I’ve only recently been able to be picky about my clothes and now been trying to find a good pair of jeans that wont rip or tear.
I do a lot of labor so my jeans usually get pretty beat up, i don’t really expect a pair to last forever but i haven’t had a solid pair last more than a couple months without getting a tear. Every pair i have has both knees ripped open. I’ll fix them with a patch but they always rip in a different spot.
I’d spend $200 on a pair that’ll last at least year.
Any brand that uses Japanese selvage in the heavier weights lasts ages. Take a while to break in and are $$$, though.
One thing that makes them last longest is washing gently and only when necessary. Tumble dryers and fabric softeners plus dryer sheets accelerate wear drastically. I have a couple pairs from Naked and Famous that are roughly a decade old with no tears or holes.
Otherwise like mentioned here: canvas pants or the firehose material ones from Duluth last a long time too. Much easier to maintain and handle frequent washing more readily.
I used to buy Naked and Famous but I found that the fancy designer denim actually wore out before the pants even fully developed. I had to have every pair repaired several times.