Product Review: Irideon Synergy Tights

Thank you to everyone who gave their opinion yesterday. I really appreciate the insight!!

Typically I ride in Irideon Issentials and I absolutely adore them. The medium fits me perfect in all aspects and they are perfectly comfortable to ride in down here from Spring through Fall. I never chafe and they are not slick in the slightest. I highly recommend them except for one thing: no pockets.

For endurance rides, this isn't an issue because I always wear my Camelbak with side pockets to hold my phone, ride card and a granola bar. I don't ride with it unless I will be out for over 2 hours, so for those shorter rides I have found it difficult in the warm months to safely house my phone while riding.

Having loved the Irideon Issentials, I opted for the Synergy tights with two very generous pockets. I ordered a medium in grey and have now ridden in them twice: once for a trail ride and once for a lesson.

Bottom line for those who don't want to read the entire thing: Not recommended.

The details:

Fit: At first I got a small based on both measurements and some self delusion. The small fit perfectly in the legs specifically the knee down and were manageable in the waist and butt if I had no qualms with showing off everything I've got. I quickly decided to return them for a medium. The mediums fit perfectly in the waist, butt and thigh but now the lower leg is baggy. For reference, I am 5'4" and 130 pounds and mostly equally proportioned torso and legs.

loose and wrinkly fit

These do have a high waist which I personally dislike. I am much more of a low rise pants type of gal. The waist band is wide and does stay put without the need for a belt.

The bottoms are a sock type bottom, yay no velcro!, but they are too big for my skinny ankles and bunch up under my half chaps. I don't ride in tall boots, so no clue how they would feel in those, but I suspect they wouldn't feel too great.


Fabric: So these boast 4 different types of fabric to allow maximum stretch and compression. I find it to be overkill and a little annoying, to be honest. The thighs, waist and butt are a lovely stretchy, but soft material that is a bit thicker than the Issentials but not suffocatingly so. Much nicer than my old cotton breeches.

Then they added a weird, super thick and ribbed material as a line down the outside of each leg. I'm not sure of the technology behind this, but it is just odd. It makes the breech warmer and a bit stiffer.

And to make it an even bigger jigsaw puzzle of fabric, the material below the knee is a flimsy, supposedly breathable yet still close knit fabric. I guess this is to fit inside boots or chaps without bulk, however it doesn't hold any actual form and so it bunches up instead. I'd rather they just used the same fabric as the thigh.

So much fabric. I am not a fan of the thicker band along the outside of the leg

Durability: I've worn them in my endurance saddle with wool seat saver on a 2 hour trail ride and then for an hour in a full leather jump saddle in a lesson. 3 total hours, one wash. They pilled at the inside of my thigh and above the knee.

Pillng. I hate pilling. 

Additional Features: The entire reason for branching out to a new style of tights was to gain pockets. The Synergy tights do not disappoint here. There is a massive pocket on each thigh which is large enough to easily hold my cell phone and granola bar. I could probably even fit a bottle of water in there. Since they are full pockets that run down nearly to the knee my phone stayed safe and sound even during crow hopping attitude. It was simple to get my phone in and out during the ride as well.

Very large pocket

Overall: I will keep these for those rides where I need a pocket in the pants: warmer months when I don't ride with a vest and shorter rides where I am not using my Camelbak. I fear that they won't stand up to much use without becoming a pilled up mess, so we shall see about the longevity. One these are worn out, I will switch to the Kerrits line with the pockets.