Tackling a Heavyweight - Pike Brothers 19oz 1948 Roamers A Year On

I've finally buckled... after almost a year of near constant wear my Pike Brothers 48' Roamers are starting to hum a little. So, they’ve had their first wash.

A nicely broken in leather patch.

Since getting them last December I’ve worn them as much as possible, switching only to a lighter pair of LVC 505’s or my 11oz 37’ Roamers for the hottest days of the summer.

I gave the jeans a pre wear soak for shrinkage and to get the starch out of the fabric, but that’s it.

At 19oz this beautiful Kurabo denim took a fair bit of breaking in. Even tackling the button fly was a battle of wills in the beginning. The jeans almost wore me for a while…

Fresh out the box this time last year.

One year in. One soak, one wash and developing well.

But it’s been worth it. The jeans have gradually softened up - I’ve got some lovely whiskers around the pockets, and my wallet pocket is just starting to show signs of wear. Clearly when breaking in heavy-weight denim you're in for the long haul.

Whiskering around the pockets.

Now, Pike Brothers suggest that you don’t wash these babies at all, instead favouring a dry clean.

Other hardcore denim heads might raise an eyebrow at simply bunging them in the washing machine with a bit of detergent but that’s exactly what I’ve done. Turn ‘em inside out, put them in a cold wash and hang them damp. Done.

Denim this beautiful deserves to be looked after and I simply don’t see how dousing it in chemicals at the dry cleaners will help the longevity of Kurabo’s finest fabric.

Just starting to develop some fraying around the cuffs.

If other items in your wardrobe are dirty, you wash them, right? As Denimhunters' Matt Wilson argued in his recent article on washing denim it makes no sense to spend serious amounts of wedge on premium denim to then not look after it.

I love seeing how selvedge denim evolves as much as the next denim head, but not at the expense of smelling like a bath-shy farm hand.

Coin pocket detail.

The 48’ Roamers are tough jeans. If, like me, you like your jeans old school then the classic fit is spot on and denim is evolving wonderfully. They are hands down my go to pair and will doubtless serve me for a long time to come.

For more details my earlier full review is well worth a read. If you’d like to get your hands on a pair check out Pike Brothers here. 
If you're thinking of tackling a pair of these beauties now is the perfect time of year to start.

Those of you lucky enough to be in Munich can also visit the Pike Brothers pop-up store until December - details here.