Sports bra rec?

[marinarusalka]

Has anyone here tried out the Enell Sports Bra 100? My ancient Champion bra isn't doing it for me anymore, so I'm looking for a replacement. I'm a 44DD, and I want something with good hold and no back closure, and easy to put on. Aside from Enell, does anyone have any other recommendations?

Comments

[florahart]

I am only slightly less chesty than this, and I have never never ever found a sports bra that I find adequate that doesn't cost $65+ (I have looked. I have been doing gym activities that involve bouncing off and on mostly on for...how old am I? 25 years and change). Since I plan to sweat in it, and since $65 is a lot of money to me especially when you consider I would need to buy several if I wanted to use it several times a week, that's unacceptable to me.

My strategy, instead, is to use worn-out ordinary bras (that is, since I don't do underwire because ow, and don't do lace because yeesh, I have bras that are no longer great for normal use, but are basically cotton but structured to be fundamentally supportive but not compressive) and supplement them with ordinary/cheap pull-over-the head stretchy-cotton bras that I put on over them. In combination there is generally enough support and enough compression that while my chest will still bounce, it won't hurt while it does so.

If you're looking at Enell and thinking $64 is okay (heh, I just pulled 65 out of my ass as an example a minute ago, and yet, look, that's pretty much exactly what they cost), then this might not be the solution for you, but I just can't like that girls of lesser boobage can buy three entire cute exercise outfits for the price of one of my bras, so I put it out there.

[lightgetsin]

Yes, and it is wooonderful. Though if you size it right, not always the easiest to put on. But by far the best sports bra I have ever tried, and I will not run in anything else.

However, do try to size in person, if you can. I am a 32-G, which is not actually on their scale, but a 0 is perfect for me. So you've just got to try until you get the right one.

[lightgetsin]

fyi, my last enell was useful for a year. A year! That's longer than my non-running bras go before stretching out of shape. It was way gross with unlaunderable sweat far before it had worn out. Totally worth every penny, imho.

[marinarusalka]

Yeah, the cost does get kind of ridiculous, doesn't it? But I'm tired of messing around with multiple bras at 6:00 in the morning, so I'm willing to make a once-a-year investment.

[marinarusalka]

I wish I could try it on in person, but sporting goods stores never carry anything close to my size. It's very tiresome. I think I'm a size 5 on their chart, so I might just have to risk it and do an exchange if it doesn't fit.

[lightgetsin]

P.s. I just replaced one, and it reminded me. Optimal fit was way tighter than I expected. I remember putting it on for the first time -- I put my arms through, started to pull it closed, and thought no friggin way. But once I hooked that first bottom hook, it all worked. And now I can do it really quickly. But yeah. Initially totally convinced that sucker was not going on.

[marinarusalka]

Does it still feel tight after you put it on and fasten it properly? I don't want to bounce, but I don't want my breathing constricted while I'm running, either.

[lightgetsin]

I worried about that when I first bought it. It feels kind of weird at first, because at least for me, it extends farther down below my breasts than I'm used to, and I was just very aware of it. And putting it on especially at first can be kind of a production. But the friend who pimped it to me (and who is about your measurements, come to think of it) swore it would be fine, and she was right. I've had bras that made me feel slowly oxygen deprived over the course of hours, but this never has even when I'm working really hard. For comparison, I can slip four fingers under the band in the front, but there is definitely no bouncing going on over here. I think it works because the bottom band is very wide, and is not actually compressing you that much. It doesn't have to, because their crazy bra engineering magic built into all that real estate in the back is what's doing the heavy lifting, as it were.

[marinarusalka]

Thank you very much, this is very helpful!