Chaffree Pants - A Review

 A couple of weeks ago the lovely folks at Chaffree did a shout out on Twitter for bloggers to review their product, not being one to miss a chance of a freebie I contacted them. I recently wore these for a day instead of my normal M&S.

I have to say, they're pretty comfortable.   I get really hot in the mornings getting ready for work and by the time I get into work I feel like I'm ready to change (gross but true).  The leg seams are really comfortable and "moved with my body" instead of rubbing against those poor sensitive areas, and the material is very soft.  I will be interested to see how the fabric feels when it has been washed.

I wanted to show you how they looked under my work trousers but I didn't have a willing volunteer to take the photo and there really was nothing to see, so instead you've got a photo of my backside in leggings which my daughter took before I took the dog for a walk.   She did say my bum looked great (I'll take a compliment from anyone) and "she who is always going on about my VPL" was surprised there was none!

The women's products come in two designs - knickerboxers and briefs and there are lots of choices of leg length, waist height and colour and a good range of sizes.   The mens boxer shorts come in a good range of sizes and colours, and two leg lengths.   The great thing is the more pairs you buy the better the discount.

I want to try this when I go to my exercise class next, that will definitely test the wicking, I'll come back and add a post exercise review next week!

These pants actually do exactly what they say on the packet - all in all a great product which I would be happy to recommend,  If you click on to the Chaffree website and sign up for a newsletter you get a little discount code too - now where's my credit card ?


UPDATE

I can confirm that the pants went through an uneventful wash cycle and came out the other end feeling the same as when I took them out of the packet, and they dry very quickly too which is a bonus!  I can also confirm my original white pair went through an accidental "boil wash" with hubby's work shirts and survived!

I wore my Chaffrees under my exercise leggings at Boxercise on Tuesday.   Not only did my leggings not make their usual descent southwards at any time during the hour's class, I also didn't feel the need to change straight after the class had finished - it's always a sweatfest at Boxercise.  In fact I completely forgot I had them on until I got changed at home!     

I love these soooo much I've bought another 3 pairs - black, "Truffle" and "Blossom".   These are perfect for me for work and exercising in.   I can save my matching sets and "feeling sexy" undies for special occasions! 

Wiggle Ashdown Sportive #TeamJordan Ride

Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to do a sportive the first weekend in March?  Well, it certainly wasn't me!!   I can totally blame the OH for the decision.   On the other hand how can I say no to riding 18 miles for no entry fee but a promise to raise £30 each.

Shaun took part in the Wiggle Ashdown Sportive in 2015, I sat in the campervan in the warm, drinking tea and reading my book while he did 50 miles around the Ashdown Forest ..... in the cold.  When he spotted a new addition to the event he was pretty keen for me to join him, and let's face it in the scheme of the mileage I've got planned, 18 miles is a good chance to fit in a training ride away from our usual routes at home.

The #TeamJordan Charity Ride is in aid of the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity.  The air ambulance service was crucial in the survival of a cyclist involved in a freak accident when he was taking part in the Cotswold sportive.   The family of Jordan had set up a charity page to raise funds for the service which currently (at the time of writing) stands at £2,307.

I'd been checking the weather forecast all week - it had been a real mix of weather during the week and the last thing I wanted was a wet ride.  On Friday night the forecast looked like it was going to be very cold and raining at about 10-10.30am - the ride was due to start at 10!   So, big girl pants pulled up, cycling clothing layers ready to go together with a waterproof jacket we were ready to go.   I had so many layers on my top half I could barely breathe!

When we arrived at the South East of England Showground at Ardingly there was quite a lot of cyclists getting ready to head out on the 71 and 53 mile rides, not as many as last year presumably a lot had been put off by the forecast.   It was actually lovely and sunny, but quite cold, at 8.30.  We got changed, headed to registration where we received our free #TeamJordan buff and Powerbar pack and then down on to the start.  We weren't supposed to start until 10am but luckily we weren't stopped.

The early part of the course was fairly busy with traffic but it wasn't long until we turned off the main road and onto some lovely country roads.  Some were a bit wet from the overnight rain and it was very hilly - far more hilly than I'd been lead to believe - a total elevation of 373 metres (1,223 ft).  It was quite technical too, but if you remember that for every lovely downhill there is going to be a horrible uphill section.  Unfortunately I totally misjudged one uphill and very soon came to a complete standstill, and ended up walking.  There was a well stocked feed station at about 8 miles - I didn't really need to stop apart from having a quick slurp of drink but Shaun wanted to stop for a hot drink and pick up his free gel and a piece of flapjack.  One thing you can't fault on these sportives is the feed stations!

I really wanted to finish the ride within 2 hours so we pushed on and about a mile from the finish it started to get cold and then it started to spit with rain.   Our unofficial time was 1hr 58, not great but it was within the 2 hours, unlike the official time which added on another 8 minutes!

We collected our medals and free finishers t-shirts plus some other freebies and headed back to Tribby to get changed and more importantly warm.

Inside Tribby waiting for the heater to get going before we got changed

Once we'd got a bit warmer and changed we headed to the catering for a well earned hot coffee and cake - after all a ride wouldn't be the same without!

Back home we collected up all the freebies - quite a haul I reckon!

Very proud of my new medal & t-shirt

bit of a fraud though - cos you get these for riding 71 and 53 miles

All in all a great morning's ride even if it was flipping cold, and it took a long and hot shower and several cups of coffee and tea in the afternoon to get warm again!  

What's next ?  Shaun has decided we're doing the South Downs Spring Sportive again - which was my first sportive in 2014 - it will be interesting to see if/how much I've improved!  I've also signed up for the 68 mile Davina Big Sussex Ride in June.

A massive thank you to those who sponsored us for this ride and for all the well wishes from fantastic family and friends.   If you fancy adding some pennies to the #TeamJordan page feel free to click on the link above.