FitEgg.com Multisport Reviews
One of the toughest things for female triathletes, especially if you’re blessed upstairs, is finding a functional, attractive, and cool bra. We’ve previously reviewed the Shock Absorber Level 4 Bra and found it comfortable and useful for runners and triathletes. If you’re involved in extreme exercise, like running and triathlon training, you need to make sure you’re assets are well supported. If you choose to exercise with a weak bra or an improper fitting bra, you risk permanent damage to the elasticity of your breast tissue.
Today, we’re going to look at the Under Armour Women’ Endure C Cup Sports Bra. We picked this bra up on the spur of the moment before heading out for a mission trip that required spending a week roofing in the Carolina July sun. We were in a bit of a pinch and could only find the bra in a C cup, although we are a 34DD. We tried on about 5 bras before settling on this one, simply because it provided more support and was more comfortable, even though it was technically small, compared to the other options at our local store. The bra we decided on was technically sized for a 38C, but it fit very well.
About the Under Armour Endure Sports Bra:
UA claims that the Endure Sports Bra is the “hardest working bra in Sports.” The Endure, especially in the C and D Cup versions is a tough and sturdy bra. It provides full coverage and a ton of support for your high impact workouts. The bra features some pretty serious compression that aids in stability and reduces motion. The straps are crisscrossed, giving you a bit more support and the bra features HeatGear construction that assists with moisture wicking. The bra is made of 81% polyester and 19% Elastane and is designed to be soft, comfortable, and abrasion free.
Testing the Under Armour Endure Sports Bra:
As we mentioned above, we purchased this bra just before heading out on a trip to work with a Habitat for Humanity style organization in North Carolina. We knew we needed a great deal of support and moisture wicking, as we would be on the roof of a house for about a week in the blazing July sun. Upon our return, we’ve used this bra for other high impact activities, giving us a good impression of the moisture wicking properties and the support characteristics.
First, we noticed that the straps are not adjustable on the Endure Sports Bra. This is a bit of a negative for us. We think all bras should be adjustable to allow us to fine tune the fit. The crisscross straps provide a great deal of support, but we generally prefer the look of a racerback bra. Once we put the bra on, we noticed the back strap was a bit loose, but that ultimately didn’t impact the overall performance of the bra. The bra doesn’t have any zippers or hook and loop closures, so you put the bra on over your head.
There are no underwires, just two molded cups. The molded cups are great. UA calls them individually constructed, so basically they’re two separate cups, not just one band of fabric. This design really works. First, it’s very comfortable and second it does a great job isolating and controlling motion.
From a support standpoint, this bra was excellent for medium to high impact activities. We could use a bit more support during our runs, but we think that’s largely due to the sizing issue, not the overall design of the bra. We will also test a D cup bra in the future to report on the motion control properties of a more robust bra.
When it comes to moisture control and wicking, this bra truly excels. We used it in some of the most intense heat and for much longer periods of time than most athletes will face. Everyday on the roof was over 95 degrees and we were up there for 8+ hours per day. Unless you’re doing Badwater, you won’t deal with the amount of sweat and moisture we faced in North Carolina in July. At no time did we experience any chafing or rash issues. The bra did an amazing job keeping us as dry as possible. Even when the bra was pretty damp, it continued to wick and move moisture away from our skin. We washed the bra after every use and never experienced any irritation or chafing.
Initial Thoughts on Under Armour Endure Sports Bra:
We’re very impressed with this bra. It lives up to the marketing claims for support and moisture control. It’s probably the best wicking bra we’ve tested. The support it provides is consistent with the most supportive bras we’ve used. As we mentioned, we feel that the C Cup bra is not designed to provide high levels of support to someone in our cup size, so we’re not going to hold that against this bra. If you’re a runner or triathlete and you workout in serious heat, you’re going to be very pleased with the wicking and moisture control features of this bra.
