Freejump Soft'Up Pro Stirrups Review: Are They Worth $599?

Six hundred dollars for a pair of stirrups sounds ridiculous. I know, because I said exactly that to a friend at an Ag show two years ago, standing at a trade stall with a pair of Freejump Soft'Up Pro Plus in my hand. Then I rode in them for a season, and now they're the first thing I tell jumping riders to spend money on after a decent helmet. If your knees or ankles complain after a full day of classes, the Soft'Up Pro is the piece of gear that quietly fixes that. It's not magic. It's a single-branch stirrup that absorbs the shock your joints used to absorb.

Reviewed in this article

Freejump Soft'Up Pro Plus Stirrups

12 colourways · flexible Elastollan outer branch · single-branch shock absorption

from $599 AUD

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Freejump is the French brand that built its reputation on safety stirrups, and the Soft'Up range is still its core line: the Pro Plus for adults, the Classic+ with its straight eye, and the Lite built for kids and smaller feet. At iRide EQ we stock the full Freejump stirrup range, so this review is written from the middle of it: what each model actually does on a horse, what they cost in Australia, and who each one genuinely suits.

The French brand that turned stirrups into safety gear

Here's the thing about Freejump: they didn't invent the stirrup, they just refused to accept that a bent piece of metal was the final word on it. The French brand approached stirrups the way ski brands approached bindings, which is to say they asked what happens to your foot when everything goes wrong, then worked backwards from there.

The answer they landed on is the flexible outer branch. On a traditional stirrup, the outer branch is rigid steel, and in a fall your boot can hang up on it, which is how riders get dragged. Freejump's outer branch is made from Elastollan, a flexible elastomer, and it sits forward of the tread. Under sideways load, it bends away and releases the boot. Under your normal riding weight it holds firm, so the security you feel in the saddle doesn't change.

That single idea carried the brand into the upper levels of show jumping, and it's why you now see Soft'Up stirrups on the feet of riders who would never have considered a "plastic" stirrup a decade ago. If you want the full story of the range and where Freejump sits in the market, our complete Freejump brand guide covers it, or browse every model we carry in stirrups and leathers.

The Soft'Up range at a glance

Stirrup	Price (AUD)	Best for	Eye
Soft'Up Pro Plus	$599–$739	Adult riders, jumping and all-round work	Straight
Soft'Up Classic+	$589	Adults up to EU 43 boot size	Straight
Soft'Up Lite	$390	Kids and smaller riders	45° angled
AirS Full Black	$435	Riders wanting the angled-eye option	Straight or angled
Air Pure	$575	Minimalist tread, experienced riders	Angled

All prices are current at iRide EQ and all five models are stocked locally, so there's no waiting on a European courier. If you're torn between models, the sections below should settle it. And if you already own a pair and just need the leathers to match, browse stirrups and leathers here, including Freejump's own 4x6 leathers.

What the flexible branch actually does for your leg

Let's separate the two jobs a safety stirrup does, because people mix them up. Job one is the release: getting your foot out in a fall. That's the Elastollan branch, and it works. Job two is the one nobody expects: shock absorption. Because the Pro Plus is built on a single branch rather than two rigid sides, the whole structure flexes under load. Land off a big stride, and the stirrup eats a chunk of the impact before it travels up your ankle, knee and hip.

The Pro Plus adds Freejump's shock absorption technology on top of that single-branch frame, with a wide, non-skid elastomer tread and an ABS shell holding it all together. In practice the tread is the part you feel most. It's wide enough that your foot doesn't spend the round making micro-corrections, and the grip is real: even soaked by a Brisbane afternoon storm, my boot stayed where I put it.

Is it a replacement for good position? No. Nothing is. But riders with cranky knees report the difference within a month, and I've stopped being surprised when someone tells me they sold their horse float before they'd sell these stirrups. If you're rebuilding your position from the ground up, our show jumping position guide pairs well with a stability-focussed stirrup like this one.

Soft'Up Pro Plus vs Classic+ vs Lite: matching the stirrup to your foot

This is where most buying decisions actually get made, so let's be blunt about it.

The Pro Plus is the flagship and the one I'd point most adult riders at. Twelve colourways from straight black to pearl navy and pearl red, priced $599 to $739 depending on the finish. If you jump, or you ride a range of horses with different strides, the single-branch shock absorption earns its keep.

The Classic+ at $589 is not a lesser stirrup, it's a different fit. Freejump designed it around a straight eye and suits boot sizes up to EU 43. If you're between the two, let your boot size decide rather than the price tag. The five finishes, including Pearl Copper and Pearl Navy, are genuinely pretty in the flesh.

The Lite is the one parents ask about, and at $390 it's the entry point to the range. It's engineered specifically for children and smaller riders, with a 45° angled eye that helps a shorter leg find the tread naturally. Don't buy it for a tall teen, though. Look at the Pro range instead.

Then there's the AirS at $435, which is the sleeper of the lineup: a lightweight frame offered in both straight and angled-eye versions, with the angled option suiting riders whose stirrup leather naturally sits forward of the girth line. I've seen dressage riders drift to the AirS angled purely for that reason. The Air Pure at $575 is the minimalist of the range, a narrower proposition for riders who know exactly where their foot lives. Both are stocked at iRide EQ, alongside our full range of stirrups.

Living with them: leathers, colourways and the fakes to avoid

A few practical notes from a season of ownership. First, pair them with proper stirrup leathers. A $600 stirrup on a stretched, cheap leather is half a solution, and Freejump's own 4x6 leathers are the match most riders go for. Second, the colourways: the pearl finishes photograph beautifully and wear surprisingly well, but if your stirrups live in a dusty float, straight black hides the daily grime better. Third, boots matter. The tread is designed around a proper riding boot, so if you're still schooling in bulky footwear, this is the excuse to fix that, and our riding boots range is a good place to start.

One warning worth making loud: buy the real thing. Freejump's popularity has produced a flood of lookalike stirrups with copied styling and none of the engineering. A genuine pair comes through authorised stockists, and the Elastollan branch is the giveaway in person: press it hard sideways and it gives. If a listing can't tell you what the branch is made of, walk away. Your ankle is not the place to save $200.

And while we're on safety: the stirrup is one piece of the system. If you're jumping at home without eyes on the ground, an airbag vest is the other half of the conversation, and our Freejump X'Air Safe review covers the vest question in detail.

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