Athleta Salutation Stash Pocket II Review (2026): The

Why you should trust this review

I have been writing about activewear for six years and have logged real time in every major Athleta legging line. For this review I bought one pair of the Salutation Stash Pocket II 7/8 Tight myself, at retail, in Black, size Medium. Athleta did not provide a sample and was not contacted before publication. I mention that because pocket leggings are a crowded, hype-heavy category, and I wanted my notes to come from a pair I paid for and actually relied on.

And I did rely on it. This became my default legging for travel days, school pickups, and any workout where I needed to carry something. Over five months I put it through roughly 30 wash cycles on cold with low tumble drying, and I wore it for everything from yoga to a four-day walking trip in Lisbon. The observations below are from that single, well-worn pair rather than a quick fitting-room verdict.

How we evaluated

Because pockets are the entire reason this legging exists, I tested them first and hardest. I ran a phone-stay-put check with an iPhone 15 Pro in the side stash pockets across walking, light jogging, sprints, and yoga, watching for bounce and slippage at each intensity. I also loaded the hidden waistband pocket with the small essentials it is meant to carry to see what realistically fit.

Beyond pockets, I ran a squat-proof opacity check under direct studio lighting in both Black and Heather Indigo, and I compared sizing and inseam fit across a 5 foot 7 and a 5 foot 5 frame. I tracked durability across 30 tumble-dried washes, looking specifically for pilling and color loss. Finally I wore it back to back against the Lululemon Align, the Old Navy PowerSoft 7-Pocket, and the Fabletics Powerhold so the pocket and compression claims had honest reference points.

Pocket function: the reason this legging exists

The two side stash pockets are the headline, and they live up to it. They sit deep enough on the thigh that an iPhone 15 Pro lies almost flush against the leg, and during a 90-minute walk in Lisbon I genuinely forgot it was there. No flapping, no sliding toward the knee, no constant hand check. That is the test most pocket leggings fail, and this one passes it for everyday movement.

The hidden waistband pocket handles the small stuff well: a credit card, a hotel key, and a lip balm all fit without creating a lump at the front. Between the three pockets I could leave the house for a walk or a travel day without carrying anything in my hands, which is exactly the problem I bought it to solve.

There are honest limits. During sprints and burpees the phone does bounce in the side pockets, so for high-impact work I moved it to the waistband pocket instead. And a phone in the side pocket is visible as a flat outline through the fabric, which does not bother me but is worth knowing. Compared with the Old Navy PowerSoft 7-Pocket, which has more pockets but looser ones that let the phone bounce, the Athleta layout is simply the better-engineered solution even with fewer compartments.

Comfort and compression: firmer than you expect

Powervita is a 75 percent recycled nylon and 25 percent Lycra elastane blend, and the hand feel sits closer to the Lululemon Wunder Train than the Align. It is smooth, but there is noticeable hold built in. If you are coming straight from Aligns and expecting that weightless, barely-there feel, this will read as tight on the first wear.

That medium compression took me two or three wears to settle into, after which it stopped feeling restrictive and started feeling supportive. It is the kind of hold that carries through a full day on your feet without bagging out at the knee, which is a large part of why it became my travel default. For long days, hikes, and errands, that structure is a feature.

For slow, restorative yoga, though, it is a genuine trade-off. The Align’s softer, lighter feel is better suited to that kind of movement, and some people will simply prefer it for lounging. The Salutation asks you to give up a little softness in exchange for hold and pockets, and whether that is a good deal depends entirely on how you move.

Squat-proof opacity and fit: dependable in the dark colors

In both Black and Heather Indigo, the Salutation passed my forward-fold opacity test under direct studio lighting at the start of the review and again at month five. The high 10-inch rise stayed put through forward folds and chair pose without rolling down, which is the failure I watch for most on high-rise leggings. As always, I can only speak to the colors I tested, and lighter shades are typically the riskier opacity bet across every brand.

On fit, the Salutation runs true to size in the waist and thigh. The 27-inch 7/8 inseam hit clean at the ankle on a 5 foot 7 frame and bunched slightly on a 5 foot 5 frame. Athleta’s sizing from XXS to 3X has been consistent across the line in my experience, which is not always the case at competitor brands. If you fall between sizes, the firmer compression makes sizing up the safer call.

Durability: holding up but pilling sooner than Align

After 30 washes my pair shows light pilling on the inner thigh. That is sooner than the Align’s typical month-five pilling, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. The Powervita fabric trades a little of that smoothness over time. The flip side is that it withstands tumble drying on low, which the Align does not tolerate well.

That detail matters more than it sounds. Most people use a dryer, and once you factor real laundry habits in rather than ideal hang-drying, the durability gap between the two narrows considerably. My pair has held its compression, color, and pocket structure across five months, and the pilling is cosmetic rather than functional.

Who should buy the Salutation Stash Pocket II?

This is a versatile, problem-solving legging, and it fits a clear kind of buyer.

• Buy it if you want to carry your phone, keys, and a card without a fanny pack or holding anything in your hand.
• Buy it if your active life is mixed across yoga, walking, hiking, and travel rather than one single activity.
• Buy it if you value consistent inclusive sizing, with the range running from XXS to 3X.
• Buy it if you are willing to trade a little softness for medium compression and full-day hold.
• Skip it if you only want a pure yoga legging, because the Align is softer for slow movement.
• Skip it if you dislike firmer compression for casual lounging.
• Skip it if brand resale value matters more to you than the pocket layout and lower outlay.

The verdict

For most active women in 2026, the Salutation Stash Pocket II is an easy recommendation. It solves a real and persistent problem, the side pockets actually hold a phone for everyday movement, the Powervita fabric is durable enough to dryer-proof, and it comes in below the Lululemon flagship. The firmer-than-expected compression and the slightly earlier pilling are the honest costs, and the Align remains the softer choice if yoga is 90 percent of your active life. But for everyone whose week is a mix of classes, walks, hikes, and travel, this is the legging I would buy first. It is the pair that finally let me stop running with my phone in one hand, and that alone has kept it in heavy rotation.