Abisko trekking tights testers’ review: part 4
Back at the start of March, we decided to send out some pairs of our Abisko Trekking Tights to testers all around the world. We were, of course, hoping for positive feedback. And that’s mostly what we’ve received – phew! But we’ve also had some ‘room for improvement’ comments too.
And actually, we prefer this. If everything was all good, all the time our product developers would soon get bored. They need ‘room for improvement’ feedback. It gives them something to go on. Something to build upon. Something to develop.
25-year-old Michelle is very tall (185cm/6ft) and slim and has had problems finding tights that fit in the past. Despite the fact she thought the Abisko Trekking Tights were really comfy and liked how they felt – ‘they didn’t itch at the seams at all – she did have problems with the sizing. We sent her a small first, as she’s so slim, but that was too tight and become uncomfortable. “But then the medium looks a bit saggy on me. Plus, they’re a bit short so my ankles are bare. I wore hiking socks to fix that problem, but it’d be great to have a size that fits tall, thin girls.”
She did, however, love the reinforced knees. They were perfect when she was out with her dog, kneeling down to put his lead on.
Swede Aska has been a Fjällräven fan for a long time, but because she spends so much time outdoors, pushing her limits, she’s good at giving unbiased reviews. Overall she really liked the tights. “The high waist is really nice. I expected them to slide down like most tights do, but they actually stay put. And the pockets – they are one of my favourite things about the tights – they are wonderful. I don’t want to use normal leggings anymore. I put on a regular pair the other day and found myself looking for the hip pocket that obviously wasn't there.”
Like our other testers, the reinforcements really won us some brownie points. “I love the reinforced areas on the knees and bum – simply wonderful. I like to kneel down to take pictures so the reinforced knees are really great. I can imagine them being great when you set up camp and need to kneel down too. Same thing with the bum – no worries about getting a hole or rip when sitting down.”
But there was one area that Aska feels we can improve: the seams. They have scuffed. “My usual tights that I use for working out/day-to-day don’t get like these this fast. It worries me about how they will hold up in the long run.”
Another Swedish tester, Max, experienced the same issue. “I really like them when I’m biking and trekking, and they’re really comfortable. I went for a long run in them and didn’t have any problems with chaffing. But they did fray. I’d also like version 2.0 to have a lower waist because these are really high cut and it feels a bit weird when I’m used to low cut tights.”
We’ll share a secret with you: our designers are already working on tights 2.0. With a few tweaks, updates and improvements we hope our next pair of tights will be even better but, perhaps, not quite perfect.
