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Leggings are extremely popular and can be found in just about every woman’s closet- and for good reason. Not only are leggings very versatile, but the comfort just cannot be replicated by a pair of jeans. That’s why there are several stacks- more like piles, er, mountains of leggings of all styles in our closet.
Today I’m talking about the Defender Tactical Leggings from We the People Holsters, which are designed for carry. They were kind enough to send me a pair to try out.
As the wife of the Everyday Marksman, I was excited to take these for a spin! We’ve been talking about me starting to carry down the line or participate in the shooting sports more, so the Defenders are right up that alley.
I’m breaking this review down into addressing the overall quality and feel, how they fit, and how they perform in several scenarios. But before I dive in let’s explore some background of the company.
Note from Matt: This is Allison’s very first post on the website, and I hope to see many more in the future. She brings a great perspective to things, and can look at some products in ways that I never could, especially things designed explicitly for women. Though, who knows, maybe I would look great in a pair of leggings…
The Background
If the name wasn’t a giveaway (first line to the preamble of the constitution, thanks Mrs. Wills for teaching me this in the sixth grade), We the People Holsters is an American company that specializes in everything from holsters, to an assortment of accessories, and my favorite: leggings.
They take great pride in their products, apparent in their 30-day-no-questions-asked return policy, and generous lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects on most items.
Building a loyal customer relationship seems important to them, as evidenced by the extremely high quality items they produce and the packaging. In addition to the Defender Leggings, they also sent Matt an IWB holster to look over [Note from Matt: that review will be posted soon].
It’s clear that holsters are their bread and butter, and they have a huge variety of style and patterns there. The leggings promise to be exceptional as well. Inspired by the need of their women customers, they stated that the motivation for the leggings was creating the best concealed carry leggings available on the market. They are designed with comfort, durability, and safety in mind.
They are available in three length options; full-length, capri, and short, as well as mid rise and high rise options. I was also pleased to see the size range offered including sizes from XS through 3XL.
Defender Leggings First Impression
The leggings arrived beautifully packaged, which made for a delightful experience, and YES packaging does matter! I opened the sleek black box, adorned with the We the People logo, to find the leggings wrapped in glossy tissue paper.
Also worth noting there was a really nice company message, I thought that was really nice detail. I always appreciate when a company goes above to really personalize their product.
Okay, back to the leggings. The material is extremely soft, which really impressed me. They are made from a double-sided brushed material, which means they are soft on both the inside and outside of the legging. It has good stretch, really nice stitching, and pockets!!
I just need to take a moment to rave about these pockets. They are intelligently designed, using a heavy-duty ballistic nylon to line part of the inside, so you can feel confident putting knives, keys, magazines, or any other EDC items inside. It also makes retrieving an iPhone effortless.
There are two patches sewn on the leggings. A reversed American flag adorns the right leg, and a stylized We the People logo resembling an AR-15 silhouette on the left. While I understand the sentiment, making the patches removable would be a bit more discreet for concealed carry. As it stands, I would only feel comfortable wearing these to the range or a shooting competition.
Overall, though, I was really impressed right away and could not wait to take off my Lululemons to try these on. Here’s some of We the People’s stock photography to illustrate.
The Fit
I received the mid-rise, full-length legging with belt loops in order to try them with a tactical belt and holster. As a long-legged 5’3” woman, they fit me closer to a 7/8th length right at the ankle.
Just keep that in mind for you taller folks.
Their size chart is accurate and the leggings fit true to size. Mid-rise leggings tend to roll down a little on me while being active, so that worried me. However, once I put on the belt, these leggings didn’t budge. For the record, the belt I paired with this is a 1.5” Skyhawk from 5.11 Tactical.
Just doing a quick mobility test, the leggings stretched nicely and moved with my body with minimal to no movement restriction. Overall these are soft, well designed, comfortable, and flattering leggings.
But how do they perform? Let’s find out.
Performance
The first thing I did was set these leggings up for concealed carry. I already put the belt on so it was easy to slip the holster in place. It was a good, snug fit and felt very secure. I was able to fit both Matt’s CZ P07 and my FNS-9 comfortably and could maneuver with ease.
With just a quick adjustment I switched my setup to outside the waistband and replicated a range-day experience or a competition setting. Matt just so happened to be testing out a dry fire system called Mantis Laser Academy and I asked him if I could give it a try with his CZ P10f.
People, marry someone who looks at you the way he looked at me in that moment.
The position of the holster on the belt was perfect and allowed for smooth and seamless pistol draws, even when drawing for time, which would be useful for competitions. The belt loops did not interfere with holster positioning.
The non-removable patch issue notwithstanding, down the line I would definitely reach for the defender leggings as my go-to option for any kind of carry, concealed or not.
To further simulate competition demands I made sure to dry fire in additional positions including squatting, sitting, and kneeling. As expected, the leggings moved with my body and I felt no restriction of movement at all.
And finally I performed several fitness elements such as squats, sandbag squats, lunges, and low crawls, all of which were a success.
Matt said they passed the “squat test,” and did not become see-through. Although he asked for many, many squats. You know, for science.
Wrapping Up
These are great tactical leggings that every woman shooter needs to have in their wardrobe. They are comfortable, look great, tough, and perform well. At $89, they are very fairly priced for a made in the USA product, and cheaper than many other popular brands out there that use foreign manufacturing.
Sorry Matt, I know I said I don’t need anymore leggings, but the high waisted Defenders are calling my name.
Let me know in the comments if you are or know of someone who would love these.
Cute! I’m for anything that peaks the ladies interest in firearms and self defense. So Allison – do they make them in Matt’s size? He’d look great at the gym!
Thanks for reading! Haha while I’m sure he could fit into them I much prefer Matt in shorts!
Great review. I’ve been trying to talk my wife into tryng a pair of these to carry on body. She currently has a carry purse. After your review I may just have to buy her some and see what happens. Hope to see more from you.
Thanks so much for reading. I hope to write more articles in the future. If you get a pair of these for your wife let me know how she likes them!
Thank you so much for this review Allison!! Would you be able to say what size you ended up getting? And do you feel you “needed” the belt with these leggings to be able to carry??
I have had both a holster and leggings in my cart since yesterday and I’m just so undecided.
Did you mention the size you purchased? I’m 5’1 with very short legs. I was thinking XS for me. They have been sitting in my cart because I’m not sure. Super cute🩵