Hey thanks, everyone! And sorry to leave this thread dangling – I’ve been slammed at work. I guess I checked a few of my favorite retailers and known comfort-oriented brands without any luck and then started to worry that non-silicone riding tights had gone the way of the dodo. I’m glad they can still be found here and there.
I still have some pikeur breeches that are in good shape but frankly they’re not as comfortable as the schlubby knit full seat tights I’ve been wearing most in pandemic times. I wear the cheapo fullseat tights every ride and never the pikeurs or other classier pants, so the crummy comfy stuff is finally wearing out (and the analogous products on the market from the brands I’m used to all seem to have been replaced with silicone). It’s funny, cause I splurged on nice breeches while on work trips to Europe back when I was a ramen-eating postdoc who really shouldn’t have spared that kind of money, but now that I can actually afford to buy riding clothes what I really want are the low-end, kinda ugly, comfy tights that I can comfortably slip into after a day of business-up-top, sweatpants-on-bottom Zoom meetings. Grass is always greener on the other side…
I suppose I’m in a niche that nobody would bother marketing to – my horse is aging and who knows if we’ll ever show again or even bother with clinics, so I’m starting to focus more on being comfortable and having fun at my home barn and don’t really care how nice my pants are. But I also hate silicone. The venn diagram of comfort-focused riders and traditionalists who like a good non-silicone fullseat does not seem to have much overlap. Cheers to the others who are in my little sliver!
It looks like Irideon has developed some new products since I last bought any of theirs (7-8 years ago). I didn’t love the cadence breeches (tights) I once had from them but will check out the new options. And I’d never have thought to look at Horseware for breeches (though my horse wears their products pretty much every day), but that looks promising too. I’ve also had some issues with Kerrits sizing, so I tend to avoid that brand unless I can try on in store (which isn’t happening any time soon, thanks to COVID and lack of a good LTS). I’ll also keep an eye out for Tropical Rider sales.
Thanks for all of the help everyone!
