Shock Absorber Sports Bra Top Review

In case you’ve wondered why posts have been a bit thinner on the ground lately, it’s because I’ve just moved from the UK back to the US. I’m home for two weeks, in which time I have to go through all the boxes of my old clothes and papers from high school to sort everything and get rid of everything I don’t need anymore. I’ve also been seeing old friends and generally going a million miles an hour. But I’m hoping that after this week, posts should pick up the pace and I’ll hopefully get back to posting around twice a week. So thank you for your patience.

As promised in my last post, here is my review of the sports bra I found that works really well for me. You may remember that I found the Panache Sports bra didn’t work for me in a 30H because I needed a 28 band to match my underbust measurement. But I had heard that Shock Absorbers run really tight, so I decided to try a 30H again. These bras are commonly available on eBay and usually at very low prices and in loads of colors. Just make sure you know which you’re getting--I am still a bit confused as to which Shock Absorber is which. There are sometimes references to "Level 4" or "Max Support". The one I have usually seems to be referred to as the "Max Support" bra, but in many of the eBay listings it was also referred to as the Sports Bra Top, and looks like this in photos:

I like the term Sports Bra Top to refer to this version because it looks more like a top than the other version, which looks more like a bra. That one has more formed cups, and looks like this:

When I got my Shock Absorber I immediately knew it was going to be a success. The support was really top-notch. This bra relies on compression (basically smashing your boobs to your body) rather than encapsulation (holding your boobs tightly in a boob-shaped structure) and I’ve found I really prefer compression, so I’m happy with the Shock Absorber compared to the Panache encapsulation bra.

Here is the bra on its own:

You can see that I have some side-boob where I spill out from the bra. But, because the Shock Absorber spots top is wire-free, I had always planned to wear it with a balconette bra. I just really prefer an underwear to separate my boobs so they aren’t touching in the middle. Here it is with a Panache Harmony Balconette underneath.

With the balconette underneath, the Shock Absorber is stellar and amazing! I have absolutely no motion whatsoever when I run. It is the same level of amazing support that I get in the Title Nine Frog Bra I used to wear. I could definitely run in this Shock Absorber and feel very comfortable. I wore it for an intense horseback riding lesson this morning and the support was perfect and I didn't have any bouncing at all--quite a feat when you're cantering!

The Shock Absorber is much tighter in the band than the Panache. The 30 fit me perfectly. I needed a 28 in the Panache, but I definitely wouldn’t have been able to fasten a 28 in the Shock Absorber. Even with the 30, it is pretty hard to do up. It fastens with two sets of two hooks in back with a circle in between, like this:

 I found the easiest way to do it up is to first fasten the bottom hooks, then push the straps closer to my neck and do up the top set of hooks. And, importantly, it is really easy to take off. I don’t mind struggling to do up a sports bra, but I HATE struggling to take it off when I’m all sweaty after exercise, which is why I wanted to upgrade from the Frog Bra, which has to go off over your head. Undoing the hooks after exercise is super easy and a big relief compared to wrestling something off over my head.

I would highly recommend the Shock Absorber sports top, especially with a wired bra underneath. The support is better than anything else I’ve tried on, and best of all, it is available at great prices on eBay. For me, having something that works and is accessible at low prices is really the push I need to exercise more. So if you’re hoping for a similar push, give this bra a shot!

Panache Sports Bra (30H) Review

Having been won over by all the hype about the new Panache Sports Bra, I really wanted to try it for myself. Panache bras often work best for me, and I had really high hopes for this one. It ended up failing on me, but only because of sizing.

For the past few years, I’ve been wearing an ungainly combination of two underwire bras (one too small, covered with one that is too big) with another too-small non-wired compression bra on top when I run or exercise. As annoying as it is to wear three bras, the results are stellar—I get absolutely no boob motion at all. This is thanks to the legendary compression of the “Frog bra” from Title Nine. I think for women with smaller boobs, the Frog bra might be the ultimate end of the search for a great sports bra. It’s not being made any more, but if you check out the product page youcan see how beloved it was! And for those with medium-sized boobs (D-G) the Frog bra would still work great with an underwired bra underneath. But I was hoping to break free from the necessity of wearing multiple bras to exercise, so I thought the Panache might be the best option because it’s underwired but doesn’t have the pointy shape of the underwired Freya Active.

The Panache Sports bra is available on many sites (Amazon, Figleaves, Nordstrom, Bare Necessities, HerRoom, etc) but is pretty expensive and doesn’t seem likely to go on sale anytime soon. So I waited around for when Figleaves had a promotion code and used that to get 20% off. For anyone on a budget, I would recommend keeping an eye out for a similar voucher code to make the price a LITTLE more reasonable.

I certainly wasn’t disappointed with the appearance or shape. I got the bra in a 30H (the largest cup size available) and the shape was really amazing. I would have no problem wearing this bra out in public, even to do things other than exercising, since my boobs looked so rounded in it. Since I am usually very embarrassed by the thought of people seeing me exercise, having a bra that gives a good shape is a really big help to get me out there.

The bra itself is also really cute—it doesn’t look at all like a boulder-holder and the construction isn’t visible from the front, but covered with fabric so it looks more like a sports top than the D+ engineering marvel that it is.

Unfortunately, despite how good it looked, the bra didn’t deliver. I didn’t get any more support than I do in a normal bra and there was loads of bounce going on even just jumping up and down in my bathroom.

The bra includes clips on the backs of the straps to connect them into a racerback shape. When I clipped them together, it did help eliminate a little more bounce, but there was still far too much motion for me to be able to run in the bra. I also found it was extremely difficult to clip and un-clip the racerback attachment. One of the things I look for in a sports bra is ease of removal—when I’ve just arrived home all sweaty after a run, the last thing I want to do is wrestle with my bra to get myself out of it. So the racerback clips just didn’t do it for me.  

Now, I don’t want to give the impression that this bra doesn’t work. You might remember that although my underbust measures 28”around, I choose to wear a 30 band rather than a 28 for greater comfort andequal support. Unfortunately, the Panache Sports Bra doesn’t allow for me to size up in this way. When I pulled the band tighter behind me and then jumped, the bounce was completely gone. So if this bra came in a 28HH, it would be amazing and ideal! Unfortunately the cups don’t go up that high, but for those who do fit in the size range, I think this bra could do the job. Just keep in mind that if your underbust measures 28”, you’ll NEED a 28 band in this bra to get the proper support and encapsulation to stop the bounce. I hope to see Panache expand the size range of this bra because it has so much potential, and is not really a bra that you can wear in a “sister size”--it is perfect only in a band size that matches your underbust measurement. You don't need to size down, as it doesn't run big--you just need to wear the exact right size. 

My next post will talk about the success I had with a different sports bra!