Fjallraven Abisko Trekking Tight Review

These tights borrow inspiration from other segments of the outerwear market. They offer a lot of mobility and the unique multi-fabric design makes them intriguing. However, they just aren't super comfortable.

Performance Comparison

Comfort & Mobility

The main fabric is 82% polyamide, 18% elastane, meaning, as expected, that there is a ton of stretch in these tights. However, that flexibility doesn't seem to translate very well to comfort. We found that these tights are really for a particular body shape that our testers just didn't match. For stringier folks, opting for typical sizing means that the waist is right, but everything else is just pretty bunchy. Sizing down means that the fit in the legs and seat is more appropriate, but the waist is too small.

In either case, we could never really shake the abrasive and bunchy feeling of the fabric behind our knees. They do have a gusseted crotch, which means the upper portion actually isn't too restrictive. But compared to a typical pair of hiking pants, these tights are just not comfortable and don't increase mobility enough to justify their benefits.

Venting & Breathability

These tights have mesh pockets and can be rolled up if need be (though this only compounds the comfort issue described above).

Being as stretchy as they are, they are fairly breathable. The fabric on the legs (excluding the reinforced knee patches) is exactly as airy as you would expect a pair of tights to be.

Versatility & Style

The Abisko Trekking Tights have a few things going for them on the versatility front. Though they are primarily meant for trekking and backpacking, they also make for a decent pair for climbing, yoga, trail running, and cycling. They also have the added benefit of being slim enough (they are tights after all) that they can fit easily under rainpants.

These tights have a distinct technical style that matches their primary purpose as a garment best-suited for trekking. The reinforced portions in the knees and seat give them a more rugged appearance as well.

Weather Resistance

Weather resistance as we have defined it is not awesome with this model. There is no DWR coating, which means that these tights are only as water-resistant as the fabric itself. It is entirely synthetic, so there is some insulative protection, but water does penetrate fairly quickly, especially if you are on the move and stretching the material.

Interestingly, they do slightly better in the wind. The reinforced knees and rear also mean that this pair is actually the most well-suited to those persistently damp environments where every surface is just wet enough that you think twice about whether or not it is worth sitting down (with this pair, it usually is).

Features

These tights do come with a decent feature set. There are two handwarmer pockets with zippers, and a right side thigh pocket with a flap, and a left side thigh pocket with a zipper. All of them are comparatively shallow, but the combination of the zipper closures and the stretchy fabric means that each one can securely hold a large smartphone.

One area where we do have confidence in this pair is in its durability. The knees and seat are reinforced with extra-rugged (slightly less stretchy) patches that allow you to sit and kneel on rough earth without fear of punching a hole through the fabric. The tights also come with standard belt loops and a snap closure.

Value

We think that in most cases, the cost is too high and the comfort too low to say that this pair offers good value. However, for someone with the right body shape who also wants the ruggedness that comes with pants, but with the fit of tights, we have no doubt that this pair would last trek after trek.

Conclusion

The Fjallraven Abisko Trekking Tight is a product that we appreciate for its crossover innovation, we just really can't get behind them as a viable alternative to most activities. We recognize that tights are meant to be…tight, but that isn't the issue.