Eurostar Malou full breeches: review

These breeches proved to be robust and suitable for use in all weathers

“Oh my god, did you fall off? Oh wait…” was a sentence I heard a dozen times from people approaching me during the time I tested these breeches.

They have a brown splatty marbled pattern which makes you look quite like you’ve taken a tumble and are covered in mud.

The pattern is a definite conversation topic with opinion divided over whether people liked it.

I did. And I particularly liked it when I actually was muddy, as the breeches have excellent camouflage properties for grubby people.

There are two things I didn’t quite gel with about these breeches. They are button fly, which looks novel and nice, but the button holes are a bit big for the buttons, so I sometimes felt myself fumbling to do them all up as others kept insisting on popping out. But once they are done up, they stay that way — no embarrassing knickers moments.

The other thing that didn’t quite work was the pockets. When they are pushed right down, they look good and are a useful size, with room for an iPhone. But I found the material around the hips a little generous, so the pockets often rucked up and the white lining of the pockets stuck out the top.

The material is really robust, and I can prove it! While wearing them I got whipped off my feet at speed by a young horse and slammed down splat on my face on a cobbled road. Six weeks on and my knees are yet to recover, but the breeches had the tiniest mark/damage on them. Given the pain and the impact, I really thought they would be shredded to bits.

To these breeches’ credit, the tiny hole has remained just that despite multiple wears and washes since, again proving the quality of the fabric of these breeches.

I tested a German size 38 and they were perfect in the leg, but a little baggy around the hips, though true to size around the waist band. I don’t think that’s a fault with the fit, it’s just the style of the cut.

I wouldn’t describe them as hipsters exactly, but they do have a fairly low rise. When I wore a belt with them the fit and feel was improved, and they were brilliant to ride in.

The seat isn’t as sticky as some of the new gel types, but it certainly offered enough security in the saddle as well as breathability.

The material is lightweight and high-tech — described as “light high elastic micro-multistretch” by Euro-Star.

It has a stretchy ankle cuff too, so no bulk or pokey Velcro to contend with under your boots. A “flex-hem solution”, apparently.

I rode in these in all weathers, including heavy rain (we only have an outdoor school), so breeches I wear have to dry quickly and not get heavy and clammy when wet. These breeches certainly passed at test, as the technical material is adept, and kept its shape too.