We Put Sheertex’s ‘Indestructible’ Tights to the Test—Here’s What Happened

Tights may be a cold-weather staple, but they have a notoriously bad rep for being too flimsy, too sheer, and essentially destined for disposal. RIP is the name is of the game—and anything with an edge (stiletto nails, jewelry, your own eyes) is likely to pose a threat to their existence. 

Enter Sheertex, a direct-to-consumer hosiery brand founded in 2017 by Katherine Homuth, who recognized that “tights were trash” and sought to create the toughest pantyhose on the market. Two years later the company introduced its Sheertex Knit Technology—a proprietary polymer that’s supposedly 10 times stronger than steel—and we’ve been intrigued by the material’s performance and durability ever since its O.G. pair of black tights crossed our feeds with a giant pineapple jammed inside the legs. (Yes, you read that correctly.)  

For context (and proof of concept), the Canadian-based company set up a testing lab to experiment with the innovative fabric under extreme situations: Think playing with frisky dogs, scraping Sheertex tights against prickly cacti, and pulling at the fabric with acrylic coffin nails.

The Sheertex collection is vast, featuring everything from black tights of various opacity to knee-high options and colorful printed ankle styles. Prices range from $15 for a pair of crew socks to $119 for its nude shapewear, available in sizes XS to 3XL. Of course, when there are such steep price tags attached, we had to feel for ourselves how next-level the fabric really was, which is why we tried five different styles to see how they held up. Read on for our honest Sheertex tights review, below. 

Deanna Pai, acting commerce editor

First impressions? Wow, these are heavy! Duty! Tights! I’ve been working with the same pair of Wolfords for the past 10 years, so I’m used to my tights being delicate and having to treat them with the metaphorical kid gloves. While I found my Sheertex style a little stiff coming out of the package and when pulling them on, they eventually felt like an especially sturdy pair of tights once I wore them for a bit.

How often do you wear tights, and do they snag easily? I wear tights a lot in the fall and winter, since I just can’t achieve my witchy vibe in pants. It’s not that they snag easily so much as that I tend to wear through the toes of everything, be they running socks, wool socks, or, yes, tights. Maybe it’s because I don’t really walk. I stomp.