The Best Sweatpants for Men Are the Furthest Thing From Sloppy

Sweatpants were invented about a century ago as athletic gear and have evolved by leaps and bounds in the decades since. Today, the best sweatpants for men are so good, they not only go beyond sports, but they might even transcend fashion. Think about it. They're there in your most vulnerable moments when you're at home being a lazy slob, cozying up to some reality TV and gorging on your guilty pleasure snacks. They're with you in bed when you're dreaming your little dreams. They're even there in your most grimy, sweatiest moments as a gym partner caressing your thighs as you push through your last set on the squat rack. Sweatpants are like a best friend who's there for you through thick, thin, and all the parts in-between.

The Best Sweatpants Shopping Guide

• The Best Sweatpants from the Sweats Specialists: Reigning Champ Midweight Terry Slim Sweatpant, $125
• The Best Budget Sweatpants: Russell Athletic Cotton Rich 2.0 Premium Fleece Sweatpants, $24
• The Best Sweatpants for the Gym: Lululemon ABC Jogger, $128
• The Best Slim-But-Not-Skinny Sweatpants: Todd Snyder x Champion Midweight Slim Jogger Sweatpants, $118
• The Best Heavyweight Sweatpants: Camber Cross Knit Sweatpants, $83
• The Best Old-School Sweatpants: The Real McCoy's Loopwheel Sweatpants, $210
• The Best Sweatpants That Are More Like Pants Pants: Lady White Co. Band Pant, $220
• The Best Designer Sweatpants: John Elliott LA Sweatpants, $198
• The Most Comfortable Sweatpants: Zegna x The Elder Statesman Oasi Cashmere Sweatpants, $2950

Maybe that's a little dramatic for a garment, but there's no denying that sweatpants have come a long way since their athletic beginnings. They've gone from sportswear to loungewear to streetwear to high fashion to pandemic comfort, in turn making it the front runner for a clothing lifetime achievement award. Sweatpants' unparalleled evolution means that there are more variations and more options than ever. And while they're softer than they've ever been, choosing the right pair can be a real headache. If you’re looking to comfy up right, we did the hard work of lazing about in fleece and definitively determined the 17 best sweatpants for men—and everyone—in 2024.

The Best Sweatpants from the Sweats Specialists

The details help to separate Reigning Champ's sweats from the pack: reinforced seams, a gentle taper, and a wide waistband with a thick, sturdy drawstring that sits right on your hips instead of below them. But it's the custom-milled Canadian-made fleece itself—burly and tough on the outside, brushed and soft on the inside, with plenty of gorgeous texture—that really earns them a spot on this list. The only thing gripe we have is that it's hard to choose between all the different variations. From the lightweight iterations to elastic cuffed versions to loose fit iterations with open hems, Reigning Champ's roster of sweatpants is a candy shop of cozy options. The upside? You can't go wrong with any of them.

The Best Budget Sweatpants

At this stage, you might be thinking: OK, GQ, these fancy-pants sweats are all fine and dandy. But what about sweatpants for sweatpants' sake? The kind you spend next to nothing on, wear into the ground, and don't mind occasionally wiping off your Cheeto dust on? These are those sweats. Russell has been in the athleticwear game since the early 1900s, and its standard-fit, open-bottom sweatpants continue to deliver some of the absolute best value in the business. You won't find a better basic sweatpant for under $30.

The Best Sweatpants for the Gym

Lululemon's sweats ain't no slouch (though, they're clearly great for getting nothing done other than watching Netflix and consuming calories). They've got a healthy amount of elastane with four-way stretch for deep squats and advanced yoga poses, fast-drying, moisture-wicking properties to keep you cool through the most heart-pumping workouts, and a comfy and secure media pocket to keep your phone in place through every move. We like the fact that they come in a bunch of different colors, but love that the ABC joggers come in three different lengths.

The Best Slim-But-Not-Skinny Sweatpants

Todd Snyder's longstanding collaboration with Champion is responsible for our favorite crewneck sweatshirt, so it stands to reason that they also make a top-notch sweatpant. For once, an assumption won't make an ass out of you and me—but it will make your ass look mighty damn fine. (Sorry.) Because, of course, the Todd Snyder + Champion line's sweatpants are great, and for many of the same reasons as their upper body counterpart: the fit is tailored and on point, the details are handsome and vintage-inspired—plus the French terry fabric has just the right mix of structure and softness. If you're looking for a simple, classic pair of sweatpants executed flawlessly, these are the way to go.

The Best Heavyweight Sweatpants

Camber's dedication to making the highest-quality, burliest hoodies and crewnecks thankfully extends to sweatpants, too. These are made from the same heavy-duty cotton blend Cross Knit fabric that Camber uses for its legendary hoodies, so you can bet you'll be wearing 'em well into the next decade. But don't expect these to be baby-soft right out of the package: That burly reputation means it'll take several washes and wears to get them to Saturday lounge-ready. They're available in waist sizes up to 6XL as well as regular and tall lengths. However, the regular inseam starts at 32 inches which can be a bit long for some people.

The Best Old-School Sweatpants

The truth is…they don't really make ‘em like they used to. That’s why vintage obsessives rove from estate sale to defunct general store to Goodwill and back again, in search of that decades-old piece of garment history. But thanks to a handful of even more obsessive artisanal brands, there are sweatpants on the market that look effectively identical to a deadstock pair of sweats from the mid-century. The foremost among the repro brands is The Real McCoy's, whose over-the-top meticulousness has earned them legions of fans in search of everything from WWII-era jeans to 1930s horsehide jackets. Their loopwheel sweatpants are knit on rare antique knitting machines which knit at a deliberately slow pace, using the natural force of gravity as the tension for the machine. The result is not only a sublime balance of density and softness, but a smooth, seamless outer leg, just like they used to make way back when.

The Best Sweatpants That Are More Like Pants, TBH

Let's say you love the feel of sweatpants, but just can't bring yourself to wear them out in the open. where all the judgment can get you. There exists a kind of sweatpant for this exact debilitating conundrum, a pair of sweats that has one leg in the Lounge Land and the other in Upstanding Citizen-opolis. Manufacturers have gotten real good at making sweatpants that look a hell of a lot more like regular, everyday, out-of-the-house pants. And the best among them comes from Los Angeles-based brand Lady White Co., whose very particulary, very meticulous approach to clothes is focused solely on knitwear, specifically sweats and jersey. They aren't your average basement brand hawking screen-printed hoodies. From source to sewing, LWC's eagle-eyed design is so good, it's subconsciously obvious, though you may not be able to articulate exactly why.

The Best Capital-D Designer Sweatpants

When they launched in 2013, John Elliott's Escobar pants quickly came to define the athleisure movement, and paved the way for men getting away with wearing what was once workout gear in public without looking lazy. Times have…changed. Where the Escobar was aggressively tapered and overly engineered, the LA is cut roomy and relaxed, with an elastic cinch cord at the waist that doesn't bunch—giving the normally sloppy sweat a cleaner look. Crafted from a dense, proprietary French terry cotton, they'll actually get comfier the more you wear them, which is really saying something since they start out pretty darn cozy as it is.

The Most Comfortable Sweatpants

Unless something goes horribly wrong, like accidentally mixing up steel wool and cotton, it's almost impossible to make a pair of sweats that are uncomfortable. All sweatpants are comfy, and the only conceivable way to make them any more comfortable than they already are is to make them out of cashmere. The Elder Statesman is the undisputed cozy royalty and a master of the cashmere medium which would earn any one of its sweatpants a top spot on our list. But to take it one step further, The Elder Statesman teamed up with Zegna to make the most obscenely luxurious sweatpants the world has ever seen. Using super rare Oasi cashmere which is grown from a 100-square-kilometer plot owned by Zegna, these overindulgent sweatpants are softer than you can imagine. The unique cashmere is knit into a thick, 12-gauge yarn that's then brushed for even more softness. Sure, a Rolex is a nice gift, but not nearly as cozy. And okay, if you can't spring that much for a silly pair of Saturday lounge pants, then you can opt for these $100 cashmere sweatpants from Quince instead and have the peace of mind knowing you saved yourself $2900.

Plus 8 More Sweatpants We Love

A Few Sweatpants-Related FAQs

Glad you asked! The main difference generally boils down to silhouette and fabric. Sweatpants are usually made of heavier-weight knit material like fleece or French terry, and tend to come in a baggy or relaxed fit. Warmer sweatpants will not only use thicker fleece, but will also have a brushed interior to add insulation and a soft hand. (We dig sweatpants made from 100% cotton, but a tiny bit of stretch will go a long way if comfort is a top priority.)

Joggers, on the other hand, are more likely be made of thinner, lightweight materials with a slim fit and tapered leg. That said, many of today's sweatpants feature both a traditionally heavier fleece fabric with a tapered leg, making the distinction between the two increasingly hazy.

Check out our buying guide for the best joggers for men.

As with anything, really, it's important to consider the quality of the fabric, the construction involved, and, most importantly, your personal taste. Some old-school sweats are designed without pockets—you might be wearing yours strictly for chilling, but having a pocket to hold your phone is probably a good idea.

Regardless of how they fit, though, sweatpants are also distinguished by their elastic waistbands—and the best of the bunch should come with a drawstring, too. Eventually, the elasticity of the fabric inside the waistband will deteriorate and lose its stretch, so that drawstring will help extend the life of your sweats.

Ideally, sweatpants should be sewn with flatlock stitching. In this kind of stitching, two pieces of fabric abut each other rather than overlap, and the stitching zig-zags across the two pieces. The result is a smoother, less bulky construction.

Sweatpants come in a variety of fabrics like hoodies and pullover sweatshirts. These fabrics can range in materials, thickness, and weight.

Fleece: If you imagine a Patagonia fleece jacket, you're not far off from what sweatpant fleece is. They're practically the same thing, but on a slightly less chunky scale. Fleece is made by knitting fabric to have the fibers stand up. Those raised fibers are then shorn and brushed to produce a fuzzy texture which is super soft and warm.

French Terry: Similar to fleece, French Terry features a raised yarns which resemble loops—this is the same stuff bath towels are made of. These loops help to absorb moisture which made them great for soaking up sweat during a workout (remember that epic scene from Rocky II?). Additionally, the loops help trap heat and insulate you from the cold. French Terry most often is made from cotton as opposed to fleece which is more commonly made of synthetic materials like polyester. French Terry can come in both brushed and un-brushed forms.

Should sweatpants be slim or baggy? That's up to you, bud! Relaxed-fit sweatpants are certainly more classic, but slimmer sweatpants can feel more streamlined and more apt for working out. Most sweatpants will come with some sort of ankle-hugging hem, whether that's made of elastic or a form-fitting ribbing.