Thanks for the rec! For those of us who can't afford Bryndje or can't easily find it where we live, I'd like to mention that you're on to something with the tube bra fabric minimizer idea, but it's gone a bit in the wrong direction.
Thing to keep in mind is that not all female upper body tissue is created equal, sweat-wise. Areas like the ribs or sternum or spine or clavicles, with big blood vessels close to the surface, sweat *a lot*. Back muscles too. However, breasts themselves, being mostly fat tissue under the skin,aren't that metabolically active and stay quite dry.
Therefore, to minimize bra wetness, you'll want something like a string bikini. Breasts should be separated not pushed together like in a sport bra, otherwise you'll sweat a ton, cups can be full fabric but anything else should be as spaghetti strap as biology allows it, and avoid as much of the high-sweat skin and bones areas as possible while maximizing support. Tube top fails because it's heavy duty in the sternum and back strap, and doesn't separate... same issues as a regular sport bra but less support. Part of the reason the Bryndje bra is so good is that it's a string bikini part covered in mesh to make it look like a sport bra. But in my experience and the experience of many of my friends, even with a sweated out tshirt, the 5 euro cotton bralette from Poshmark-equivalent will only be uncomfortably wet around the rib band once you switch shirts. If I wanted to spend 15 euro I'd make that band of a quickdrying but still loadbearing material.
This is solid problem-solving. The bit about convective heat loss reducing when layers are skin-tight vs loose really clicked for me. I've definitly felt that effect with tight base layers in winter but never connected it to the drying issue. I did some multi-pitch last season in the Cascades and saw partners deal with the exact cold-clammy problem on the approach. The mesh underwear concept makes sense bioecause it keeps an air gap right at the skin level, so the fabric cycle (wet-to-dry) isn't constantly drawing heat from the body. Curious if the polyprop abraison on sensitive areas is actually an issue long-term or if the merino cups solve it fully?
A lot to unpick there, and from another outdoor woman, thank you.
Hopefully this is more mansuggesting and less mansplaining.
Actually it was helpful and I learnt a few things.
Thanks for the rec! For those of us who can't afford Bryndje or can't easily find it where we live, I'd like to mention that you're on to something with the tube bra fabric minimizer idea, but it's gone a bit in the wrong direction.
Thing to keep in mind is that not all female upper body tissue is created equal, sweat-wise. Areas like the ribs or sternum or spine or clavicles, with big blood vessels close to the surface, sweat *a lot*. Back muscles too. However, breasts themselves, being mostly fat tissue under the skin,aren't that metabolically active and stay quite dry.
Therefore, to minimize bra wetness, you'll want something like a string bikini. Breasts should be separated not pushed together like in a sport bra, otherwise you'll sweat a ton, cups can be full fabric but anything else should be as spaghetti strap as biology allows it, and avoid as much of the high-sweat skin and bones areas as possible while maximizing support. Tube top fails because it's heavy duty in the sternum and back strap, and doesn't separate... same issues as a regular sport bra but less support. Part of the reason the Bryndje bra is so good is that it's a string bikini part covered in mesh to make it look like a sport bra. But in my experience and the experience of many of my friends, even with a sweated out tshirt, the 5 euro cotton bralette from Poshmark-equivalent will only be uncomfortably wet around the rib band once you switch shirts. If I wanted to spend 15 euro I'd make that band of a quickdrying but still loadbearing material.
This is super helpful - thanks for caring enough to write it
This is solid problem-solving. The bit about convective heat loss reducing when layers are skin-tight vs loose really clicked for me. I've definitly felt that effect with tight base layers in winter but never connected it to the drying issue. I did some multi-pitch last season in the Cascades and saw partners deal with the exact cold-clammy problem on the approach. The mesh underwear concept makes sense bioecause it keeps an air gap right at the skin level, so the fabric cycle (wet-to-dry) isn't constantly drawing heat from the body. Curious if the polyprop abraison on sensitive areas is actually an issue long-term or if the merino cups solve it fully?