What makes Under Armour better than other brands?
For me, when I think about Under Armour, I think high quality and serious fitness kit. This is because whenever I see their kit, either in-store or advertised online, it’s mostly simple and less crazy coloured pieces. I can see why many brands, most noticeably Gymshark, go for the butt-sculpting, pastel ombres or other trending fashion features to attract buyers – I agree they do look great (check out our reviews) – however, I feel Under Armour prefers to focus on the quality and comfort of their kit over following the latest trends. That being said, they do still have bright colours and different patterns, if that’s what you’re after.
Why choose Under Armour leggings over other brands?
I’ve been keen to try out some new gymwear recently and it’s leggings and sports bras that I’m after, so once I decided I was going to try out some leggings I then had the tough decision of choosing the right brand and the right pair.
The reason I chose these specific leggings, the Women’s HeatGear Armous Graphic Ankle Crop, was mostly because of the colour; all of my other leggings are either black or grey I wanted to brighten up my leggings collection. I also liked the added pattern on it: I’m, admittedly, not a massive fan of crazy patterns and prefer either one colour or small blocks of colour. This was a nice simple pattern that added contrast to the leggings and gave the appearance of longer legs.
As for the length, I didn’t mind too much to begin with. I was mostly looking at ¾ length or full-length pairs, but when I saw that these were ankle crop length I was interested to see how they would fit on me. I am pretty short (4ft11/150cm) and petite so all of my full-length leggings are slightly too long on me – I don’t mind it too much, I normally roll the bottoms up and I’m good to go.
How is Under Armour’s sizing in real life?
I mostly buy size 6, but I do sometimes get size 4 or size 8. In gym leggings I stick to either 4 or 6, because I don’t like it moving around.
These leggings come in sizes XS(US 0-2), S(US 4-6), M(US 8-10), L(US 12-14), XL(US 16). You can check their website for more details on the sizing, but it’s worth knowing your conversion from US to UK sizes as these aren’t readily available on the site – or, at the very least, having another tab open if you’re shopping online.
I went for the XS size and I like the fit and will go for this size again.
Would I buy from Under Armour again?
The short answer: Yes!
The long answer: I like them a lot, the colour is amazing and they fit me really well.
I am very happy with quality of the leggings; the material was thick and lightweight. I was initially a little worried about the thickness of the material making it difficult to keep cool during my run (which gets me super hot), however I didn’t get any hotter than I normally do with thin leggings I have. Oh, and they were really good at keeping me dry – the website claims the material ‘wicks sweat and dries really fast’ and I can confirm this to be true.
I think the colour was prefect for me because I like basic designs and it’s a great addition to my black and grey legging collection. The white dot pattern on the legs adds a nice simple effect to the leggings.
The leggings are a compression fit: they’re not lying when they say they’re ultra-tight and act as a second skin. This initially made me nervous, but I was surprised how comfortable they were and the way they sculpted my legs, even when my legs aren’t particularly toned.
As I mentioned before, I was very interested in how the ankle crop length would fit on my short legs, and they were great: they fitted like they were full-length. I would definitely recommend this length range for petites who struggle to find full-length leggings that don’t bunch up at the bottom or need folding up. I also think this length would be great on non-petite girls too as the length looks great on the model.
How do Under Armour leggings fit during a workout?
The leggings are 100% opaque, so you don’t have to worry about flashing your underwear in various positions and workouts. However, where they’re tight and act as a second skin, you will have a visible panty line if you are not wearing seamless underwear.
The final verdict
If you haven’t tried any of the Under Armour kit, I would definitely recommend giving the brand a try, especially the leggings as I think these are my new favourites. My favourite things about the leggings are the quality, the snug fit and how it wicks sweats and dries quickly. An additional bonus is the leggings being the perfect length for my petite physique.
