Athleta Salutation Stash II Tight Review (2026): The Pocket

Why you should trust this review

I have covered women’s activewear for years and I own both the original Salutation Stash and this updated II, so I can speak to what actually changed rather than parroting a spec sheet. I bought one pair of the Salutation II at retail in black, in my normal size. Athleta did not provide a sample and there is no arrangement behind this review, which is why I can tell you plainly where the waistband disappoints.

Leggings are a category where short reviews lie, because the issues show up over time and through the wash. I put this pair through roughly 26 cold wash cycles, line-dried each time, and tracked how the fabric, pockets, and waistband behaved at the one, three, and five month marks. A legging that feels great out of the bag and pills after a month is not a recommendation, and the only way to know is to actually wear it that long.

How we evaluated

I wore the Salutation II three times a week for five months across the situations it is actually built for: yoga, walking, errands, and studio classes. That mix matters because pockets behave differently when you are folding forward than when you are walking to the car, and I wanted both.

For the pockets specifically, I tested with a current iPhone and a Pixel, both with cases, across walking and light running to see whether a phone stays put or bounces out. I checked squat-proof opacity in black under direct studio lighting at month one and again at month five. I logged waistband behavior at the 30, 60, 90, and 120 minute marks of continuous wear to pin down exactly when the roll starts. And I compared it directly against the Align, the Alo Airbrush, and a cheaper Old Navy pocket legging to place it honestly in the field.

Pocket utility: the headline feature

The two side pockets are the entire reason to buy this pant, and they deliver. Each one fits an iPhone or a Pixel with a case on, and the phone stays flat against the thigh through walking and light running rather than flopping around. The pockets are deep enough that a phone does not lift out during ordinary bending, which is the failure mode that makes most legging pockets useless.

In deep yoga folds the phone does shift inside the pocket, but in my testing it never fell out, which is the bar that matters. There is also a third hidden waistband pocket that holds a key or a card. No other legging at the Align price point in this category gives you this pocket count, and if you carry a phone during workouts or walks, that is the whole decision right there.

Powervita fabric: a real upgrade

Athleta’s Powervita reads noticeably softer than the fabric on the original Salutation, and just as importantly it pills less under wear. After my 26 wash cycles the fabric had not thinned at the seat or knee and showed no visible pilling, which is a strong durability signal for a legging in this range.

The honest trade-off is weight. Powervita still reads heavier than Lululemon’s Nulu, and that is not an accident: the extra structure is what lets the fabric hold two loaded pockets without distorting or sagging at the thigh. If your absolute priority is the lightest, softest possible hand, the Align still wins that specific contest. If you want softness plus structure that does a job, the Salutation II is the better balance.

Waistband and opacity: the one real flaw

The 10-inch high rise sits at the natural waist and holds through deep folds, which is what you want. The complaint, and it is the reason this pant lands a half-rating below the Align, is a slight roll at the front of the waistband after about 90 minutes of continuous wear, more pronounced in deeper folds. For a walk or a shorter session you will not notice it. For a long studio class you might. The Align does not do this, and that is the gap.

On opacity, the black colorway passed the forward-fold test under direct studio lighting at both month one and month five, so the fabric is not thinning into see-through territory with use. I only tested black this round, so I would steer you toward darker colorways for studio wear, since lighter colors across this whole category tend to be the uncertain ones.

Sizing and durability

The sizing range is a genuine win. Athleta offers XXS through 3X across the Salutation II, which is broader than the Align’s range. For anyone who falls outside Lululemon’s sizing, this is the first credible option at this price with comparable fabric quality, and that is not a small thing in a category that often stops short.

On durability, after 26 washes and five months of three-times-weekly wear, the Powervita shows no pilling, no color loss, and consistent compression. The pocket stitching has not stressed and the elastic at the pocket openings still snaps back flat, which is exactly where I expected wear to show first. This pair is on track for a full year of regular use without complaint.

Who should buy the Athleta Salutation Stash II?

Buy it if you carry a phone during workouts or walks and want real pockets in a yoga-style legging, if you want that at the Align price point, if you wear a size outside the Lululemon range, or if you prefer slightly more structured fabric over the airy Nulu feel. For a pocket-first buyer, nothing else at this tier competes.

Skip it if you prioritize pure softness above everything, in which case the Align is the pick, if any waistband roll under long wear would bother you, or if you specifically need a longer inseam, since this one runs a touch shorter than the 28-inch standard some shoppers expect.

The verdict

The Salutation II is the pocket pick at the Align price tier and the only mass-market legging I have found that delivers two genuinely phone-ready side pockets without crossing into bulky training-pant territory. The Powervita fabric is a real step up from the original, the sizing range is more inclusive than the obvious competitor, and the durability held through five months and over two dozen washes. The single honest knock is the slight waistband roll after long wear, which is why it sits just below the Align overall. If you want maximum softness, buy the Align. If you want to carry your phone and keep most of the comfort, the Salutation II is the smarter buy.