Best Hiking Bra for Outdoor Adventures

The Icebreaker Merino Sprite is a quick-drying and lightweight bra that’s great for any season.

The Merino Sprite is light, low-volume, and has a low-profile on the shoulders. It uses a sleek, seamless design to minimize the risk of chafing and make it virtually invisible under a regular t-shirt.

What makes the Icebreaker Merino Wool Sprite perfect for all seasons is its uniquely blended fabric. Its combo of elastane, wool, and nylon wicks sweat quickly and effectively and provides a thin but noticeable layer of insulation. In summer, this leaves you feeling cool and dry, and in winter provides a small degree of much-needed warmth.

In terms of support, this encapsulation-style bra offers more than enough for regular hiking, even if it falls into the low-impact category.

However, the Sprite Racerback’s limited coverage does make it less suitable for bustier women and we don’t advise using this one for trail running or ascending highly technical hiking trails. The shoulders, being too stretchy, will not control your chest’s bounce and may even cause chafing.

The first moderate-impact bra in this list is Patagonia’s Barely Sports Bra. This encapsulation hiking “racerback” is exceedingly comfortable, eco-conscious, and can even double as a swimsuit.

Sold already? Ok, but let’s take a look at its other attributes and drawbacks before you make your decision…

The Patagonia Barely is made with a super-soft and lightweight combination of recycled nylon and spandex blended with patented proprietary technologies. The fabric is specifically engineered to control odor and provide all-day hiking comfort for your skin. It’s also sewn in environmentally conscious and Fair Trade-certified workstations.

Though constructed from a completely different blend of materials, this one gives the Merino Wool Sprite a good run for its money in the quick-drying, breathability, and moisture-wicking stakes. In fact, it dries so quickly that you can wear it for a quick swim on a hot day and find it bone-dry again just a mile or so down the trail.

Adding to this bra’s comfort is its lack of hardware. A cross between a racerback and a slip-on tank top, it uses no hooks, adjustable straps, or clasps, meaning there’s zero risk of getting pokes or sores from plastic.

As for appearances, the Barely maybe isn’t the most attractive option on our list. The muted and earthy-color options aren’t the most flattering and may not appeal to those who like a little more in the way of flair. However, the Barely does make up for this minor aesthetic failing with its middle cinch, which helps to give a nice shape without losing too much coverage. 

And the downsides? Like the Brooks Maia, the Patagonia Barely sizing runs slightly small. And while the latest versions of this sports bra have less stretch and more robust straps, it still won’t provide you with the hiking support that you need if you have a fuller chest.

Tougher hiking routes that involve scrambling, boulder-hopping, or steep, bumpy descents require a bra that provides extra support. The Brooks Fiona bra is just that type of bra. This combination bra uses a design that controls bounce and has molded cups that securely encapsulate the breasts, making it ideal for more demanding trails.

The polyester fabric and wide, adjustable front straps make this a comfortable option that can be worn throughout the day without any pinching, chafing, or strains. It’s also highly supportive, but not so tight that it restricts movement and breathing.

Another great advantage to the Fiona is that it’s geared towards medium and larger sizes. So if you’re a B, C, or even a DD, this one will fit you like a glove…just pay attention to the sizing chart and size up when necessary. 

There are, however, a few downsides… 

Firstly, some skin types may not react well to the bra’s band. If you have sensitive skin, you may find the Fiona causes slight irritation below your boobs after longer days on the trails. This can be easily remedied with lotion or moisturizer, but it’s always good to know before you buy.

Secondly, do not expect the Fiona to dry as fast as the Patagonia Barely and Icebreaker Sprite. The polyester blend is too thick to wick excess moisture quickly and the use of an interior lining adds to drying time. 

If you prefer your breasts to be held firmly against your torso, Odlo’s Seamless High bra is a great option, especially for gals who like to wear running bras on a hike for optimal support.

The Odlo Seamless High bra is built for higher-intensity activities such as trail running. It’s a very snug encapsulation bra that features ample coverage, a side rib structure that provides more compression, and a polyester blend fabric with knitting spiral technology that controls bounce and gives extra support.

If you’re accustomed to looser, low-impact styles, this snug-fitting bra may not be the greatest choice, but for runners, rough trails, via ferrata, and faster-moving hikers, it’s a winner.

Because it’s already very close-fitting, the Seamless High doesn’t have adjustable straps, meaning that it’s less adaptable than some of the other products on our list. That said, the back hooks can be shifted to provide a more precise fit.

The Seamless High makes up for this small shortcoming with a smooth, seamless finish that lessens the chances of getting sores or chafing, ventilation zones that help prevent overheating, and a huge bottom band that allows it to moonlight as perfectly passable outerwear. 

The Brooks Mia bra is a medium support sports bra that combines both compression and encapsulation to give you extra support during moderate-impact activities. 

Surprisingly, the adjustable rear straps and padded hooks on the Maia don’t irritate your skin when they’re pressed by your backpack. And the encased underwire between the cups and the outer shell, combined with the extra gel padding on those wide shoulder straps, all help to add extra support as well as some much-needed comfort.

In terms of breathability, this isn’t the top performer on our list, but its nylon-spandex-polyester combo fabric is high enough wicking to shed most of your sweat relatively quickly. 

Maia bras are available in sizes up to 44DD. The sizing, however, leans toward the smaller side, so make sure you shoot a size up when buying online. The recent updates to this model have thinned down the strap, made the bands slimmer, and have positioned the hooks closer together, all of which makes it less suitable for full-figured, bustier ladies.

A truly high-end sports bra, the Smartwool Seamless Racerback is a great choice for winter hikes and alpine ascents as it offers comfort, insulation, and support in one package.

Just like the Brooks Fiona, Smartwool’s Seamless Racerback boasts an outer shell and an inner lining. But instead of polyester, Smartwool’s lining is made from merino wool, giving it the edge as regards effective moisture wicking and thermo-regulation. 

In winter, the Seamless Racerback’s double layers and wool blend provide extra insulation, which comes in mightily handy in especially frigid temperatures. The trade-off, as you might expect, is its performance in warmer weather, when that extra lining and wool fabric is likely to have you working up a sweat in a hurry. 

The Seamless Racerback is a compression-style bra that’s ideally suited to medium-impact hiking activities. The outer layer is made from nylon and elastane to keep the bra from losing its shape and prevent excessive stretching, meaning it’s not too snug and not too loose. As a bonus, it has a slight lifting effect that gives a naturally perky appearance. 

Finally, the seamless finish, wider straps, soft fabric, and lack of hardware make the Smartwool Racerback bra outstanding as regards comfort and prevention of chafing and abrasion. 

And the downsides?

Well, barring its poorer performance in warm weather, the only other notable downside to the Racerback is its loft price tag. However, if you’re looking for the perfect balance between warmth, breathability, and support for winter hiking, the Smartwool Racerback’s well worth spending a few more $ on. 

A sports bra that’s suitable for fuller-figured women is worth its weight in gold. And the Glamorise Camisole is just that kinda bra. With its convenient design, high-performing fabrics, and excellent support, this is one wardrobe addition that no fuller-buster hiker should be without.

This high-impact hiking bra provides commendable control even without an underwire. It has a high-coverage, camisole design, tough reinforced cups, a two-way stretch back, firm shape, and fully alterable, wide straps. 

Each of these features contributes to the bra’s impressive motion control over the breasts and make it ideal for curbing all the jiggling and bouncing we’re used to experiencing on the trails, particularly on steep descents. 

The Camisole hiking bra is also easy to put on thanks to its use of multiple hooks on the back, is made with breathable, high-wicking fabric, and uses mesh panels in the upper camisole portion to help keep things cool.