 This Product
CRZ Yoga Butterlift Origin | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Bang for the Buck Comfortable Legging |  Best Overall Legging |  Best Streamlined Training Tight | ||
| Price | $32 List Check Price at Amazon | $125 List Check REI (on sale!) | $98 List | $115 List Check Amazon (on sale!) | $34 List Check Amazon (on sale!) |
Overall Score  |
|||||
| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | A comfortable, stylish, and budget-friendly legging that delivers impressive performance for yoga, everyday wear, and light adventures | The do-it-all legging for most people, offering the ideal mix of comfort, versatility, performance, and everyday style for nearly any adventure | A streamlined workhorse — compressive enough for hard sessions, clean enough to wear around town, and not overloaded with unnecessary extras | A stable, training design that delivers reliable support, compression, and durability for high intensity | A comfortable, budget-friendly legging with useful pockets that performs well for yoga, low-impact workouts, and everyday wear |
| Rating Categories | CRZ Yoga Butterlift... | Patagonia Maipo Stas... | Lululemon Wunder Tra... | Nike Universa | Iuga FlexTight High... |
| Comfort & Fit (35%) | |||||
| Compression & Support (20%) | |||||
| Breathability (15%) | |||||
| Durability & Recovery (15%) | |||||
| Versatility (15%) | |||||
| Specifications | CRZ Yoga Butterlift... | Patagonia Maipo Stas... | Lululemon Wunder Tra... | Nike Universa | Iuga FlexTight High... |
| Best Use | Daily Wear/Lounging, Running/HIIT Workouts, Yoga/Pilates, Outdoor (hiking, climbing, skiing) | Daily Wear/Lounging, Running/HIIT Workouts, Yoga/Pilates, Outdoor (hiking, climbing, skiing) | Daily Wear/Lounging, Running/HIIT Workouts, Yoga/Pilates, Outdoor (hiking, climbing, skiing) | Running/HIIT Workouts, Outdoor (hiking, climbing, skiing) | Running/HIIT Workouts |
| Inseam Lengths Available | 25" | 26" | 23", 25", 28", 31" | ~27" to ~29" | 25" |
| Sizes Available | XS-XL | XXS-XXL | 0-20 | XXS-XXL | XS-3X |
| Squat Test | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Fail- light colors |
| Colors | 13 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 24 |
| Pockets | None | Two side | Waistband | None | Two side, one waist |
| Material | 74% Polyamide, 26% Lycra | 81% NetPlus® recycled nylon, 19% spandex | 77% Nylon, 23% Lycra Elastane | 77% polyester, 23% spandex | 77% Polyester, 23% Spandex |
| Compression | Moderate | Moderate | Firm | Moderate | Firm |
We love to find a high-performing budget option, and the Butterlift impressed us with its comfortable and mobile fit, and surprised us with it's overall durability. The material has a high elastane content and undeniable four-way stretch. More than anything else, it is our most balanced budget option, blending the mobility of a yoga legging with the medium compression that we find comfortable for most workouts and downtime. Plus, it is available in more than a dozen colors and patterns, both with pockets and without.
CRZ designed the Butterlift to have a stylish and acrobatic fit. A ballerina or Cirque du Soleil performer could be very happy in these leggings; they follow us to the end of our range like a close dance partner and pretzel with us comfortably. They're a consistent favorite among our yoga teachers. For comfort, they are leagues beyond any other budget option we tested, especially if you want leggings for stretching or mobility work.
We give the Butterlift a solid 10/10 for mobility. The material boasts 26% Lycra, which, combined with CRZ's well-designed fit, helps it feel as body-hugging as ballet tights from waistband to ankles. We love this much elastane in a legging because it gives us oodles of stretch and snappy shape retention. Our lead tester took them to the Boulder Circus Center and slid into side and middle splits—no fabric pull, no pinch—no problemo! We especially appreciate how the elasticity keeps the waistband smooth against our abdomen. The waistband sits extra high, just above our lead tester's belly button. We never experienced gaping, digging, or distracting wrinkles in a seated twist or when we tested them in ragdoll folds.
While many leggings bag at the crotch after stretching, we noticed the Butterlift stay flush around the groin and hip joints, even after long holds in deep lunges or pigeon pose. We enjoy the silky-brushed smoothness of these leggings, which are sleeker and less fuzzy than other brushed options in our lineup. The ultra-fine softness is comfortable enough to throw on with a hoodie for the day. Another detail our testers rave about is the V-shaped seam around the bum. Many leggings have a flat seam in the back, which visually creates a flattening line instead of accentuating the natural booty pop. The V-seam on the Butterlift helps contour around our body and makes a budget legging look elevated. We could imagine CRZ improving this design by removing the front seam. However, we definitely appreciate how the rear detail accentuates the muscular curve of the glutes in a squat.
The Butterlift offers less compression than most leggings. While they may not be ideal for running or other high-impact workouts, we like that they have just enough support without impacting freedom of movement or comfort across activities. We wore them for long days in the car and for working at home; the fit was never a distraction. When we work out, it still provides even, but not too firm, pressure down the legs. Another perk: it is one of our top scorers in waistband security.
You may have heard the hype around leggings that “disappear on your body.” We test waistband security, and we appreciate how the Butterlift offers medium compression but is less distracting around the waist than extra-tight or suctiony leggings with excessive seams or internal draw cords. We experience understated support in the Butterlift's waistband because it stays in close contact with our abs, accommodates deep breaths, and moves with our body through twists and folds. We score all the waistbands on a scale of one to five, 5 being locked in and comfortable. We dock points for sagging over time, gaping, or pinching. This one scores a 5-plus because it embodies that “second skin” feel, and we never found it distracting.
Though they're not the most compressive, this makes the Butterlift leggings more adaptable, easier to incorporate into our daily wardrobe, and they still work for general training. The fabric stayed close to our bodies, and we felt an unrestrictive squeeze in our thighs and calves when we tested them in squats and kettlebell lifts. We did notice that our muscles jiggled more in burpees and mountain climbers. In jumping jacks, our thighs had a little bounce, and we didn't feel they were held as firmly as highly compressive training tights. You might want a more compressive option for HIIT.
The Butterlift leggings have a lightweight feel and high air permeability, but the brushed fabric takes longer to dry if you sweat in them. While they aren't the most breathable or wicking in our lineup, they don't suffocate us in heated studios either.
The Butterlift is slightly thicker than the other yoga leggings we tested, and the ultra-fine brushing does take longer to dry than leggings with ultra-wicking performance fabrics. However, the moisture spreads evenly through the material instead of collecting in one area. We tested the permeability of the material with a peak flow meter and measured a high score for airflow. The permeable fabric allowed our lead tester to cool off quickly in the shade on hikes in the mid-80s in the Utah desert. However, they still wouldn't be our first choice for a hot yoga class.
The Butterlift leggings rate high in this metric because they held up well in our laundry tests and have top-notch elastic recovery. With many ultra-budget products, the phrase “you get what you pay for” holds true, yet we were pleasantly surprised that this budget legging breaks the mold here. We think you'll get a lot more life out of this legging than what you pay for.
After over twenty wash and dry cycles, they retained their shape. Waistbands are often the first areas to lose elasticity in other leggings, leading them to gape over time or even sag during a class. This one stayed snugly encircling our abs and lower back. After laundering, we only noticed slight surface-level pilling around the seams of the inner thighs. Brushed materials often pill faster than slick performance blends, but the ultra-fine brushing on the Butterlift strikes a balance we rarely see between softness and pilling resistance.
One of our favorite qualities is how the Butterlift has enormous stretch, but still keeps a consistent body-hugging fit. That stretch allowed our tester to go into deep poses like a lunge, and the material immediately bounced back into place when she stood back up. When we pinch and lift the fabric to test recovery, it snaps immediately back on our skin.
The material is thick, and the knit is completely squat-proof. We found that as long as we weren't wearing chunky underwear, it hides visible panty lines.
The Butterlift is the most versatile budget legging in our lineup. We grab them from the top of our drawer for a yoga class, a day hike in cool weather, a training session at the gym, or even a day window shopping in the city. They don't give us firm compression, so we dock points for this metric on days we have a HIIT session planned.
| CRZ Yoga Butterlift Origin | |
|---|---|
| Daily Wear/Lounging | |
| Running/HIIT Workouts | |
| Yoga/Pilates | |
| Outdoor (hiking, climbing, skiing) |
The Butterlift transitions between activities very well. In one day, one tester wore them to the gym for yoga and weightlifting. Later, she did a trail run in Rocky Mountain National Park and then worked from her computer at Kind Coffee in Estes Park. She finds they are incredibly comfortable for travel and has worn them on full drive days between the Colorado Rockies and Utah canyon country. The brushed fabric is still fairly breathable, so we can wear them in heated studios, though they're not our first choice. We were also comfortable in most weather, except they did feel cloying in full summer heat in Utah. One downside is that they really didn't give us the tummy-sucking core support or thigh stabilization that we want when we tested them in a circuit with burpees and jump squats.
The Butterlift comes with options we like. One of our testers tried the no-pockets model, which has a completely smooth outer leg. These look more like casual leggings and have that svelte profile that some women prefer. Another tester tried the model with two side pockets. The pockets seat a large smartphone securely. Since they are so affordable, a nice perk is that you can buy different colors for athletic and casual wear. We appreciate that they come in over a dozen colors, including marbled patterns.
Whoopee… we love to stretch, and we do love a bargain. We love wearing the Butterlift for mobility exercises, gym training, and daily wear. We know how hard it is to find a legging under fifty bucks. Our testers are excited to find a legging this comfy, stretchy, and flattering for closer to thirty. They are about the same price as the yoga classes we enjoy wearing them for! We are concerned that the stretchy material could snag on rocky scrambles or bushwhacking, so we wouldn't take them off trail. And if you like tummy tucking or firm compression, they won't give you a squeeze-er-in for HIIT. These will serve you well if you just want a super inexpensive and well-rounded legging.
