I love the fit of the Levi's 527 jeans (slim bootcut) but my last 4 pairs from Amazon have ripped in the crotch within the year. Anyone know what other brands have a similar cut/fit but with higher quality denim?

I decided to retire from skinny jeans this year, which led to a whole new world of denim options... And a whole lot of indecision. So I hit up a Levi's sale, tried out ten different fits/quality tiers, took way too many pictures, and figured maybe someone else may benefit from seeing the breakdown on these.

All pairs are size 31x32. I'm 5'11". In order of appearance...

• 501 Premium (Original)

• 505 (Regular)

• 505 Premium (Regular)

• 505 Selvedge (Regular)

• 514 (Straight)

• 514 Premium (Straight)

• 517 Premium (Bootcut)

• 527 (Slim Bootcut)

• 550 (Relaxed)

• 555 Premium (Relaxed Straight)

Main takeaway was the quality of the higher tiers - specifically the Premium and Selvedge lines. As someone who's only shopped Levi's at department stores, outlets, etc., the difference in material seemed pretty significant jumping up to the higher tiers. Premium specifically retails just short of $100, but waiting for a sale and catching these for $60-$70 over the standard line seems like a no-brainer, for the most part.

Exception to that would be the Premium lines that rely heavy on Lyocell... 514, for example - 70% cotton, 28% Lyocell, 2% LYCRA. Super comfortable as soon as you wear them, but my experience has always been Levi's losing their shape pretty fast if they have elastane or anything similar. So I'm cautious there.

But the 501 Premiums... Or any of the 100% cotton options, including the 505 Selvedge... Significant step up in quality. Feel nicer, look nicer, actual leather tags. Big fan. Wish they had 100% cotton Premium options for more of their styles.

Fit's all subjective - none of these are as high of a waist as I'd like (Wrangler Cowboy Cuts come to mind), and the pockets seem a bit big, and low - but that all seems to be pretty standard these days, at least from what I've come across so far shopping for anything-but-skinnies.

Anyways! No idea if this is worth posting, but if my obsessive rabbit holes could benefit someone else... Maybe we'll give this a shot with a Volume 2?

Have a pair of old (to me) 527s that I wore to work religiously for years from about '09 or '10 onwards. Am I reading July 2008 correctly or is there another set of numbers for the date? Also, are they authentic levis?

So I've been looking around online and in stores, and the 507's seem to be nowhere (other than eBay), not even Levi's website. I'm assuming they've been discontinued, though I can't find any concrete answer. The 507's fit me perfectly and I'm about to buy a pair of Clarks so I wanted to pick up a few more slim boot cut jeans.

So my question is, to people who have worn/know about 507's: Are the 517's a viable alternative/substitute? Maybe they just changed the numbers and they're the same exact pair? Any help would be great, thanks guys!