I have never purchased from Alphalete before, but I’ve seen so many people raving about them lately that I finally decided I should give them a try (not that I really needed any more leggings/gym wear at all…). Seeing as the leggings I bought are a new release from the company, I figured that seeing as I’ll be one of the first people to purchase them as a customer, it might be handy to review them so that others can benefit!
Alphalete is a fitness wear company based out of Texas (I think), and was created by a fellow named Christian Guzman. As I’m typing this, I just went to lurk his Instagram to find out a little more and it turns out that today (Feb 6th) is Alphalete’s 6th anniversary! So they’ve been around for a little while now, but it seems that they didn’t really break out huge until a couple of years ago – around the same time that Gymshark also seemed to really burst onto the scene.
I have purchased a couple of times from Gymshark and still constantly wear their leggings – their Aspire leggings are one of my all time fave leggings I have ever owned. Given that Alphalete and Gymshark are direct competitors, I was interested in trying the Alphalete products too to see if they even compared.
They recently had a release of a new style of legging for women called the Meridian legging. I will admit, the legging that actually originally caught my attention was the bright red Revival legging, but unfortunately it seems they won’t be restocking those.
The Meridian legging did come in a very similar red to the older Revival legging so I thought I would give them a try instead. I ordered on the release day as soon as the clock struck 11am. I didn’t have any trouble getting onto the website, and items that I wanted weren’t sold out by the time I got them in my cart. This is a very different story to the Gymshark releases which I feel like is always complete utter mayhem on their website on launch days and sales.
I originally had the Meridian leggings and the Meridian strappy sports bra in my cart in the colour “Redwood”, but changed my mind on the sports bra last minute as I already had a very similar red one at home (high five to me for being so #responsible).
The launch date was January 19th, and I received my package on February 4th. In the confirmation email they gave me a confirmation number, and then a few days later (Jan 24th) they sent me an email with the tracking information which meant I could see where abouts my package was in transit (which I checked every dang day because I was so excited). So it took about 2 weeks to ship – not that bad considering I ordered on the day of a launch, so I imagine the volume of orders going out at that time was huge which makes the slightly long shipping period understandable.
As for the leggings themselves… I’ll be honest, the leggings I got, I would say, are not even comparable to Gymshark leggings – but not in a bad way! The fabric is totally different from any Gymshark legging I have ever tried, and the cut is also nothing like Gymsharks cut. I would actually say Alphalete’s leggings (in this particular style, anyway) are way more comparable to Lululemon leggings…
If you’ve ever had the privilege of owning a pair of lulus, you’ll know their fabric is so buttery soft it feels like you’re wearing nothing, but they also give you a bangin’ shape too. The fabric and cut of Alphalete’s is very similar. I wouldn’t say they’re QUITE as soft, or as high quality, but they’re definitely close.
The Squat Test
Now, I’ve only ever had 1 pair of Lululemon leggings that were not squat proof, so I was excited to see if the Alphalete leggings lived up to the squat test given that their fabric was very similar. I would say that they are squat proof, but only if you’re either wearing a nude/no underwear, or you’re not really paying that much attention. When in a squat position, you can very faintly see a darker pair of underwear under the leggings, and I’m sure with a bright overhead light it becomes even more noticeable – however I think you would have to be looking for it to notice it.
When I wore them to the gym, I made sure to do every hip hinge exercise possible to see what the sitch was back there, and the only thing you could see under the leggings was the tag that was actually attached to the legging. I had nude underwear on and the only thing you could see of the underwear was the outline of the fabric itself!
So I would say that yes, they pass the squat test, just be aware of what colour underwear you wear with them.
Camel Toe
Now, I don’t know about you, but the next thing I check for with a new legging after making sure they’re squat proof, is whether or not they give me a camel toe. I’m always skeptical with leggings that have a seam smack in the middle of your vagina (like these leggings do) as I find that’s what increases the chances of camel toe happening.
To my pleasant surprise, there was no sign of camel toe in these leggings whatsoever, even with the vagina seam, and even when I hiked the leggings up to my boobs in an attempt to make camel toe happen. Camel toe is camel no in the Meridian leggings, even in the gym. Super impressed with that.
Functionality
I don’t think you can really pass a good judgement on a pair of gym leggings unless you actually use them at the gym. I made sure to pick a leg day to truly test these bad boys out, and threw in a little cardio as well to really make sure they could keep up.
My biggest pet peeve with legging, and pants in general, is when they’re constantly falling down and I’m having to hike them up after every exercise or few steps. The top of the legging occasionally folded over when I bent over, but I think that’s because the fabric is so soft.
There was a little gaping at the back of the legging around the waist band when I was doing hip hinge movements as well, and the middle back would dip down towards my bum doing this movement as well. But I didn’t feel like I had to yank them back up after my sets.
They got me through my workout with absolutely no issue at all, other than the very minor looseness around the waist.
Colour
I don’t have much to say about the colour other than it matched the colour online. It’s the same kind of orangey toned, “dusty” red that I saw on the website! I liked the other colours that the Meridian leggings came in as well but I didn’t need another black pair of leggings, the blue was very similar to a pair of Lulu leggings that I have, and the lighter colours I always find I feel gross in no matter the brand!
Sizing
This is where I had some difficulty, and have a little bit of a bone to pick with Alphalete. They don’t have a size guide… anywhere. If you want to find out what size you should get in their products, you basically have to go and lurk all their athletes for advice. I scrolled through all their female athletes pages trying to see if I could find their measurements, what sizes they wear in other brands, and basically studying their bodies like a little weirdo trying to decide whether I looked about the same size as them.
Anyway, in the end I went for a small in the leggings, and they fit perfectly. I have a 26 inch waist, 40 inch around my hips/bum, am 5’6, and weight ~145-150lbs depending on the day. I wear a 4 or 6 in Lululemon, generally a small in Gymshark leggings, 28 Topship Jamie jean, and XS in Old Navy leggings.
I probably could’ve squeezed myself into an extra small, however I do think that potentially could have caused some issues with the squat proof-ness of them, so I’m happy to stick to the small.
Pricing
Given that this is a pretty big “Instagram brand” and a huge rival of Gymsharks, I expected their prices to be way higher than they were. The Meridian leggings cost $56 USD. Gymshark leggings nowadays are almost always about $80+, and given that the Alphalete leggings are much more comparable in fit and fabric to Lululemon leggings (which are usually at least $100+ for a pair of leggings) I’m super surprised (but also relieved) that Alphalete don’t charge more for their products
Sweat Proof-ness
Now, leggings being sweat proof isn’t really thaaat big of a deal for me. I’m at the gym, I plan on sweating, and I also anticipate that the people around me are going to be sweating as well. If they’re offended by a little pit or butt crack sweat stain then that’s their problem, not mine.
However I can appreciate when leggings do turn out of be sweat proof, as it does save me from the awkward “I swear I didn’t pee myself” stain in the crotch region. Given that I usually wear black leggings, this usually isn’t too much of an issue.
I know some people are more concerned about sweat stains than others, and I was interested to see if these did pass the test during my intense leg session (I made sure to make it extra sweaty to really see what they were made of).
I had visible crotch sweat after my first exercise was complete. By the end of my workout I had a fully visible little butterfly shaped sweat mark right in my crotch. If I had them in black, I don’t think this would have been an issue, but I don’t think I own any coloured legging that shows sweat stains that quickly. If you’re the kind of person that is self conscious of sweat marks, I would avoid buying the Meridian leggings in a light colour!
Overall, I would give these leggings an 8.5/10. I’ve docked marks for the sweat-proofness of them, and half a mark for the slight gaping around my waist during bending movements. I would definitely repurchase from this brand again!
If you’re interested in what these leggings look like in action, and to see what my first impression of the leggings was, I also filmed a YouTube video! I don’t know how regular of a thing these YouTube videos will be, but I figured the best way to show you how these leggings perform in action… was to show you them in action!
Check it out:
Until next time
xx
There is a sizing guide! It’s in a rather odd place. When you click on a product its under the “buy now” button but above the description and seems to be the last link to load