The Handful Sports Bra
March 9, 2010
I’ve been wearing the same style of sports bra for years. OK, I admit, I’ve been wearing the same few sports bras for years. Somehow they just don’t wear out; perhaps because I put very little stress up on them, if you catch my meaning. Still, I was getting a tad bored with the same old look and the same old choices, so I was stoked to try the new kid on the block – the Handful.
One of the few sports bras made for smaller-breasted women, the Handful is designed to eliminate the uni-boob look while lending excellent support, which it most definitely does. I am really excited to be spending the next year in a warmer climate that might result in the possibility of recreating with more exposed skin than is typically permitted by Alaskan weather and Alaskan mosquitoes. I’m extra excited to have the Handful to sport when the time comes, because it is super cute as well as functional. I love the criss-cross spaghetti straps; they are bound to result in better tan lines than the racerback style I’ve been wearing for years. I understand that well-endowed women might find such thin straps too damaging to tender shoulders tasked with holding the girls up, but the Handful is really for smaller women anyway, so there ya go. I took it running today and it tamed any perceivable bounce while remaining comfortable, sweat-wickingly dry, and presumably attractive (though it might have been hard to discern under my late-winter-temperature layers. I love the full-coverage look which ensures no weird bulging or slipping, while still allowing the cute factor to come through via the spaghetti straps. The ruching gives a bit of separation for those concerned about that, but additionally it seems to help keep everything contained and in place, without that annoying gap left by compression bras. Personally I don’t mind showing off my bod, but I do mind the massive cleavage show when I do my deadlifts. This won’t happen with the Handful, which conforms to your chest to keep the peeping to a minimum.
I almost hate to post the picture above because the bra is really much more attractive than one would think from looking at the picture. So hop on over to the Handful web site and see pics of it on real bodies – you’ll see what I mean. It comes in a variety of basic colors though, sadly, not red, which for some reason is my favorite sports bra color. It does come in pink though, which I like, so I suppose there is something for everyone.
Now the one complaint, which, let me point out, is really negligible when it comes to how the bra performs, because this feature is optional. Inexplicably (to me) the Handful comes with fully, and I do mean fully, padded cups that are thankfully removable. Call me crazy but I’m not interested in sweat-soaked sponges lining my sports bra, nor do I feel any compunction to artificially enhance my already quite lovely natural shape. It is my theory [Theory 5.2(b)] that if women stopped faking big tits, other people, even perhaps the Neanderthal/troglodyte types, would stop finding small tits abnormal or strange looking on athletic bodies. Nothing is more illustrative of this point than the fitness industry, for which athletes are continually stuffing their chest skin with chemical balloons to achieve that “balanced look” after dieting away their body fat. I personally do not find anything “balanced” looking about slitting one’s skin open and installing bubbles of gel. If these athletes – and the judges – would accept that a fit woman with A or B cup breasts is NORMAL, perhaps fewer people would feel the need to surgically enhance their natural assets. And perhaps this wonderful sports bra company would not feel the need to include goofy pads with their lovely and perfect sports bras. Wow, soapbox.
In short, this bra is perfect without the pads. And so are your breasts. Embrace them both.
