Mediven Elegance Compression Review

I must admit I was very keen to try Mediven Elegance.  They have quite a following and they make some fabulous "Trend Colours".  I haven't seen such a variety in any other make, with the exception of the colours and batik prints that Juzo offer.  

 I really miss wearing my coloured tights as this was my old tights drawer pre-diagnosis - almost Marie Kondo but not quite :)

NHS prescriptions generally come in black or beige, with very few other colour options.  If I want the exciting Mediven colours I'll need to pay privately I think but I'm happy to treat myself as I think two pairs of tights doesn't work well for me for six months. 

These tights are in the shade called Beige.  It is a little dark for my skin tone.  Not horribly so but if I had them again I would see if the NHS prescribe the paler shade to be more discrete.  The word Medi is in pink on the sole of each foot and you can just see it in the photo.  

The change between the panty and the leg section is quite comfortable in wear.   They are moderately firm to get into and do wrinkle a little behind the knees if you sit around all day, but the knee crease is fairly soft. They feel quite a decent strong elastic inside so you can pull them up and pull them around by sliding your hand inside them and pushing against the surface then sliding your hand up or down to ease out a crease if you don't have gloves with you.    

I recommend that you ensure you give them a good smooth out with gloves after putting them on as I find it easy to get small folds that I don't feel, eg hiding behind my ankle.  

Personally I like a compressive panty section.  These tights have some panty compression but I prefer to wear undershorts with them for exercise or busy days as it is distinctly less compressive than the main leg section.  

They have a prominent pattern on the panty section, consisting of lines forming almost Ws.  It looks OK, but I don't personally feel it improves the look.  

Disconcertingly the tights have a deliberate opening in the waistband, which you can just see as a raised area by the centre seam (the label is not in the centre back but sits on your right hip).  That isn't an error but is to allow you to insert extra elastic if needed (I emailed Medi to report the error so I think they should say that in the pack!).  I personally quite like the stretchy waistband, it is very comfortable and so nice not to have a length of elastic turning around against the skin!

They have quite a nice smooth texture but not as soft as the Sigvaris Comfort tights.  They are quite dense in texture but you can still see moles etc up close.  They give your legs a generally even airbrushed textured look.  

I find that personally I would prefer stronger lower leg compression as they are allowing a small "bubble" of fluid to collect on the inside of my lower legs around 1 inch above the ankle and then going up for say 2 inches.  The effect goes away when the tights come off and the fluid does disperse.  You can almost see the edge of it on my left leg where there is a small indentation into my lower leg.  It is very slight and may not occur after the summer heat eases?  I will try them in the autumn and add an update.  

I do feel that my legs ache a bit after a long day sitting or on my feet in these, but again I would need to check in cooler weather to be sure if these tights are OK for me then but just not as good in summer.  

Overall I like their robustness and general comfort but find them less soft and less compressive in the panty area than Sigvaris Comfort so the only way these tights are ahead of Sigvaris is their colour range.  A good "number 2" choice for me, but I can see why they are so popular.  

I wear these in the Class 2 but I think Class 1 are likely to be the same in the areas of my review.