What makes the best sports bra?
What makes the best sports bra? Have you ever wondered? I am guessing the answer is YES as you are here reading this post. This used to be a matter of opinion until a recent study has found the features that are almost universally present in effective sports bras- the best sports bras. What do I mean by ‘effective’? Well, the primary function of a sports bra is to reduce breast bounce. This can be very accurately measured in specialist bra testing labs, such as those of the University of Portsmouth. The study looked into 10 features of sports bras and assessed 98 different style bras to see which features were consistently present in bras that provided the maximum bounce reduction. The features looked at were Bras style (compression, encapsulation or hybrid) Presence of an underwire Shoulder strap adjustability Shoulder strap configuration (straight, crossover or racerback) Principle fibre content (nylon or polyester) Underband adjustability Cup padding or moulding Underband closure type Underband closure location Neck drop (high, medium or low) The ladies doing the testing were either 34B or 34D sized, supposedly to represent ‘smaller’ and ‘larger’ cup sizes. Personally I think they missed a trick here- a lot of bras for bigger busts do not come in a 34D- Sculptresse by Panache starts at 34E, Elomi Energise at 34G, BXM Limitless at 34E. The study missed testing some bras which have been seriously engineered for support. Check out our bigger bust sports bra collection. The bounce reduction for each sports bra was recorded (bare breasted running breast movement is compared to breast movement with each test bra). So each bra had a x% bounce reduction value. These values were then put into 3 equal sized groups. The group of bras providing least bounce reduction (<54%) was classified as low support. The middle group (54-63% reduction) = medium support. The group of bras providing most bounce reduction (>63% reduction) were classed as high support bras, the best sports bras. View our sports bra high impact collection here. is an online bra fitting for you? The formula for the best sports bra is… The study used some pretty mind bending statistical analysis to come up with some features that positively impacted bounce reduction. Drum rollllll, these were: Encapsulation style. The number one feature contributing to bounce reduction was the bra style with encapsulation and hybrid both beating compression hands down. Beyond that, features that contributed but to a lesser extent were: Adjustable underband Higher neckline, limiting vertical movement of breasts Padded or moulded cups (often found in encapsulation styles) Nylon as the predominant fibre type That is not to say that is a sports bra does not tick all these features it is no good. For example the Enell Sport is pretty much universally acknowledged as the best sports bra in terms of support for larger breasted ladies; BUT it was not tested here as it does not come in a size that would work for a 34B. It is compression style, non adjustable back and non-padded 🤨 However as a general guide these are definitely features to be looking out for. Lingerie companies are certainly incorporating these features in their sports bra designs. Check out the new design from Freya- the High Octane! The adjustable underband will contribute to correct fit and the encapsulation style is generally only found in bras that are cup size specific.