At Outdoor Retailer this summer, Isis was running a promotional bra sale to support the Breast Cancer Fund. I purchased one of the Henna C/D bras to add to a series of under garment reviews, more intimate apparel that is normally an after thought in our outdoor adventures and wrongly so.
The Isis Henna bra comes in three versions: a Sport Bra, Day Bra meant for A/B sizes, and the Henna C/D version designed to offer a bit more support for larger chested women. With the Henna C/D bra, a special knitting technique, coupled with a double layer of super stretchy nylon/spandex fabric, creates a very comfortable and supportive environment.
The bra straps are padded for further comfort and can be converted from straight to a cross back position if you are wearing a racer back top or want them out of the way of your backpack straps. A rib knit band offers support from beneath and reminds you each morning that "You are a Goddess" as you get dressed.
Even without an underwire, I found the Henna C/D extremely supportive, enough so that I was comfortable walking Lola and even hiking in the bra. For anything more than low impact, I would recommend moving up to one of the purpose built sport bras from Isis.
Apart from everyday comfort wear, probably my favorite use for the Henna bra is camping or climbing trips where you may end up wearing your bra 24-7 over a number of days. The underwire-free and chafe-free seamless construction render the bra almost unnoticeable, even when in your sleeping bag on uneven ground. Evaporator technology ensures the bra fabric is also very quick to dry, making it easy to wash outdoors.
Bottom Line: The Henna C/D bra offers plenty of support for low to moderate impact activities (walking, light hiking, climbing, yoga), while delivering all day and even all night comfort.
The Henna C/D bra comes in 4 colors and retails for $46. For every purple bra sold, Isis will donate $1 to the Breast Cancer Fund.