{"id":65289,"date":"2019-07-02T13:35:29","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T20:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=65289"},"modified":"2023-05-18T17:08:34","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T00:08:34","slug":"in-search-of-the-perfect-sports-bra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/in-search-of-the-perfect-sports-bra","title":{"rendered":"In Search of the Perfect Sports Bra"},"content":{"rendered":"

I hiked the <\/span>Pacific Crest Trail<\/span><\/a>\u00a0with one sports bra. Yes, one. For six months. Am I crazy? Probably. But that\u2019s beside the point, which is that I searched for the perfect bra for months, and when I found it, it was all I needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, I didn\u2019t realize finding it was going to be such a problem. When planning a thru-hike, there are an overwhelming number of gear decisions to make: tent, sleep system, backpack, stove, food (<\/span>oh, the food<\/span><\/i>), even eating utensils. It took me nearly a year of research to land on the perfect kit. But the one piece of gear this gearhead didn\u2019t anticipate stressing over? A bra.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hiking

Finding the right sports bra to hike the Pacific Crest Trail was more than the author bargained for. (Photo Courtesy: Ashley Brown)<\/p><\/div>\n

A Brief History of Bras in Sport (aka, the Anti-Sports Bra)<\/b><\/h4>\n

Millennia ago, Greek sportswomen wrapped their breasts with cloth and leather bands, which may have been effective, but seems entirely uncomfortable. In the Dark Ages, women didn\u2019t have to deal with such DIY compression because, well, they weren\u2019t the ones jousting. From there, we moved to corsets, which is to say, we didn\u2019t move at all for the next 500 years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another shift in the evolution of female undergarments came in 1911 when a \u201csports\u201d corset debuted with elastic instead of metal, and in 1914 when, thanks to the popularity of tango, we saw a similar dance-specific model. When women began taking on more physical factory jobs during World War I, they, too, required more comfort and mobility and turned to brassieres, the first example of what we think of today as a traditional bra.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast-forward to 1966, when Roberta \u201cBobbi\u201d Gibb ran the Boston Marathon in a tank-top bathing suit, a precursor to the jogging craze that hit the United States in the early 1970s. As more women laced up their trainers, more women encountered the pain and frustration of running without proper breast support. Finally, in 1977, Lisa Lindahl had had enough. She recruited her friend and costume designer Polly Smith, and together they deconstructed two jock straps and started sewing. The result? The <\/span>Jogbra<\/span><\/a>, the first modern-day sports bra.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Think about that: We put a man on the moon before we put a woman in a sports bra.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Picking the Right Sports Bra<\/b><\/h4>\n

Today, we have so many options, it\u2019s overwhelming. (The global sports-bra market has ballooned over $7 billion.) Though every sports bra has the same purpose\u2014to limit the movement of breasts during physical activity\u2014it\u2019s more complex than you\u2019d think. Breasts have no muscle tissue and vary in size, shape and density from woman to woman. They move up, down, in, out, side to side\u2014no wonder so many women experience pain during exercise (around 50 percent, according to <\/span>a 2007 study by the <\/span>University of Portsmouth<\/span><\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, \u201cwhere the breasts are located is very complicated topology,\u201d explains Dr. LaJean Lawson, a former researcher at Oregon State University who now consults with brands on sports bra research and development. \u201c[The same] volume of breast, that shape that sits on the front of your chest can be high, low, they can be more outside, inside, down, things can be slanted, so even with the same cup volume, those breasts can be positioned and act very different on the body.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where to start when searching for a sports bra? First, think about the impact level, or the amount of force sent through the body when it hits the ground. Sports bras are often designed around a specific impact level: Yoga is generally considered low-impact, while running is high-impact.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n