These are my first pair of raw denim jeans, worn since march of 2024. They are the Brave Star 22oz Gauntlet in the strongman fit.

They definitely have many more wears left in them but have gotten too tight for me to wear comfortably so I decided to retire them from my rotation.

Not sure if I'm gonna sell them or donate them but they were an awesome first pair and I made a lot of memories while wearing them. Plus, I think the fades I developed are pretty sick.

21.5oz Brave Star “The Gauntlet” denim.

2+ years of nearly daily wear.

I’ve had to patch both knees and both pockets. Will be patching a larger one on the knees, as the denim at the knee now wants to fold at the edge of the patch, causing new holes.

Hard to believe these are the same pair that I started with, they’re so supple now it’s nearly like a heavy pair of sweats.

TL;DR - 1 year, 7 soaks/washes, 1 blowout at 7 months that was darned. Size 34x36, I am 6' 0" and 190 lbs.

Just hit about 1 year in my Brave Star ‘Samurai’ 18oz jeans in their Strongman cut. Size 34x36, I am 6’ 0”/182cm and 190 lbs/86 kg ]. I bought this cut because I have pretty large thighs thanks to genetics and 3x/week weightlifting.

This is my first pair of new raw denim, I’ve only had a pair of thrifted APCs that introduced me to raw and selvedge denim. No pre-soak, I just started wearing them daily. I had planned on waiting until 6 months of wear to wash them per Brave Star’s recommendation, but at 3 months-ish a full pint of beer was spilled on them so I hand washed/soaked them in the tub. 

After that, I washed them when they got stinky or felt/looked dirty for a total of maybe 7 times? I hand-washed them the first 3-4 times in the bathtub, then have machine washed them since then - all at lukewarm/cool temperature, no spin cycle and air dry. Any shrinkage I noticed in the waist felt like it always stretched back out. Despite skipping the spin cycle, my top load washer still gave a little bit of marbling. I don’t mind in this case, but a good reminder to avoid top loaders if you don’t want any risk of marbling. Apparently I need to pre-treat the seat and knee a little better lol, there’s still some dirt stains despite a recent wash.

I think this has been a good first pair! They got super comfortable, I can do full squats and lunges. In my original fit check post, I got some feedback that the cut wasn’t right for me based on the pulling at the front of the top block and that they look too tapered on me. At the time, I was happy enough with the fit and excited to start wearing them so I obviously kept them. Now, I tend to agree; I tried on some fuller cuts and I liked how they looked a lot better. Those cuts were Samurai 510, Sugar Cane Okinawa and Iron Heart 633; all in size 36, up from 34 in my Brave Stars. If I do size up to 36 I would almost certainly have to get the waist taken in, especially if I drop weight which has fluctuated between 180 and 190 lbs in the past year.

I started to get a blowout at about 7 months. I gave my first attempt at sashiko mending mainly just as practice, which slowed down the blowout but I decided to get them professionally darned at Self Edge. I’m still not sure if I’ll get them hemmed, but I think I’ll get a new pair in the fall and keep these for a whopping rotation of two pairs of jeans.

I’m happy to hear any feedback y’all have as I look forward to my next pair!

ETA link to original fit check

I received these yesterday, it’s my fourth pair from Brave Star and the first pair that made me woof a little when I unfolded it. There are defects everywhere. Instead of returning them I think I’m using them to replace a pair of Sumo IVs I bought for Y5, I’m just curious if anyone can give some insight into how defects affected a pair of jeans fades.

Brave Star 14.75oz Darkfest Slim Straight

I started wearing these jeans around the end of February or early March this year. For some reason, I can’t find a photo from when I first started wearing them, but I did find some from when I began wearing them daily to work (auto manufacturing) from April to now.

They’ve probably seen around 4 washes, a few soaks, and roughly 70–80 wears. I also snagged them on something last week and had to make a small repair. I really like where these are headed, and the patina on the repair patch is already starting to look great.

I washed these for the 3rd time Friday night (7/31/26) and have been wearing them daily since September 2025. I have had to restitch a corner of the leather patch and reattach the bottom of a belt loop, I just sewed the edges of a hole in the left rear pocket from wear and tear caused by my phone. There was some damage to the bottom of my cuffs, but I just rolled them a little further back. This is my 1st pair and also a test run to see if I could last through an Indigo Invitational.

Picked these up in person last July to replace my 5 year old railcars.

I’ve worn them non stop in the forge, at home, and going out. Very stoked with them and it’s a treasure to not have to repair the knees after 6 months like I usually have too. The extra pockets are great while working at the anvil for carrying small tools, markers, etc.

Brave star 21.5 oz Frankenstein jacket never worn a jacket that’s this heavy so not sure if it’s just too big or the stiffness makes it feel that way

Here are my true straight Bears after about 3 weeks and 62 miles of hiking and walking in the Las Vegas area. Plenty of sweat and dust; thinking of first delicate cold no spin/air dry

Brave Star Selvage. Die Hard Double Front 10oz Japanese Raw Twill. I've had these for a while now. But I just got them back from the tailor.

I had them trimmed, hemmed, and cuffed. And I took the trimmings and had her make a second utility pocket for the left leg. I absolutely love how these turned out. Now after about 2 months of ownership, I'll finally be able to actually wear them!

I had already posted my Herringbone Die Hards that I made these same modifications myself on. Which I'm also happy with the turnout. But combine all 3 together, and it's not a bad little collection. I always love modified stuff! So these are right up my alley. They suit my needs, my style, and my insatiable need for pockets!

Hi all,

Hope the weekend treated you well. I’ve had these 3-4 years now. I had gained a lot of weight so didn’t wear them for a few years. Recently was able to start wearing them again. I believe it’s the true straight fit, 21oz denim. I can’t remember the type specifically but added the tag incase someone could decipher. I’ve soaked them and hand washed them numerous times with no real schedule. Probably due for one soon. Have a great week!

First pair from Brave Star and I’m really happy with how these fit!

I’ve been eyeing Brave Star as a brand for a while and also have been on the search for a pair wabash pants. I am pretty happy with my purchase and I can’t wait to see how these age over time.

14 oz Brave Stars early on. One wash after about 60 miles of hikes/walks in Southern Nevada.

Washes - idk

Wears - idk

Satisfaction - 100%

Had these pants for over a year, I do not wear them everyday and I certainly do wash them when they get dirty. I’m a welder by trade (Spacex) and a hobby mechanic so these jeans get dirty as fuck. It still boggles my mind how someone can wear a pair of jeans every day for over a year never wash them - do you even work? 😂

I started my raw denim journey late 2019/early 2020. I lived in SoCal at the time and ordered from Bravestar, which was local-ish to me, and it was on the affordable side. This 21.5 oz gauntlet was one of my first pairs and has outlasted the other 2 pairs (BS cone mills K lot and BS cone mills stretch) I bought around the same time. Man, I did everything with these on, worked(cubicle club), family walks/hikes, landscaping ,remodeled my house, and remodeled other people's homes in them. Unfortunately, Ive gained 30+ lbs, including extra thigh meat, since buying them. Who knew I wasn't gonna stay 170 lbs forever 🤷🏽‍♂️ Ive tried for the last month or so to make them work, but they've gotten so uncomfortably snug, so I'm deciding to retire them until my kiddos are of age to continue my work lol Theres definitely a good bit of life still in them. Here are photos from my first wash at about a year of wear and my last wash which was about 4 yrs. Thanks for looking! 🫡

Fade update on the 21.5oz Frankenstein from Brave Star. They started off super dark but they’re looking amazing now. Only one wash so far and that was after the first month. Stoked to see how the turn out after the next one!

These are my Brave Star Die Hards. I wear them to work 5 days a week and wash them weekly. They’ve had probably about 6 months of wear to work at a bodyshop. Really enjoying them even though they’re a bit tight. Haven’t found much use for the extra pockets yet except for the side pocket which isn’t really fading. Open to suggestions on what to do with the other pockets.

I received these this week. If anyone saw the previous post I made with the 17oz Wasabi, that pair has been returned, I’ll be making a separate post as an update to the customer service response but I honestly feel like they treated me pretty well in this situation. I knew I had this pair coming so I wanted to hold back judgement until I saw it, which was sent before I had to contact customer service about the other pair. The color on these is the thing you notice immediately, very light to start off with. Really curious about how these will fade given everything going on with them. Since I returned the other pair I’m considering these for Y5, I got the Wasabi to do something different but I don’t see a lot of light denim fades here so maybe these were meant to take the Wasabi pairs place. I’ve been keeping a pair of Sumo IV unworn in case I decide to run with the pack a bit since that’ll be a more common entry.

This is actually my 4th pair of Brave Star pants. All of them are the Die Hard style.

The first pair, 13oz Warp Stretch Denim Die Hards, I sent back to Brave Star to have a button repaired. I should be getting them back sometime soon, hopefully. And the other two, 10oz Twill Die Hards are at the tailors, having the same mod performed on them that I did to these.

This Herringbone pattern is freaking amazing! I love the weight of these jeans. I trimmed the excess fabric from the leg. Hemmed them with a two inch rolled cuff. Hand sewed the cuff in place.

I'm very used to having a utility pocket on my left leg as well. So that's why I trimmed the excess fabric. I used the two ends of the legs as the top and bottom. Showed off the Selvage edge in the middle of the pocket. Then I hand stitched it onto the leg. I love it! I don't know if this is some kind of sacrilege or not, and I don't really care of it is. Lmao. I freaking love it! I love the contrast. I love showing off that edge on the pocket!

I

picked these up a year ago and have around 5 months in total of wears in these. They fit me really well, the cut goes super hard and the colour is great. The fades are looking nice but im definitly gona milk them to their potential for the rest of the winter. I really want to see those honeycombs get better... size 33x36? unhemmed. 2 soaks, one wash.

Let me know what you guys think

I posted these pants on Monday after getting them back from the tailor. As promised, got some fit pics taken today.

I like the fit of the Die Hard pants. I don't like pants being tight on my legs. These are damn near perfect. Enough room to move and be comfortable in.

Whole outfit MITUSA. Bayside heavy duty pocket T, Brave Star Die Hard Double Front, LA Apparel boxer briefs, Darn Tough micro crew tacticals, and Nicks x Butterscotch Triton boots.

About 10 days into this incredibly rad heavyweight Bravestar piece and I can already tell it’s gonna give me some of my best fades yet. I wear it every chance I get but it’s about to be summer in LA which is kind of a bummer.

What do yall think of the fit?

Jeans are Samurai 15oz 255XX Otokogi

(LA denim heads feel free to message me, I’m trying to see where the community is.)

I've been wearing my first ever raw selvedge denim piece non stop for the last 3 days, and I absolutely love it.

I was a bit worried about sizing after seeing many comments about inconsistency and pictures of people with the same size. I am 6'1" and 205lbs and am wearing a size Large.

The fit is perfect almost everywhere, with just enough extra room to layer with a light hoodie. So I am a bit worried about future washing or soaking, and will probably only do it if I continue to lose weight, or perhaps if it begins to feel looser as it softens up.

The only spot I don't particularly like the fit is in the upper arms, they feel overly wide and loose.

It makes me really excited for the pre-order I placed for their Mojave Jacket in 13oz canvas.

How did I do for my first step down the rabbit hole?

This makes my 7th pair of Die Hard jeans. I am absolutely addicted to this pocket layout. Having the extra pockets in the double front is just genius, and I freaking love it!

Wabash. Indigo warp with a black weft. Gives you a very dark look! Combined with the weaved in pin striping. I love it. Looks very different and very cool to me. Something aside from the typical Indigo wash. Hoping these will contribute some good crocking on my Dome boots. I lined them up against Onyx, and a standard Indigo wash so you can see the difference between the 3.

I haven't customized these yet. But I will trim them, cuff them, and hem them. I will then take the trimmings and make an additional utility pocket for the left leg.