Adidas Powerimpact Luxe Training Medium-Support Sports Bra Review

Price: $60
Where to buy: Adidas
Size range: 2XS A-C to XL D-DD
Style: Compression
Adjustable straps: No
Adjustable band: No
Straps style: Racerback
Other features: Removable padding

This bra is one of Adidas’ new fleet of sports bras with a very controversial accompanying ad campaign that featured a grid of 25 bare breasts in a variety of shapes and sizes. While it certainly accomplished its goal of attracting attention, I can’t say that it lives up to its tagline, “support is everything.” Because while the Powerimpact Luxe bra has a very cool look—on the rack, at least—we did not find it particularly supportive, or even comfortable.

I ordered two sizes—my more usual size (XS D-DD) and the size that, inexplicably, Adidas recommended I get based on my measurements (S A-C). Neither fit, and both had the same problem: They cut into the sides of the bust in an unattractive and uncomfortable way, causing a bulge on each side that made me wriggle out of them almost immediately. I did a couple of jumping jacks in each, just in case. Despite the bulge, I felt otherwise supported, but the movement this caused on the sides of my breasts was uncomfortable and cringeworthy. It looked completely bizarre. 

The other evaluators also disliked this bra. One evaluator, who typically wears a 36D, got a few hours in before she threw in the towel. “The adjustment hooks, oddly placed in front instead of the back, became a nuisance. The strap irritated my skin,” she said. “It also was not very supportive to work out in. The band was not adjustable at all, so it was slightly too big and therefore not ideal.” It also gave her uniboob, she said.

Another evaluator, who usually wears a 32A, had better luck with fit but still found it awkward to put on. “Getting into it felt laborious, and getting out of it was worse. I had one of those panicked moments where I thought I’d be stuck in it forever.” She did like the somewhat edgy design, though. “It had sort of a bondage vibe going on.” 

This bra has a high elastane percentage—21 percent. Theoretically this should make the bra stretchy enough to take on and off with ease, but it does not. Similarly, the hook-and-eye closure at the front of the bra is not adjustable and has minimal impact on how easy it is to take it on and off. The bra has removable padding, which Adidas recommends you remove before washing—likely to avoid an Athleta situation, in which the cup bunched up even while I hand-washed it (fair enough). But considering you have to wash your sports bra after every use, our commendations to anyone patient enough to remove the pads, wash this bra separately, hang dry, put the pads back, and head back to your workout of choice.