I built my own leggings on Amazon for $44 and found that they're more versatile than other athleisure brands' yoga pants

• Amazon's own activewear brand, Core 10, sells leggings that have customizable waistbands, lengths, styles, and colors. 
• I bought a pair of the Core 10 black high-waisted yoga pants for $44.
• My favorite part about the yoga pants is that the back pocket fits my iPhone 11 Pro or a cardholder, which makes them great for running errands.
• After wearing the leggings to walk my dog, around the house, and on a 14-mile bike ride, I found that they're comfortable for everyday wear and are great at wicking moisture.
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At first, I was skeptical about the "build your own" leggings concept and expected a difficult journey that involved spending a lot of time taking measurements.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that building my own pair of Core 10 yoga pants on Amazon's website only involved three steps.

First, customers can choose between one of three legging style options: a cross waist, high waist, or medium waist.

The next step is picking the length — there's regular, short, or tall. Then, customers can pick a color: black or gray. 

I examined the size guide and took into account the leggings' stretchy fabric.

Amazon states on the website that its Core 10 leggings fit true to size. 

Normally, I fall between a size 14 and 16, so I decided to order an XL just to be safe, but I wish I would have gone with the large instead.

I didn't look closely enough to realize that the leggings are made with 12% spandex, which means they have a lot of stretch. 

Looking back, the XL leggings ended up fitting well, but if I would have gone down just one size, they would have been perfect. 

After deciding on the XL size, I looked at what fit type I wanted to get.

The pictures on the website showed what each waist style looked like on the model. This helped me eliminate the medium waist option because it appeared to be low-cut, which isn't my personal favorite style.

Ultimately, I decided to try the high-waisted leggings, since I figured they would be a snug fit and the most comfortable option.

Since I know that I'm a regular in length, I stuck to that and opted for the black color. 

I added the black high-waisted leggings to my cart, which were $44 when I bought them.

The Core 10 "build your own" leggings range from $10 to $45, which depends on size and style customizations.

Since I purchased the yoga pants, the price of the pair with the same customization options I chose dropped to around $27.

The next day, the leggings arrived in a reusable plastic pouch with other Amazon purchases I had made.

When I ordered the leggings, I also picked up a Hanes bra, so they both arrived in the same package.

As someone who appreciates when brands use as little packaging as possible, I was happy to see that the leggings came in their own reusable pouch and that all of my Amazon items shipped in the same box.

My first impression was that the leggings were stretchy and ultra-thick.

When I noticed how thick the legging fabric was, I started to have doubts because it's summer, and wearing something so heavy isn't always the most comfortable.

However, the thick fabric is great for colder months, and it ensures that the leggings aren't see-through, which is a huge plus.

The moment I put on the leggings, I knew I was going to love them.

The high-waisted style was the perfect fit for me because they land above my belly button, which is something that I look for in my leggings.

I found that the pants smooth out my waist and accentuate my hourglass figure, which is also a look that I like. 

The leggings were so snug against my legs and a bit too loose at the waist, which is why I wish I would have ordered a size down. 

The best design feature has to be the back pocket, which is big enough to fit my iPhone 11 Pro.

I have to be honest — I'm a sucker for a sneaky pocket on anything that I wear.

If I'm not carrying a handbag and don't have pockets, I will put things in my bra or sometimes even my underwear, so the Core 10 leggings' pocket was instantly a plus for me.

I tested out the pocket and was thrilled to find that it fits my Chanel cardholder, as well as the cards on their own.

From the outside, it doesn't look like the pocket is that spacious, but it's pretty wide, so I was also able to use it for my iPhone 11 Pro when I didn't have my cardholder in there.

Thanks to the hidden storage feature, these are now my go-to leggings when I'm taking my dog on a walk. 

I decided to put the leggings to the ultimate test by wearing them on a 14-mile bike ride.

Wearing the full-length leggings on this particularly hot day was not the most comfortable, but it showed me how the garment held up, even in extreme conditions.

Thanks to the moisture-wicking fabric, I didn't feel the sweat that pooled up around my body. However, the thickness of the leggings definitely made me feel the heat even more.

At the end of my bike ride, I was expecting to struggle to remove the yoga pants because of all the sweat, but they came off smoothly. 

Personally, I wouldn't recommend wearing these on a long bike ride like I did because they have no cushion, but for a less-intense workout, these would be perfect. 

While the leggings are a little too heavy for summer weather, I would buy another pair because I love the look, feel, and back pocket.

My biggest issue with these leggings is that they are too thick to wear on a hot summer day. The fabric also seems to catch lint pretty easily, so I've started to lint-roll them often.

Aside from that, the back pocket, the high waist, and the moisture-wicking effect were my favorite design features.

I've also convinced myself that I need to order the cross-waist pair because that's how much I love these pants. 

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• This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).