Under-garments in mountain biking should be a simple subject. No to panties and yes to a good sports bra. If only… The no-panties is actually easy – once you have accepted it – but finding a good sports bra, well, that can be a challenge. We recently received a test consignment of Body Kind’s new sports bra’s and got three mountain biking women to test them – here’s what they think.
By Joanne Badenhorst
Women are all a different shape, weight, height and breast size. Add to that we have different preferences in terms of what we feel comfortable wearing. That’s why we asked Body Kind to send us three different sizes so that we could get three different womens’ feedback.
All three agreed on the following:
Presentation: The packaging and presentation were fit for a princess! We all love the experience of opening a gift and that is exactly what it felt like.
Colours: The colour options are ideal too – nothing too bright. Soft, subtle, feminine tones. All rather classy.
Affordability: At R999 the price for an essential, technical garment is impressive, especially when you consider that other sports bra’s cost around R2000.
Adjustability: Perhaps most important is the easy-to-adjust design of the Body Kind sports bra – it has a Velcro fastening system on the straps around the shoulder and torso, which allows you to custom fit the bra to all the changing seasons of your body.
Here are comments from our three testers – each wearing a different size:
Medium size
The first fitting took some time to figure out but now it is easy. The front-opening zipper is novel and it is fantastic when you want to take it off when properly sweaty! The zipper sat comfortably and never bothered me, especially with the cover flap at both ends. The seam details on the front over the breast are pretty too. The wide bottom band around the torso offers fabulous support while also being comfortable and I enjoyed that I could adjust this tension for different types of activity. The shoulder strap adjustments also work brilliantly.
Overall, it is a sports bra that delivers support properly.
XL size
From when the package arrived the experience, for me, has been superb. I really love the front zip; and the adjustable shoulder and torso straps were an instant win. The colours are neutral and natural, making it easy to wear under any kit.
On the whole, a very comfortable sports bra. Although, there seems to be a lot of stitching and panels across the boobs, they didn’t really bother me in a cycling jersey. I did experience the torso elastic flipping up occasionally, which was a little bothersome. The biggest plus for me was that after a four-hour ride, I was still comfortable and did not feel the need to get out of the bra ASAP!
XXXL size
I’ve been testing this bra while riding both road bikes and mountain bikes, as well as a few short runs. It has very good support and is, on the whole, comfortable. The bra should be fastened before washing as it took me a while to unravel it after the first wash, however the mesh bag is perfect for machine washing.
Thanks for a great concept, for smaller busted women, it’s perfect; but thanks for accommodating larger and fuller figured women too, much appreciated.
The bra does fit!
SUMMARY
In summary, Body Kind delivers an affordable, fully adjustable, comfortable sports bra for all sizes of active women. As mountain bikers, we’ve added it to one of our favourite garments.
COLOURS: Powdered Sage, Khaki, Copper Rust and Onyx
SIZES: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL, XXXXL
PRICE: R999-00
For more information or to purchase, click here.
