As part of my partnership with Breeches.com, I was sent the TuffRider Tatum Tights. The tights retail for $53.95, are available in charcoal/black and wine/black, and come in sizes XS – XL.
These tights are very lightweight. When I first pulled them out, I thought they might be too lightweight, and immediately fall apart, but I’ve worn them many times now with a few runs in the washing machine, and they still look brand new.
The thinness of the fabric makes the tights breathable and ideal for hot weather. Ironically, the first morning I wore them it was chilly. I ended up wearing my barn pants over them, which is something I do a lot for trips to the barn to stay both warm and dry. And unlike some of my other leggings, the barn pants slid over them easily. Truly, you don’t know how nice it is to glide on a second pair of pants until you’ve had to fight to pull on the second pair of pants. Although honestly, this could just be a Courtney dilemma, I have no idea how many other people have a designated pair of barn pants and end up wearing two pairs of pants to the barn.
There is a downside to the fabric being so thin – there is no way to avoid panty lines. Be prepared to wear a thong, or embrace the panty line. Or get some good briefs that don’t leave panty lines (I have a favorite, but it needs its own post.)
For extra ventilation, the tights also have mesh bottoms. I did like this feature for general around the barn wear, but I didn’t notice any difference on my calves with half-chaps. Not that I was expecting it, mind you. Things don’t ventilate when something else is blocking it, but I wanted to mention it in case anyone thinks it’s like wearing air conditioning. It’s not.
They are very stretchy. Imagine your stretchiest pair of leggings, and then make them 10 times more stretchy. And then, unrelated, these tights are incredibly stretchy. I am actually unable to compare to your yoga pants since I’ve never met your yoga pants. But I can perform neutral to extreme spider leg, something all normal equestrians do on a regular basis.
Does whatever a spider leg does
I don’t think the fit was quite right on me. I usually order a medium in tights due to my large massive behind, but I should have sized down. They fit a bit loose on me and I had to pull the tights up a few times. I would have preferred a more snug fit.
I don’t think sizing down would have effected the stretch though. These tights have incredible freedom of movement. If it wasn’t for the grippy patches, I’d wear them to the gym. But I don’t really want to get stuck on gym equipment…
So, speaking of the grippy patch, it is very grippy. I’m a fan of silicone knee patches in general due to the sticky, and these deliver. I wore them the first day I switched my saddle from a dressage saddle (safe, comfortable, seatbelt), to my jump saddle (previously comfortable, but now flat, intimidating, and with no grip). And I felt… snug. Secure. Glued to the saddle. Excellent.
Also – pockets. There’s a pocket large enough for a cell phone. It’s sits right on your thigh, in a tight mesh pocket. My phone stayed safe, and I was ready for the behind the ears photo. Pretty happy with this.
If you’re looking for cool summer tights, these are perfect. They are so comfortable, and so breezy (when not wearing half chaps). The stickiness is great for riding, but it would be hard to multipurpose these as gym tights. Be aware of their stretch and size down.
If you feel like being nice, use my code CMRead20 for 20% off your purchase. But I’d rather you save money so use code INDEPENDENCE for 30% off. I assume this sale goes through July 4. And then if you need 20% off in the future, you can use my code. But for now, save more money, why not.