New IH customer and new to the forum…just wanted to share my 666S experience so far. This is going to be a little long, but that's because I'm writing the post I was hoping to find when trying to decide if these jeans were the right ones for me.
Before I get into any details, I have to say that I love these jeans. For me, they are absolutely perfect in every way. I'm mostly writing here to give my 666 fitting experience. After reading through this thread, that seems to be to one of the biggest concerns. Before I get to the fit, I have to commend the Iron Heart Staff. The service is amazing. I had emails from them after placing my order regarding fitting to make sure I understood what I was ordering and that it would fit properly. I still don't understand their shipping situation...my order was shipped on a Tues and I got it two days later in Atlanta, GA...pretty amazing. It's like I had my own personal delivery service. Outstanding!
In addition to being new to Iron Heart, I'm also pretty new to raw denim. I started a few months ago with a pair of Levi's 501 shrink to fit, loved those and decided to jump up to Levi's 501 Selvedge jeans, loved those more (really like the feel of the selvedge denim) but I could only find a 34 length, and I really needed a 36. After looking at some "Friday Fades" online, I found that the the best looking ones were almost always IH. So here I am with my own Devils Fit...the only pants I plan on wearing for the next year or more.
I was really nervous about ordering these solely because of the "Slim" part of their name. I have to confess that I HATE skinny pants of all kinds. It's a very unfortunate trend that we'll laugh at in 10 years. The only thing worse than skinny jeans is the way most of you guys stand and walk in them, with your knees bowed inward...you look like a girl...not just a girl, but a really wimpy, mousy girl. Sorry, I digress...and I'm not at all politically correct.
Giles described, somewhere in this long thread, the 666S as an "adult" slim cut. That is a very subjective description, but I have to say, it seems to fit perfectly. They're slim, but just a little slim. Definitely tighter in the top block and thighs that a pair or Levi's 501's, but just by a little bit...enough to notice, but not so much that you look like a 12 year old girl that just spray painted on his/her skinny jeans.
I'm 6' 1" and weight 185. I'm a runner (25 to 30 miles per week), but I also bike ride (long distance road riding) 2 to 3 times a week, so my body does not look like an emaciated marathoner. Probably because I eat everything it site, all day long (ahh...the benefits of regular exercise). Because of the bike riding, my thighs are bigger than most runners you might see, but nothing like a heavy weight lifter. If you regularly squat 300+ pounds, I think your quads and ass are probably going to be too big to fit in this cut (unless you want to look like a girl wearing skinny jeans).
Before I ordered, I measured my selvedge 501's exactly as instructed on the IH site and compared those numbers to the 666S sizing chart. Although my waist is a 33, I carry a handgun (legally), worn in an inside-the-waste-band holster, so I really need an extra 1 to 1.5 inches. My 501's waist measured 35 (the IH way), so I selected the the 666S tag size 34 which shows a waist measure of 35 (trusting Giles that the waste would shrink, then stretch back out to tag size or a little bit more). The other 666 measurements listed for the thigh and knee were about 1/4 to 1/2 inch smaller than my 501's, which had plenty of thigh room. The 501's were not baggy in the thigh, but not tight either (I could pinch about 3/4 inch of material when standing up), so the 666 measurements sounded close enough. I had the inseam hemmed to 37". I like a finished (completely shrunk up) inseam of about 35 (giving me some stacks, but nothing ridiculous), though having an extra inch is always better than needing an extra inch.
Pre-soak, everything measured almost exactly what is shown in the sizing chart. The only variation is that my 666 waist measures a bit closer to 36 than 35 (maybe 35.6). I'm OK with that...a little more room for the handgun and I always wear a belt anyway. My pre-soak fit was exactly what I expected. A little room in the waste (the way I ordered them), and a nice comfortable fit in the top block (snug in the hips and ass, but not tight, and the thighs had about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch of material I could pinch on the side, inseam long, as expected.
Post-soak was pretty much exactly as described by Giles in this thread. I soaked them for about 2 hours in my bathtub, having filled it with the hottest water that comes from the tap (hot enough to feel uncomfortable on the skin, but not cause blistering). 1 hour into the soak, I drained and refilled. I also agitated the waste, crotch and knees a couple of times to really let the fabric soak it up, to help prevent any denim cracking or blowouts in the heavy wear areas. I then rolled them in a towel to get out the excess water and hung to dry. Post-soak fit is AWESOME! The waste (with gun) is snug, but not crazy tight or difficult to button. The whole top block has tightened up, but not to the point of being uncomfortable, or making me walk funny. The thighs are also snug, but not tight (this was my biggest concern in ordering a "slim" cut). I can't pinch any loose material, but I'm not being squeezed. The pants are just perfectly covering my thighs, which I'm guessing will loosen up a bit with wearing. The inseam probably shrunk about an inch.
As I said at the beginning, they are absolutely perfect in every way! The 18 oz denim feels amazing. It's heavy, but not ridiculously so, just enough to notice. The superior quality of everything is noticed wherever you inspect the jeans.
Grey
