The growing popularity of commuter gear is omnipresent. Not only are these kind of apparel way more practical than casual one but if circumstances necessitates, they can be used in everyday life, such as in the office without offending your social surroundings. It is easy to come to like the Mission Jean as it provides you with all essentials one would expect from a contemporary commuter pants. For me the crucial point is how long your commute is. Is the gear applicable for longer travels too? It isn’t an unreasonable expectation to have certain comfort, breathability, weather resistance, etc., if the daily commute time extends beyond one hour one way.
The Mission Jean is a forward-thinking gear featuring 5-pockets and its great 4-way stretch material elevates the comfort level and latitude of motion. I habitually make detours before or after the office hours. And albeit, the Mission Jean won’t substitute for a true cycling gear, as long as you don’t hammer interval trainings while wearing, it won’t limit your prolonged commutes considerably. The jeans is abrasion-resistant enough to withstand premature wear. But in this case it comes down to the saddle design too. So if the two items are not compatible, a premature wear is destined to happen. I have got the notion that its breathability is on par with its competitors. What’s more, it outpaces those poorly made long cycling bibs I made bad experience in the past. So for a civil-like commuter gear it deals with summer heat fairly well. Surprisingly, it wicks moisture reasonable well too without losing its shape after a ‘hard beating’.
Even if its name indicates a traditional indigo denim, the fit, the material, and consequently the use is a far cry from the customary denim. This, in Los Angeles made gear uses Italian textile, and its mission is clearly to perform. This tailored made Italian [based next to Lake Como] Mectex M.I.S textile is exclusive for Mission Workshop. It claims to retain its shape regardless of the frequency and time span of use. I haven’t tested it long enough to prove its long term durability. Mind you, the above mentioned extensive daily journeys I spend on my bike is a good test ground to demonstrate its robustness. Thus far no noticeable color fading is visible. Despite numerous wash cycles and intermittent showers, the stretchiness didn’t lessen. Its water-repellent (DWR) finish manages to keep you dry while drizzly. Heavy showers were too much for it though.
I can’t praise enough the freedom of movement. The used blend of 55% Cotton / 35% Polyamide / 10% Elastane ought to guarantee this. Fit is crucial for obvious reason so it is always a kind of touch-and-go as every producers defines its metric slightly differently. I went for the smallest size. The cut is snug, but the slim cut is 1” narrower from knee to cuff than the straight cut, which gives a certain margin if stretch is needed. Such as, going out of the saddle, or an after-ride leg stretch in the office. On one extreme occasion when I had to travel 10 hours in the car, another 2 our city biking and staying all night up as work circumstances necessitated, I was expecting the worst. It is embarrassing but after such a long time, every fabric inevitable starts to smell. The point is though, it was all ok. I am not going to encourage anybody to push the boundaries but it only made me aware of the well-executed job Mission Workshop did with its used material. Snug cut tend to chafe and bag out. I am sure it would be the case if one would go with it beyond its designation: unreasonable 5 hour ride for example. But as a 1-2 hour daily commuter pants it didn’t cause any discomfort.
I would not recommend Mission Workshop Jean for a very rare, occasional usage [2-3 times a year]. This, in Los Angeles made piece of apparel is built for long term, hefty usage. It will tolerate the heavy duty usage and endure even more. At least that’s what my first attempts with it indicates. I hope it won’t let me down, as the aim of this test is to prove it’s resilience for the long haul.
And in case it comes to crunch time. Mission’s so called guaranteed forever will do.
Manufacturer’s description:
The Mission Jean is our version of the most iconic apparel silhouette of all time: the blue jean. Built in Los Angeles from precision Italian textile with extreme 4-way stretch and water-repellent finish, the Mission Jean is designed to achieve a level of performance beyond what has been possible in the past.
The Mission Jean is not made from traditional indigo denim. Instead, it utilizes an advanced stretch-woven fabric developed exclusively for Mission Workshop by Mectex M.I.S. at their mill near Lake Como in Italy.
This fabric achieves an extremely high level of 4-way stretch without sacrificing durability or structure. The result is a fabric with a tough workwear-like appearance, that has extraordinary freedom of movement similar to knit track pants. The fabric is built to fade slightly with use and will retain its shape no matter how long the pants are worn.
While wear-testing these jeans, a few of us wore them for over ten days straight to work, while traveling, on a bike, to the climbing gym, and even to bed — and they never chafed, smelled, wrinkled, or bagged out.
Made in small batches in Los Angeles.
Built to endure.
Guaranteed Forever
