Does denim quality matter?

The largest difference I have ever felt in expensive vs. cheap denim was the tightness of the weave/how difficult it was to sew, which would make sense for the regular market. With a more expensive jacket,it is often tighter woven with thicker seams to have a greater Insulating factor (even if the difference is not massively noticeable). While this may be good for keeping warm, sewing through it is more difficult but nothing too bad generally speaking (this is also a massively broad scope I am sure there are plenty of expensive pieces of denim that do not fit my description in the slightest this is just from my experience). As for longevity, the difference is nearly as slight as what I previously mentioned. The sturdier Levi's jacket may last a small amount longer without decay, but even a cheap jacket will withstand quite a bit. Overall, the most important factor in my eyes has always just been making sure my vest fits, I almost always bought them from a thrift store for about seven bucks and the overall ability of a jacket to hold up over time is how much chicanery occurs while wearing it as long as it isn't as thin as single ply toilet paper.

Funny username!!!!

What Strep Throat said. Modern Levis are a lot thinner than the older stuff, so if you're making a "bathroom tile" vest that will probably be a lot easier to work with! Vintage denim is usually stiffer and thicker.

I recently tried a $20 vest from eBay, and acid washed it. The bleach wore nearly all the way through. (I can see my hand through it in certain spots)
The vests I've bought that were a little more seem to be more robust, but like previously mentioned I think it really does depend on that specific vest. Even though it now has several "almost" holes in it, I will still use it. Thrift store finds of popular name brands seem to hold up the best in my opinion.

I prefer levi jackets over anything. They're usually pretty sturdy compared to like a George brand Walmart denim jacket. (I think its George lol)

Also, my large black jacket was about $65. which isnt toooo bad.

Yea, finding the perfect jacket is very difficult for me. If the fabled "Perfect Jacket" exists, it's in small numbers and it hidden beneath the layers and mountains of everyday averageness. And yes totally, a cheap jacket CAN potentially be better than expensive one, in my experience it's often the in between that happens to work [mine was around $35, and another was about $28-30 [same brand and style, different size.]

It took me 2+ as well to find the perfect denim jacket and it ended up being a 90's vintage Guess (mine was made in America, and the 2nd jacket I bought was made in Mexico (early 2000's me thinks.) I eventually found that I had to lower my demands and get the best thing: 1) Style & cut/fitting, 2) quality & 100% denim [no fillers], everything else I ended up having to customize by hand: 1) took the sleeves off, and used them to extend the length of the jacket, 2) dye the jacket myself (Dark blue to Black,) add additional pockets inside and out. It was extensively laborious but it payed off in the end; this jacket has yet to be uploaded [sry.] Erm, but yea, prioritize your needs over your wants for your jacket, see what you can do by hand as a worse-case scenario just to ensure you get your needs. But otherwise, it's one of those things you may very well have to spend long periods of time hunting for, just take into heart that this is often the nature of this beast of a hobby: waiting for "X" to show up, (like trying to find a specific patch.)

There's jackets now that have lots of filler, some of its totally sinthetic (I think Levis is now doing this,) and even suppopsed "Green" enviro-friendly fabrics just cannot put forth the fortitude to be (Tycell, Lyocell,) it's nice, but in the ong run it cant even make it as underwear. Acrylic is great from what my girl has been boasting of it's excellence (but as a hoodie.) Women clothing is appaulting to have to deal with, cause you get a great fit from the kinds of jackets that WONT hold up for any length of time and the market is flooded with them cause they're blended with other fibers like Polyester, Nylon, Elastins, all of which will eventually lose their strength (and you don't want light Acids like Vinegar on them because it can damage the rubbers in the Elastines and make them nasty. But, it's entirely possible that you'll find some mens clothing with this stuff too so read your labels and be sure to ask questions because you don't want to keep accumulating more jackets that have to either be returned or take up space.

Best of luck in your hunt, keep at it you'll eventually find it.

arizona jeans work great and in my opinion the denim doesnt matter the patches do

Yes, quality does matter, but brand name does not matter at all. Let me explain:
Levi’s and most other big brands these days only use 10oz denim material, which is very weak. Back before the 2000’s, brands used to use 14.5oz material. Price and brand names mean nothing, because you can find cheap jeans that are 14.5oz, and you can find expensive jeans that are only 10oz. The thickness of the material is what actually matters, so don’t get caught up in brands. Wrangler is about the only mainstream brand that still makes most of their jeans with 14.5oz material, hence why their cowboy cut jeans feel thick and rigid like the old days. I recommend checking out wranglers site, because they even list the thickness of most of their products right on the product page. At my local western store in town, I can get a pair of wrangler jeans for $22 full retail price, and they will last me YEARS, because they are thick 14.5oz material.

Some denims are thicker than others and harder to sew on.