Yes I know that these will probably break in somewhat with time, but the color rather than a gray is an off white and the sheets already have all sorts of lint sticking to them and a slightly scratchy feel. The sheets also are thin enough that I can see the patterns on my mattress through them due to how light the color of the sheets are. They also seem slightly too large for my Full Sized Bed.

Is this really how they're supposed to be? Do they improve so drastically over time?

Anyone who has shopped around for sheets has probably at some point heard about L.L. Bean's cotton percale sheets. If you're looking for something reputable that will last a long time and prefer the percale weave for their crisp, cool feel, chances are you've seen tons of articles online praising L.L. Bean's set. I think even Wirecutter has consistently voted them at the top!

I've always been on the Bean train. I grew up with their sheets. My whole household had them. My mother has a neck injury, so making her queen sized bed was part of my regular chores growing up, and each of our sheet sets were easily 10+ years old, in great condition, and buttery soft.

That said, I'm pretty dang familiar with these sheets, so when I moved out in 2017 I budgeted for my own set. In fact, aside from my mattress, I think my two sheet sets (I rotate each week) were my biggest splurge. But I figured it was an investment and swallowed the $298 + tax cost.

It's pretty typical for cotton percale sheets to take some time (and washings) to "break in" and soften up, so that was expected. What I didn't expect was for the stitching to start fraying and holes to show up on my top sheet early 2020. I reevaluated my washing habits (I follow the instructions on the tag), my laundry detergent, and even tried to mend the damage in a few spots. But the damage started to snowball and spread to everything - my fitted sheets began to spontaneously split, every pillowcase was fraying, and my poor top sheets developed huge rips. Every single piece in both sets had some form of damage.

The damage was getting worse and worse, and there was no way for me to keep up. It didn't matter how delicate I handled them, it was like a runaway train. There are no rambunctious pets in our household hanging out on the bed to cause the damage, our washer and dryer are pretty new and energy efficient, No buttons or snaps or zippers on our pajamas, and no decorations or anything around the bed that could be causing damage.

I tried reaching out directly to L.L. Bean's customer support. "Luckily" for me, the sheets were purchased before February 2018, which is when Bean effectively neutered their lifetime guarantee down to one year. The representative on the phone didn't even bring this up until I mentioned it, and let her know it's still in the fine print on her site. But she insisted the only way they could do anything was to physically bring the sheets into the store. During a pandemic. I'm heavily pregnant and immunocompromised, but she refused to budge on that.

So here I am, my sheets are falling apart more each day, and I'm at a loss. What do I buy now? If I purchase the exact same set again from L.L. Bean, not only would I be taking a gamble this might happen again (and next time around, I wouldn't have any sort of protection beyond one year), but the price has jumped by another $60. I am not comfortable shouldering that risk and paying extra for something that should've lasted many more years.

TL;DR - What are some other quality cotton percale sheets I can invest in that will last longer than 3-4 years?

A few sad highlight photos of my sheets: https://imgur.com/a/VOeSjtp

Even after reading about it, i have little idea of how each material would feel. I have always used the cheapest stuff available. Needs to be machine-washable. I want something soft. I don't mind a break in period. Budget is 100-250usd, if it's durable.