everything gradually loosened up and conformed to my body over a few days, though. I had one potentially major concern, though: seam slippage.

These jeans fit my quads a little too snugly at first, and caused the outer seams on the upper half of the legs to appear to be stretching out, which freaked me out at first. I didn’t want to end up busting open a pair of jeans that quickly.

So, I shot Patrick an email explaining what I was seeing, along with pictures, to which he very quickly replied that he’d ask his team and get back to me. A couple days later, he did!

We hopped on the phone for a second time, and Patrick explained that seam slippage to some degree, especially during the break-in process, is completely normal. Not only that, but to combat potentially busting them open, Patriot’s jeans are built with an extra safety stitching inside the leg, which reinforces the outer seam.

This was another half-hour long phone call, during which a few more questions were asked and answered, as well as Patrick genuinely checking that I felt comfortable in the jeans. Well, I most certainly do.

Of interest about the fit: the Defender line is “athletic fit,” meaning that it has some extra room in the crotch, hips, and thighs, with a straight-leg opening below the knee. On me specifically, they’re more of a mid-rise, and I can comfortably have them cuffed at the ankle or not, depending on how trendy I want to look that day.

Good stuff

The Patriot Defender jeans are supremely reinforced. If there’s somewhere, anywhere, which could potentially blow out or rip or whatever else, it is heavily reinforced with stitching and extra structure to ensure that everything stays together.

My experience with Levis tends to involve a blown-out crotch after six to eight months of wear – I wear the same pair or two of jeans every single day, even in the summer – so having reinforcement where it counts is a huge boon.

The heavier, 14.75oz denim also, to my amazement, does not chafe at all. Thanks to a condition called Hyperhidrosis (chronic excessive sweating everywhere even when it’s freezing cold), I’m a very sweaty dude, so jeans chafing is almost an inevitability. Not with the Defender!

Even on the worst days I’ve worn them, there hasn’t been any chafing whatsoever, and they’ve remained comfortable in the face of being on an excessively hot New York City subway, walking through Brooklyn and Manhattan, and even sitting in a warm car for seven hours straight (you can bet I was sweating something fierce). Basically, if you’re big and sweaty, I can’t recommend these enough.

Less-good stuff

So far, there isn’t anything “less good” about these. Any of my more minor fit issues can be easily remedied by actually going to the gym and doing some cardio and squats.

Fun stuff

As I mentioned earlier on, everything about Patriot Jean Co’s products is made right here in the USA. The cotton used in the denim is grown and spun here, every piece of hardware is sourced from US manufacturers, the jeans are built here, and Patriot is a U.S. company where all designs are made.

It’s actually sort-of wild that, with all of the processes being Stateside, these pants cost as little as they do! Lower quality, offshored jeans can often cost north of $150, so buying Patriot seems like a no-brainer to me. These jeans will last years.

Overall

This is the easiest conclusion ever: I strongly recommend Patriot Jean Co’s Defender series jeans. If you like comfortable, sturdy, and home-grown jeans, these are for you.

The only downside is that they aren’t available in a darker wash – I wear jeans for every occasion, including “formal” stuff, so having a second pair which more readily goes with suit jackets and/or dress and polo shirts would be that much better. Patrick, if you’re reading this, hint-hint-nudge-nudge.

I’d like to thank Patrick Mate in particular for his time, genuine kindness, and amazing customer support pre- and post-purchase. You made this such an easy process from start to finish, and I hope that you’re able to keep Patriot Jean Co going for years to come. I’d also like to thank Dianna Huff (my mom) for recommending that I try these and setting me up with a pair.

Links

Patriot Jean Co — Company website

100% Made in USA: Patriot Jean Co is Changing Men’s Denim — Keep It Made USA write up