Difference between Tights and Pantyhose
Pantyhose are body garments worn from the waist down to the feet and is used by both men and women. It is usually tight and fitting to the body hence can also be called tights. Pantyhose are made of nylon and spandex which explains their elasticity and their name comes about from the fact that they combine pants together with socks, stockings and tights, better known as hosiery. The advantage with the pantyhose is that when you use then it can serve as both underwear and socks so no need to wear socks or underwear again.
Tights are also garments worn from the waist down to the feet and made of cotton or nylon. Hence any close fitting covering from your waist to feet is just a tight. So the difference between tights and pantyhose could be very minimal. Pantyhose are just modifications to the tights and the difference between the two would be on the materials used to manufacture each. Pantyhose are much lighter than tights since tights are made from heavier denier than the pantyhose.
Tights are mostly used by acrobats, athletes, dancers and wrestlers whereas pantyhose are best worn by women to serve as pants and covering for the legs when they wear miniskirts or during formal functions, although there are pantyhose for men. Tights worn by athletes tend to be made in such a way they don’t reach down the foot hence are feetless. Since pantyhose are much lighter, tights would be good for cold weather to provide warmth to the feet. Young children can also wear tights but not pantyhose because women sometimes use pantyhose to hide defects on the feet. Men would mostly wear pantyhose for medical purposes or under the wetsuits during scuba diving to minimize the cold from the water to their bodies.