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Most women have a love-hate relationship with sports bras.

The feeling of constraint and the fact that taking off a sweaty sports bra can only be comparable to wiggling out of a straight jacket, makes some women question whether they should put one on in the first place. If this is you, you are not alone. The struggle is real, and this is just the beginning. Dealing with fit, material, compression, are all things worth considering when buying a sports bra. You should be very aware of the end goal to make sure you are getting the right amount of compression, moisture wicking and coverage. No one wants to be popping out during downward dog!

While every women’s athletic brand has taken a stab at the sports bra, they are not all created equal. Luckily, we’ve compiled a list below specific to low, mid and high impact sports to take some of the guesswork out of making this tough decision.

But first, it's worth talking through some key points to consider when buying a sports bra.

Support

Sports bras are often categorized in three main support buckets, low, mid and high impact.

Low impact are sport bras which offer the least amount of support. These types of sports bras are most often used in sports like yoga or pilates, because those don't involve a lot of bouncing around. Low impact sports bras can also be used by women with smaller cup sizes for mid or sometimes even high impact sports.

Mid impact sports bras can be found either in low impact sports for larger cup sized women or high impact sports for smaller cup size women. In general, a mid impact sport can be something like climbing or hiking, where there is some impact happening but nothing too extreme.

High impact sports bras were designed for sports like running, mountain biking and HIIT and usually are required in most, if not all sports by women with larger cup sizes.

Usually it breaks down that low impact is for women with A-B cup sizes, mid impact is for women with B-C cup sizes and high impact is for women C and up.

Fit/Style

After figuring out the appropriate impact required for the sport you'll perform most in this sports bra, it's important to consider fit and style. This includes things like how high is the neck cut, how are the straps situated or even the length of the bra itself. If you are doing yoga for example, you may want a higher neck cut. If you are rock climbing, you may want crossback straps for increased range of motion. And if you are hiking outdoors without a shirt over (think Outdoor Voices), you may want a longer length and more overall coverage from the sun.

Breathability/Materials

The next consideration would be materials. No two materials are made the same and with the innovations happening in material science now, the possibilities are endless. For example, a cotton blend will be very comfortable, but it will also stay wet for a long time and become uncomfortable if you are sweating a lot. In contrast, a material like polyester will wick moisture very well but might not be as comfortable. Most high end sports bras will be made of some blend of polyester for strength and wicking, lycra for stretch and include additional features like four-way stretch, polygiene finish for anti-odor or a soft wash.