Jogger Tournament Arc

With the rise of Lululemon, athleisure is the bomb and thanks to COVID-19, work from home couture is blasting off to the moon faster than GME and Team RKT.

Shameless plug: I'm a huge fan of WireCutter reviews and head there first when making any purchases. For their recommendations on WFH clothing head here: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/working-from-home-clothes/

However, I was looking for something more specific that didn't show up on their list. I was looking for athletic pants/joggers. Kind of like the ones adidas makes for soccer, except with minimal branding, two front pockets for keys and phones, and a back pocket for my wallet. 

The market for pants like this has exploded and the number of options seems endless. I narrowed it down to 10 good options, compared them head to head, and in the end 1 champion arose. I'm documenting the Jogger tournament arc to help anybody else down the line weigh the different features of these brands when considering what to buy. I'm categorizing them by heavyweight, medium weight, and light weight fabric. Then the the rest boils down to differences in details like faux fly vs none, number of zip pockets, coin pockets, etc. Anyways, for reference I'm 5'6", 135 lbs and am a size S 

Midweight Joggers

#1. The overall favorite: Rhone Spar Jogger $128 

- The fabric was incredibly soft, medium weight 

- Two front pockets, back zipper pocket

- For me the fit was spot on, pretty slim

- Rhone has free shipping and returns

- You can get 2 day free shipping by signing up for a free account. And Rhone reward points, every $100 spent can be put towards $10 off your next purchase. 

Cons:

- Unfortunately these are expensive. But there are coupon codes for signing up for emails and on apps like Honey.

#2. Old Navy Go-Dry French Terry Performance Jogger $26.99

- The fabric was medium weight, super soft on the outside. BUT on the brushed interior was rougher than others on the list

- 2 front pockets, back zipper pockets

- Strong budget pick

#3. Nordstrom Zella Pyrite Slim Fit Pocket Joggers $59.00

- Medium weight, super soft fabric

- 2 front pockets, back zipper pocket

- Basically like an upgraded version of the Old Navy Joggers 

#3. Target All In Motion Tech Fleece Jogger $30

- Medium weight super soft fabric 

- 2 front pockets

- Unfortunately no back pockets

- Another strong budget pick tbh

#4. UNRL Apex pant $78

- Medium weight fabric, soft on the inside but rough outside like a windbreaker/nylon. My personal preference is a softer, track suit like fabric rather than the windbreaker/nylon feel.

- 2 front pockets w/ coin pockets

- 2 back pockets, R one is zipped

#5. Bonobos The Homestretch Jogger $98

- Fabric was medium heavy weight, the nylon blend felt kind of like brushed cotton

- 2 front pockets, 2 back pockets with buttons 

- You usually see buttons on the pockets of dress casual or dress pants. I thought it was an odd detail for joggers which put these lower on my list. 

#6. Lululemon Intent Jogger $108

- The fabric was soft and substantial, like a medium-heavy weight

- Two front pockets, back zipper pocket. There's also coin pockets inside the front pockets (however not everyone may like this)

- Lululemon is having 25% off for veterans, first responders, and healthcare workers 

Cons:

- The fit in the seat was weird for me, there crotch appeared dropped and there was a lot of excess fabric that gave a diaper butt look. In the end this was a deal breaker

Light weight/ running pants 

#1. Primo Golf Apparel $89

- Super light weight

- 2 front mesh pockets

- Zip L back pocket, R back pocket

- Zip leg openings with back cuff

- Rubber inside the waistband to keep your shirt tucked in

- The price and smart details made this pant a number one pick for me.

#2. Outdoor voices High stride pant  $98

- The polyester fabric was super light weight, felt like a wind breaker. Definitely a pant built for running

- 2 front pockets and a zip back pocket

#3. Target All in Motion Lightweight Run pants $32 - great budget pick

- Super light weight, similar to the outdoor voices jogger

- 2 pockets, 1 zip back pocket

Heavy weight pants

#1. Public Rec $98

- Heavier weight fabric, the nylon blend felt like cotton similar to bonobos but a bit rougher

- 2 front pockets, 1 zip back pocket

#2. 4 Laps Equip pant $98

- Heavier weight fabric, the nylon blend felt like cotton similar to Public Rec

- 2 front pockets, 1 front zip security pocket, and back pockets. 1 Zip back

- Non-cuffed leg opening