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I’m always looking for new breeches. Just when I find a pair I like, another pair I’ve been wearing for years (or 6 months…) wears out and I need to buy yet another pair. I’m seemingly always on the search for new ones. When the opportunity to try and review the new Ovation Aqua-X Full Seat Breeches came along, I jumped at the chance to try a new stylish breech at a reasonable price point. I admit to not having high hopes since I’ve had such bad luck with finding breeches that fit me well in the past, but I really wanted these to work for me.
I was incredibly impressed with the breeches right out of the bag. The material is soft, lightweight and a bit slick feeling. My pair are also an incredible color (the Aegean Blue) and all I can say is…this color should be used more for anything and everything in life… It’s kind of a greyed out teal is my best description. They’re not as dark as they show up in the online marketing shots. I loved the little details like the Ovation medal, embroidered logos and the contrast full seat. I couldn’t’ wait to try them on.
Once on these breeches are incredibly flattering. They have a higher waist (not high waisted, but more of a higher mid-rise). They have really good opacity and hide sins easily (no cellulite bumps here). The material is very slick and wearing them against your skin is an invigorating sensation. They were cooling just sitting there in my house. When a breeze hits them, the feel even cooler.
At the barn these were a compliment magnet. I’m not sure there was a person I saw that day that didn’t say something about them. Those are some flattering breeches (and such a good color)! The fabric is a bit restrictive right when you put them on, but they stretch just enough to loosen up and not be restricting, but not enough to get saggy. The materials, stitching and hardware all appear super durable and I was impressed with their ability to not look dirty. They seem to repel dirt and staining fairly well, and everything that did stick washed right out (including some leather conditioning oil).
One of the coolest things about these is the mesh fabric inside. Not immediately noticeable, it becomes really noticeable while wearing. Your skin doesn’t come into contact with the full seat material, and instead is protected by soft mesh type layer that reduces friction and wicks away moisture so you don’t stay sweaty from the heavy full seat material. What a incredibly helpful detail that was so easy to overlook on first glance. The material of these breeches dries really fast. I got them wet while hosing of a horse, and they were dry within a few minutes. While wet, they were SUPER cooling with a light breeze (like air conditioned pants). So the more you sweat, the cooler you feel. They work very similar to the very popular sun-shirts on the market. Like those sun shirts, these offer the same UV protection fabric technology. They are perfect for hot/sunny days, but work just as well when it’s a bit cooler.
My single issue with these are a deal-breaker for me…but I highly recommend them to anyone else! At the present, they seem to only come in Regular. For anyone under 5’7″ (or taller with shorter legs) these breeches are probably perfect. I’m a tall lady…with a short waist and LONG legs, so I need an even longer inseam than you would guess. These were 4 inches too short for my legs. Because of this, the portion that was supposed to be around my calf was around my knee and didn’t really want to be. The breeches rode down badly while riding and the full seat material (which as you know is not very giving) would pop me out of the saddle. I wasn’t able to really give the seat cues I needed to ride dressage. For anyone with a more average height, these would be really ideal breeches and I really recommend them. If you can get your hands on the Aegean Blue, you won’t be sorry.
I’m super bummed that the sizing of the Ovation Aqua-X Full Seat Breeches didn’t work out for me, because other than that issue, I really loved them. I hope they come out with Longs in the future so I can get another pair. As it is, the pair I have will be sold or given away to a friend and I’m super bummed about it.