DUER Performance Denim Jeans Review: My #1 Essential

Having traveled full-time for about 20 months (during two separate trips), I learned a few things about packing light and finding a good pair of travel pants.

I got my first pair of DUER Performance Denim jeans and wore them every day for about two years while traveling long-term. Seriously, they were the only pair of pants I wore!

This apparel review will discuss the DUER Performance Denim collection for both men and women in terms of quality, fit, durability, flexibility and more. We’ll share our real experiences, photos and thoughts on these jeans and why we recommend them as a travel essential. Of course, check out our photos to see how each style fits us.

DUER approached us to sponsor a review and we couldn’t be happier to accept. We already appreciate and trust the DUER quality. With that said, this article is sponsored, but doesn’t impact our decision or thoughts about this review, as we already owned their products beforehand.

Durability

They seriously are durable. I wore them every day for two years as my chosen pants for travel.

Because I had previously traveled around the world on a long-term 10-month trip, I only had one or two pairs of pants with me among everything on my packing list.

These pants were my everyday pants that I would wear while going to a coworking space to work remotely. I would sometimes wear them on light hikes. I wear them in about every situation except lounging around, which is when I wear my DUER joggers.

For most people who wear travel denim jeans like these in a normal scenario, like wearing them a few days a week, I think they’ll last a really long time.

Because I put them to work almost every day, the saddle (crotch) area began to wear and eventually formed a hole.

This also might be a thing with how pants fit me, because when my pants wear out, that area is most often the first to go. This seems normal.

Especially if you’re active and living your daily life in jeans, your body will do things other than stand-sit-walk-sit-stand, and you’ll stretch the pants in areas like the thighs and crotch point, or “cross point.”

Aside from the wearing-out of the inner crotch point where the two pant legs meet, the pants virtually looked brand new for ages.

Some of the seams are triple stitched, so it will be rare if you notice any parts of the pants starting to come loose. I personally think these pants have some of the best quality I’ve witnessed in all the denim and travel pants I have owned through the years. The fit is also excellent, but I’ll get to that later.

Comfort

I attribute all of the comfort to the stretchiness of the fabric and the type of fabric that they are made from. They have a combination of cotton, Coolmax® polyester and a tiny bit of LYCRA® spandex. It’s amazing that the small amount of spandex contributes to the level of stretchiness that these have.

Coolmax® works in such a way that the material will keep you warm when it’s cold outside, and will keep you cool when it’s hot outside.

I believe the material is why these were great for walking around on hot days in the European summer, and also for some of the colder months here in New York City when I’d wear my DUER jeans with boots and a winter coat. I recall wearing my DUER jeans every single day when we were in Ireland and they were stretchy enough to be comfortable while hiking.

If you’re really looking to stay warm, you can check out our review of the DUER Fireside Winter Jeans for both men and women.

Having gotten a second pair (identical to the first ones, by the way), I’ve been wearing mine around the house and they don’t feel like your typical pair of jeans. They’re better.

Pocket depth

The pockets are surprisingly gigantic on the men’s jeans.

They’re considerably bigger than I am used to with the pants that I normally wear. By this I mean that the pockets on the DUER performance denim slim are deep, like deep enough for me to lose stuff in there.

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I have a smaller iPhone, and when putting it in the pocket of my DUER jeans, it sometimes slides around. I had a quick scare when I felt my pocket and my phone wasn’t in the normal spot. That’s because it was so far down in there.

You can fit a surprising amount of things in these pockets — probably more than you’d actually want to carry with you.

For travel, this is great because you’d easily be able to fit a phone, passport, travel documents, AirPods and any other packable travel accessory, all inside of your pockets.

Also for travel purposes and days spent in transport, I am a big fan of zipper pockets. The DUER performance slims do not have any of those.

It’s sort of a bummer, but I don’t mind, because it keeps the weight and footprint of everything a tiny bit smaller. There’s no bulky feel like the feel that zipper pockets add on some other types of travel jeans I have tried.

Fit

I have a hard time finding clothes that fit my body type correctly. Tapered pants tend to fit me the best because my waist and quads are much bigger than my calves.

It’s pretty common that if I want a pair of pants to really fit nicely, I still need to tailor the legs to be tapered more, on “already-tapered” pants.

I think the Performance Denim jeans are truly perfect. In fact, I remember trying on several different fits at the DUER showroom in Vancouver, back in 2018. The Performance Denim slims were the only pair that I was happy with.

For men

I have the 31x30 DUER Performance Slims for men.

I typically wear a 32, or sometimes 33, waist. I think these jeans run a tiny bit small, so you can probably step down the waist if you are in between sizes.

I am almost always a 30” inseam. I’d like to note that I’ve sensed that DUER’s pants tend to run a bit long. I find myself needing to cuff them once or twice or allow them to bunch at the bottom.

I don’t mind, and when I am wearing some type of boot or hiking shoe, you can’t really notice.

For women

Becca has tried two styles now of DUER performance jeans: the wide leg (newer) and the skinny (original.)

Wide Leg (Zip Fly)

Becca put on the Midweight Denim Wide Leg (Zip Fly) in Vintage Blue and was shocked at how perfectly they fit. And they fit everywhere: the waist, the hips and even the length, which was surprising, given that they have a 30-inch inseam (or 31 inches, for taller women).

This version of the performance denim from DUER’s women line is not as stretchy as the skinny jeans that come next in the review. They’re more of a traditional feel, and rather heavy in weight. They seem to be durable beyond belief, and the comfort was there for Becca. She said, “Wow, these are awesome,” noting the high-rise cut and flare at the feet.

Performance skinny

Becca immediately noted that the DUER Performance Denim Skinny for women had one of the best out-of-the-box and off-the-shelf fits she has ever experienced, with skinny jeans.

Usually, her skinny jeans have to be hemmed or cuffed due to being long, as she is petite, at 5’2”. Jeans off the shelf at a store, unless sized specifically for petites, are always long and create bulking at the ankle.

The DUER Performance Denim Skinny struck gold with her. She put them on and immediately walked out of the bedroom and said to me, “These are the best-fitting jeans I have ever put on, and I mean that.”

What she likes about the ankle is that it hits at the perfect spot for a flattering fit. She doesn’t have to roll, tuck or cuff the DUER women’s jeans. That makes her really happy, kind of like she had been searching all these years and finally found a winner.

She really likes the “power stretch,” which is comfortable and feels strong, for maximum flexibility and for moving around. For Becca, the Performance Skinny jeans are the jeans she’d ideally wear on a road trip, on a flight or around on the weekends, instead of leggings. She’d take these with everything else she packs for a trip and now includes them in her favorite essential travel pants

These women’s jeans are versatile enough to wear from the end of summer all through fall and winter until spring the next year. One more thing is that because they’re pretty attractive pants, as far as women’s jeans’ attractiveness goes, they work well with the other shoes any woman may be taking on a trip.

She also likes the mid-rise fit. It’s not high-waisted, which is a certain look, and it’s not low-rise, either (something she’d tend to wear years and years ago). She appreciates that DUER’s signature skinny features the waistband aspect that makes it lay flat against the abdomen, and it’s really comfortable.

Care and washing

I (ahem) almost never washed my first pir that I had. Please don’t tell anyone that.

When I did wash them, I threw them in with the rest of the clothes that I was traveling with.

Because my situation wasn’t typical, I looked up how to wash them on the DUER website. You can wash any DUER performance denim jeans inside out, in cold water.

Depending on the color you get, wash them with similar colors. This means that the black ones may bleed a bit of dark colors during the first wash, but no worries, because if you’re me, everything you may own is black anyway.

You should avoid putting them in the dryer, or if you do, only on air-fluff (“no heat”) mode. We’ve started using this mode on our dryer a lot recently, so that clothes get some fluffing, but not too much intense heat applied to shrink them or destroy their material components.

I think my lack of care speaks a bit more into the overall quality that you can expect to see.

Even during hot days when I was a little sweaty, the pants never got gross or frankly, they never even smelled.

Return policy

DUER has a 30-day return policy that’ll get you free exchanges, and their products ship free online for any order more than $99, which is an easy bar to clear considering that most of the DUER jeans retail at $129 or more (but, do consider that they have sales that’ll knock pants prices down to $99!).

Are the Performance Denim jeans worth it?

For anyone looking for a new pair of performance denim jeans that will serve you as sturdy everyday jeans and also as lightweight jeans for travel, the DUER performance denim is sure to please.

I say this because I picked up these jeans without knowing much about the brand and I can confidently say that my black DUER performance slims are my favorite pair of pants … ever.

Given the durability of these jeans, mostly thanks to the reinforced seams for product longevity and the DUER signature gusset that increases your range of motion beyond that of other pants, these jeans are an excellent investment.

If you’re a woman looking at DUER jeans, thinking, “Are DUER denim jeans worth the money?” The answer, from Becca, is that because these jeans are so well-made, for active women seeking superior comfort and quality in everyday jeans, makes them worth every dollar on the price tag.

In fact, if you’re someone who calculates a cost-per-wear for the garments you choose to buy, consider that you could wear DUER performance denim on so many occasions to dress up, dress down, dress for a travel day and dress for work, that these jeans may even outdo your expectations for lifespan.

We hope this DUER travel jeans review was helpful as we wrap up our experience and impressions of the Men’s DUER performance denim slims and women’s skinnys. Like we said above, we’re confident in the DUER performance denim as one of the best ideas for travel pants that’ll be with you on your adventures both near and far.

To see more of our reviews about products for travel, see our Travel Gear Reviews and learn more, and head on to our review of the DUER Fireside Winter Denim next.