Lululemon Fast and Free Half Tights

Give Half Tights a Chance

Another review, another plug for half tights. While I suspect many larger runners and plus-size athletes, especially men, may be hesitant to don such skin tight apparel, I am here to encourage you to give them a chance. For more on that, check out my ode to half tights.

Lululemon

As a brand, Lululemon definitely does not have the best reputation regarding their interactions with the general audience of this blog. They have not been the kindest to body shapes outside their target demographic of smaller athletes. However, if you can look past this brand tarnish, many of the products they release do have high build quality with good quality materials. They are not going to have the most inclusive sizing, but sometimes you can find a size that will work.

Stretchy, Yet Stiff?

Lululemon has these half tights as being composed of 84% nylon and 16% lycra elastane. Though not a fabric expert, I suspect that the higher nylon percentage than average, mixed with the lycra material, translates into a slightly stiffer fabric. That is not to say that they are not stretchy, as they still have plenty of stretch, but the general feeling when wearing is less forgiving and a bit stiffer. I still find them very comfortable to wear as a heavier runner, it is just a different experience from other fabrics out there. I will not say, however, that they are compressive — these are not compression shorts by any stretch. The one undeniable benefit of the fabric choice, for me, is the sweat dissipation — I feel like these half tights enable sweat to evaporate quickly and never become soaked through. I am a very heavy sweater, so that says something.

The waistband on these half tights is nothing particularly special — I would call it adequate. There are times, if I really synch down the drawstring, that I can feel it biting into my hip bones over the course of the run. This is not generally a problem, but I do like to wear my drawstrings tight to avoid showing crack, so I could personally do with a bit of padding. I will say it is not especially easy to get the drawstrings tight, as the material does not like to hold onto itself.

Quality, Thoughtful Construction

I generally find that Lululemon products are well constructed and feel these half tights are no exception. The seams all look incredibly durable and I’ve had no issues with seam chafing. The seams are all well stitched, with a very soft thread, and bar tacked (reinforced stitches) all over the place. I occasionally suffered a bit of pinching in the crotch, but this was usually resolved with a slight adjustment. Speaking of the crotch, the rise on these shorts seems to be about perfect for me, resulting in a good looking and comfortable fit with no excess fabric. Sometimes I wish the rise in the rear was a bit longer, as I feel like we’re bordering on showing crack.

A particular construction detail I like is the “liner,” which it really isn’t — it amounts to an extra layer of “floating” fabric in the front (basically an inverted triangle of fabric stitched between the legs and at the top front, everything else hanging free). I generally do not feel like a full brief liner benefits me, as I don’t think the extra layer in the back is doing anything other than adding bulk (I’ve never personally suffered butt-cheek chafing). For me, that makes the Fast and Free approach ideal — a bit of privacy and chafing protection with minimal additional bulk. There is a strange hole/pocket at the top of the liner, which you can see in the photos below, but I have no idea what it’s for — if you know, reach out!

Some additional quality details include:

• Perforations on the lower legs (presumably to help with breathability, but I’m unconvinced).
• Silicon leg grippers (which offered the right level of grip, before the legs stretched out).
• A more breathable mesh panel from side to side near the top of the butt (which is usually just where I need it, as it helps with breathability in my top sweat collection spot).
• A gusseted crotch.

Lovely Pockets. Unnecessary T-Shirt Hanger.

The pockets on the Fast and Free Half Tights are up there for me. There is one sizable pocket on each leg, with a smaller pocket within each larger pocket. I assume the inner pockets are for small items (like keys or gels), with the outer pockets for things like phones. The larger pockets are likely able to carry most phones, but most phones will stick out a bit, with larger ones sticking out more. My iPhone 16 Pro takes up basically the entire large pocket, but the pocket doesn’t “close” over the top of it. Even so, I feel confident carrying things in them and nothing bounces or moves around excessively. Slightly taller and I’d give them an even higher score.

In addition to the leg pockets, there is one smaller zippered pocket that sits on the left side, below the waistband. You probably couldn’t fit anything larger than key fob in this one, but it’s nice to have.

These half tights carry not one, but two instances of my least desirable feature — the towel/t-shirt hanger. Presumably there are fans of these things, because they are relatively common (more-so on primarily athleisure brands). Built into the waistband on either side in the back is a little piece of elastic stitched on either end. Presumably, this is to shove your shirt into when you get too hot on the run and have to tear it off (maybe a feature for herm.runs with his “sun’s out, tums out”, but I’m not there yet in my confidence journey). I can only guess the second one is to hang your sweat towel from — I really don’t know. Not for me, but there if you want it.

We All Sag with Time

One unfortunate side effect, seemingly of the material choice for the half tights, is that they have lost some form over time. Perhaps it is the slightly lower amount of elastic-family material compared to other brands? Or maybe the selection of nylon as the primary material? Whatever the cause, after a couple years of weekly wear in these half tights, the overall fit is… Looser. The leg openings and legs themselves just do not quite fit the same (my legs haven’t become smaller, it just seems the material has lost some elasticity and stretched). No matter how tight I cinch the waistband, they slip down a little bit on the run. Even so, I still wear and enjoy them!

Straightforward and Streamlined

The Lululemon Fast and Free Half Tights are a solid pair to wear for those daily runs. For me, they also work well for short to mid distance long runs or races — with the two and a half pockets, there’s sufficient room for a few gels and/or hydration products, plus the essentials (i.e., my phone). For outdoor runs when I need to carry things, these are probably a second or third reach for me (there are some other half tights I prefer). No major gripes with the half tights, just some minor improvements could be made, and I have no reservation in recommending these for runners of all sizes. They get the job done in comfort, have quality construction, and let you carry the essentials.