I had been considering purchasing breeches from Tredstep for some time. Everyone has seen the video right? If not…you need to. I was so intrigued by the fabric of these breeches! Everyone wants stain resistant white breeches right? Of course they do. I had to get a pair (or two). This is my review on the Tredstep Argenta Full Seat breeches.
My first thoughts upon getting them was that the fabric feels different than I expected, kind of a stretchy cotton. They’re a little rough on the outside, but much softer on the inside. They come in a cute little protective bag (which I keep the white ones in…because they’re white…of course).
They are loaded with beautiful little details. I love the buttons on the back belt loops, the notched waist, the ribbon waistband, and the heavy duty hardware. The grey pair are not a pure grey, but have a slight tint of lavender to them (they’re beautiful). The white are a nice, pure white.
I have not worn the white pair yet for one major reason. While the fabric feels fairly thick in the hand, in spots where there is a double up of fabric (the pockets, seams, and zipper area), these pants are not totally opaque (NOOOOO!!!). That means they’re not opaque on either. I would have preferred it if these had false pockets so the see-throughness of the pants weren’t so obvious. I’m also not a fan that they made the interior lining of the pockets with the same heavy, thick material as the main of the breeches. This causes a lot of bulk and the pockets have no choice but to bunch and create wrinkles. This is not my favorite feature of the breech.
I am not totally sold on the design of the sock bottom. While keeping pinching and bulk from right at the ankle, I would have preferred these sock bottoms wrap around the whole calf and go up a little higher for an overall sleeker look under tall boots.
I like that the full seat is not stitched on top of the breech, but that the full seat material actually touches your skin. It removes a bit of the bulk between rider and horse (which is always a good thing). I think the knee area is successful with extra padding and the articulated stitching. While that articulation doesn’t remove bunching behind the knee (I’m not sure it’s physically possible for that problem to go away), it does help channel the bunching into nice, non-pinching folds. It does it’s job.
I was disappointed in the quality of these breeches for the price. Seaming on the full seat started to come out after one ride (yes…just one ride). You can see in the photos, that it’s not just in one location either…it’s in three. I am concerned about the longevity of these without having them repaired. I expected more. They have not gotten worse with further rides and washings, however I don’t expect them to last years. I have not tried pouring coffee, ketchup or honey on them like in the video, because to be honest…I don’t have the guts. The grey pair has held up to schooling rides, lesson days, bathing, treating wounds, etc. No stains yet.
They are comfortable to ride in and walk around in all day. I find the legs a little tight and the waist band a little big (so if you are an hourglass or pear shape these aren’t going to fit you perfectly). If you’re an apple or straight, I’m sure these will fit great.
While I find these comfortable and fairly attractive on, I cannot 100% recommend these breeches due to the quality for the price.
Update Dec. 2015: After wearing the crap out of these, they have worn like iron. After losing a couple of pairs of fullseats to wear and tear, these have been pretty much the only breech in our rotation for the last few months. I have fallen in them three times while not riding (cluzty I know), fallen once off a horse, worn them almost daily and they have been great. Very comfortable breeches and no more seaming has come out since the initial wash. If they had these in other colors, I’d buy more. These also became my standard show breeches the last half of the season as our other ones started to stain badly. These clean up like new easily and stay cleaner on show days. A good investment. I now recommend these breeches highly.
Update Spring 2016: The white pair are my show breeches and are still unstained enough to show in regularly. They are holding up well. The grey pair died and I tried a new pair of Argenta’s that didn’t fit even remotely close to the same (and I sent them back).
Update Spring 2017: Still showing in the white pair with no major stain issues!