Editor’s test: These new leggings use NASA technology to keep you cool while you work out

Ministry of Supply—a clothing company known for performance-enhanced fabric tech (and one of our favorite masks)—recently added a high-tech version of a pandemic favorite into their lineup: the Joule Active Legging. The black legging features NASA phase-change material, fabric developed to keep astronauts’ suit temperatures at their most comfortable both on earth and in space. The leggings are made from a recycled poly blend and keep odor at bay thanks to a third-party-certified, zinc-based antimicrobial finish. In MoS’s family of versatile, smart apparel (Carbon-neutral dress shirts! Self-fitting sweaters!), the Joule leggings are a natural fit.

I put the Joule into that category of legging where the immediate out-of-box reaction is “There’s no way my body will fit in there.” They’re more substantial than your average yoga pant and feel like slick nylon, with thick stitching down the leg and across two deep side pockets. They are no doubt built for working out, they but feel great on—comfortable, firm compression that stretches and conforms with ease.

For performance, I put my Joule leggings through a two-prong test: one early-morning yoga session and a jog in the deceptively still-cool Boston sun. They were a little too restrictive for my taste in yoga pants. I found myself overly conscious of the compression and stitching against my body. This could be because I typically opt for Lululemon’s lightweight, second-skin Align leggings for my a.m. flow. But I imagine the Joule has a time and a place: Sometimes that “nearly naked” feeling of softer leggings is too nearly naked, on the subway or in an overcrowded class. A tighter, more body-conscious fit may be a fair trade-off for a thicker fabric that hugs the body without feeling too exposed when we get back to socialized workouts.

I’d be interested to see how the leggings perform in a sweaty cardio class, since they held up well through all my fidgeting and power walks, and I suspect I can even work them into my wardrobe once the world gets back to “business casual.” A year into the pandemic, I am a leggings connoisseur. I have no patience for bad fits and fabrics, and if the waistband twists or rolls? Get out of here! But I truly believe the Joule is a very cool pair to have in rotation—literally and figuratively.

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