Under Armour knows a thing or two about combining comfort and performance in its fitness apparel. So it’s no surprise its Meridian Tapered Pants are some of the most comfortable, breathable and supportive joggers around.
If you’re after some of the best sweatpants for men, the Under Armour Meridian Tapered Pants are the best we’ve tried. Whether you wear them for sweat sessions or well-earned down time, you’ll find they won’t be short on support, comfort or performance.
Men’s Fitness verdict
With a supportive fit and four-way stretch fabric, these comfy and supportive joggers allow for full range of movement and are ideal for workouts of all kinds.- Flattering, supportive fit
- Plenty of flexibility
- Comfortable waistband
- Breathability could be better
How we test sweatpants
Like all of our reviewers, Laurence McJannet is an experienced tester of all manner of fitness kit. While testing out these sweatpants, he was mainly looking at fit, comfort and style. However, he also paid close attention to the fabrics used and whether they offered specific features such as 360-degree stretch or moisture-wicking capabilities. He also marked each pair for additional features, including pockets, drawstring waists and elasticated cuffs.
Under Armour Meridian Tapered Pants features
Like their name suggests, the Under Armour Meridian Tapered Pants are pretty, well, tapered. They feature a flattering cut that narrows significantly towards your ankle. What’s only noticeable when you slip these sweatpants on is that they’re already pretty close fitting to begin with. So those with tree-trunks for legs should probably be looking elsewhere.
You shouldn’t take that as a negative, though – quite the opposite. I found these UA joggers to be snug in a comfortable, supportive way. That’s helped hugely by the four-way stretch nylon/elastane fabric, giving you plenty of room to manoeuvre despite the close fit. It offers up a pretty flattering profile too – if you’ve been maxing out on leg day, these joggers are going to let folk know.
In the US there are two new colors – mod grey and baroque green – to accompany the regular black version. There’s also now an XS size in a range that goes up to 3XL. The rubberized UA logo is still on the right thigh and two zippered mesh hand pockets round out what is a good-looking, functional and versatile piece of gym-wear.
Performance on test
The cuffs aren’t elasticated, but then again they don’t need to be – I think there’s already enough stretch throughout the entire leg. The waist is, however, with an external drawstring for finessing your fit. It’s not the widest waistband but it’s unnoticeable once you put the joggers on – and that’s what counts when you’re working out in the gym, or outside. There’s no rolling or cutting in whatsoever. Likewise, what few seams there are are flat and unnoticeable, so no chafing worries here.
I found the material to breathe fairly well while exercising, but because of the snug fit you sometimes feel you’re sweating more than you actually are. In turn, that might influence how often you wash them, compared to other sweatpants. The airflow could be better but there’s a trade-off here with support. I wouldn’t want to wear these for long, hot, sweaty high intensity sessions (then again I’m not sure I’d want to wear sweatpants or joggers at all in those conditions). But these dry fairly well and will definitely not flap around or restrict your workout like some sweatpants can.
| Materials | 83% nylon, 17% elastane |
| Features | Four-way stretch material; elastic waistband with external drawcord; zip hand pockets |
| Sizes | S – XXL |
| Colors | Black, gray, green |
