New Balance Ventilator Crop Review
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I might be the pickiest person in the world about sports bras. The fit, the support, the material, and the quality are all super important to me and I think it is for good reason. I have my favorites, but am always excited to check out what other offerings are available, so I was looking forward to testing the New Balance Ventilator Crop.
The Ventilator Crop is rated as a medium impact sports bra and, although these ratings can be pretty subjective, I would agree that it is best for medium impact activities. For me, it was best of cycling, strength training, yoga, and those types of activities, but wasn’t ideal for running or boot camp style classes.
The Ventilator Crop is made of Lightning Dry® fabric which is 85% Polyester and 15% Spandex. I found that the material wicked moisture very well and didn’t feel damp and uncomfortable during or after a sweaty workout. Also adding to the breathability and ventilation was the mesh panel across the upper portion of the sports bra.
New Balance covered a lot of details in this sports bra. To give each woman a precise fit they included adjustable padded straps with velcro closure and four rows of adjustability in the hook and eye closure. I appreciated both features and they helped me feel like the sports bra was fit appropriately. In addition, the cups were slightly molded providing some shape unlike many shelf-style sports bras on the market.
The Ventilator Crop was comfortable and didn’t pinch or rub anywhere over the course of several hours. I attribute this to the built in adjustability, the high-quality materials, and attention to detail in the finishing.
I’m a consistent 34C which put me between a small and medium according to New Balance’s size chart. I tested the small and felt it was sized appropriately. My only negative comment is that I felt that the straps were close together making them sit farther in toward my collarbones rather than on my shoulders. This wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but was just a bit awkward because it didn’t follow the lines of a traditional scoop front and back top, but also didn’t follow the lines of a t-back top. I think it is more of cut and style issue than a fit issue, but it could be exaggerated since I was in-between sizes and wearing the smaller option.
Overall, I thought the New Balance Ventilator Crop had a lot of great features and is good for women with small to medium chests wearing it for medium impact activities. I could also be a good choice for higher impact activities for ladies with smaller chests.
For more info on the Ventilator Crop and other New Balance products, visit www.newbalance.com or www.amazon.com/newbalance.
