Product Review - rabbit manpri

I'm going to start off and say that it truly pains me to not write the subject line in capital letters, but if you've spent enough time in the running industry you know that if a brand prides themselves on doing things a certain way, you abide 😀

The product that I'm reviewing today is a piece in our gear closet that most guys won't admit that they want to like. With the colder months coming, we are in that weird transition phase from still wanting to hang on to the shorts that we've come to love this spring/summer, but don't want to start running earlier in the morning or later at night to be seen wearing tights...

Today, I present to you the "manpri" from one of my favorite brands in the running space right now, rabbit

***Disclaimer #1: I received this pair of manpris as a gift to review with no anticipation of a positive review. All comments below are my true thoughts behind the use of the product***

***Disclaimer #2: I am a huge fan of the Mel Brooks comedic smash movie from 1993 "Robin Hood: Men In Tights" so you may see quite a few quotes/memes/gifs from the movie contained within***

Living in an environment in the Midwest where we are not immune to insanely dramatic temperature/weather shifts over the course of a 24 hour time period, I've grown very fond of the versatility of a product that is so lovingly called the "manpri". Not quite shorts, not quite tights and allows me to show off what my wife calls my "eye candy". As a product tester for a European company many years ago, I was provided with a pair of "short tights" as a part of our kit. When I first received them, I'll admit that I was reluctant to even put them on. "No dudes wear tights that only come down to their knees?"

Then, after perusing the interwebs for some of my favorite European mountain races, I was starting to see a trend...there are actually dudes wearing these things. I was really hesitant at first because I didn't even wear tights without shorts over them for many years. It felt like I was just wearing underwear...and who goes out in just their underwear for runs?

Fast forward a couple of years and those "short tights" that I was so hesitant to wear, became a staple in my late fall/early winter set up. My legs tend to run pretty hot, which is the reason I hang on to shorts for as long as I can, but I was starting to notice that my hamstrings would stay so tight if I wasn't wearing something that would keep them warm. I didn't want to put on the tights as I would get really hot. The "short tight" was the perfect solution.

Knowing full well that winter is coming, I began a desperate search to replace the "short tights" that I've grown to love. Low and behold not a single big name player in the running/outdoor space was offering them, until we found out that rabbit had a rabbit in their hat...see what I did there????....

rabbit is a brand that I have come to love over the past year or so for their incredibly well made options for guys that...just...fit. With products 100% designed and constructed in Los Angeles, CA the quality behind the factories is seen in the attention to detail. I'm not sponsored by them...but if they want to, I'm always open to discussion 😉...Go to their website, and read the story of how and why Monica and Jill created this brand. It's refreshing and awesome!!!

As Fitness Sports is the exclusive retailer in Iowa for rabbit apparel, we found out that rabbit was in fact going to be offering a "short tight" called the "manpri"...which is another reason I love rabbit, because of the ingenious names of their products...and were provided with a sample to test.

Upon receiving, I pulled them out of the packaging and honestly thought that they had sent me a women's pair because of what the size looked like. How in the heck was I going to fit my manly thighs into this teeny pair of half-pants??? I almost had a "Tommy Boy" moment and thought that I was going to rip out the crotch in them...but after reviewing the label found that they did in fact send me a pair of men's.

This is my first pair of tights from rabbit, but as I have grown accustom to their shorts, the level of detail in the design, fabric and construction is amazing!!! Flat seams on the inside. A medium weight so they aren't too heavy. A small, what I like to call key pocket, just above the tailbone is just large enough to fit roughly two gels or your keys in. The zipper is high quality and no part appears to be loose enough to get caught in the zipper. A "fleece" like layer on the inside and a very nice "underwear type" waist band. I'll admit though that I was a bit concerned that there wasn't a drawstring. My thought was this could potentially be an issue during a long ultra.

Although I don't have an issue wearing tights by themselves, I do feel far more comfortable wearing a pair of compression briefs under the tights as to add another thin layer of protection...for...well...ya know....so I did put on a pair of Saxx underwear on and I was REALLY pleasantly surprised at how well these tiny, small pants went on and fit. The length was actually really great, but I felt they came up slightly higher than what I was expecting.

I took them out for a short run at roughly 40ºF, with a light rain and roughly 10mph winds. I was honestly very surprised at how warm they were and even with some sweat, I didn't feel like they got heavy. Once again though, I was slightly concerned with no drawstring in the waistband. I know it seems silly with something as little as this, but I've struggled with this during the middle of a long race, losing water weight and the pants/shorts falling down. I was shocked at how well they appeared to wick and evaporate sweat so that I didn't feel as though I was drowning. 

Of course, in Iowa, you can get 7 weather patterns over the course of 24 hours, so I really hadn't gotten much of a chance to give them another go until the evening of the 24 hour Equalizer Endurance Run.

Temps were projected to be in the mid-60's during the day and lower-40's during the evening. The plan was to wear my HOKA ONE ONE branded version of the "vert" short during the day and switch to the manpri overnight (with a longer tight if necessary if it got colder). This was the planned that panned out.

Me wearing the manpri, but keep in mind that I'm wearing a calf sleeve on my right leg

I repeated the same layering as noted above and it worked out brilliantly. The manpris were exactly what I needed. My thighs, quads and hamstrings remained warm, but not hot and after putting them on at roughly 6:30pm and wearing through the completion of the race at roughly 7:35am I never once found myself needing to pull them up or adjust. Not a single spot rubbed or caused any chaffing. The absence of the drawstring was of tremendous concern going into it, but the tights stayed the course right where they were. The waistband was no problem...even though I lost nearly 10lbs during the event 😏

Overall, I'm really pleased with the manpri. rabbit puts a lot of time and effort into making good quality products that are going to hold up and work the way in which they were designed. The fit and function were significantly better than I had expected when I first opened the packaging. I am really excited to see if the fit transfers over to their "tightz" as well. 

At a $90 price tag, they do seem a little on the high end, but taking into account the quality of materials and the fact that they are made right here in the US, I am more than happy to drop the change for something that are going to last for a long time.

Lastly, I say, MEN...don't be afraid to wear tights. Be proud of the strength in your legs. No need to be self conscious of what's going on in the lower half of your body. YOU GOTTA BE A MAN TO WEAR TIGHTS!!!! 

I will always suggest that you shop at local stores. If you are interested in a pair of a great pair of manpris and live in the Des Moines, IA area, please stop into Fitness Sports in Clive and we can get you a pair. IF we do not have them in stock, please let us know and we can get a pair ordered for you. If you don't live in or around Des Moines, rabbit does a great job with their store locator feature on their website to get you into a store that sells their products. If neither of those are an open, buy directly from the rabbit site and help support this great company.

Thanks for reading. If you are a company with products to test, please let me know via my contact button and we'll see if we can get something tested for you. If you have specific questions or want to rip me apart for something, same thing 👍

Stay Strong, Run Long,

Brad