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Gear Review | Mons Royale Stratos Shift Bra

Instagramable sports bra with medium support

by Lea Hartl • 12/07/2021
The Stratos Shift Bra is a more or less classic racerback sports bra with "medium support". Thanks to the merino synthetic fibre material blend, the bra is more elastic than pure merino and dries relatively quickly.

Let's start with a confession: Even with some practice in writing reviews for PG, I often find it difficult to write meaningful tests about soft goods like ski underwear. With bindings or ski boots, you can concentrate on the technical features. Of course, personal taste always plays a role in the evaluation, but there are objective criteria that can be used to compare different products in a meaningful way. For hardshells and outerwear, in addition to personal preferences, there are questions such as: Does the zip work? Does a helmet fit under the hood? Are the pockets well positioned? Does the membrane hold up?

For me, the first question with baselayers is always: does it fit me? Of course, there are also differences in function - merino is less smelly, synthetic fibre dries faster, and so on. But you can't go too far wrong with a vest in terms of function, so it's often a matter of personal preference and fit.

So now a bra test. In my experience, bras must first and foremost fit well. And that naturally depends heavily on the shape of your body. The following test report is therefore very subjective in this respect and should therefore be treated with caution. If there are any readers here who have not yet dealt with this topic in detail, a limping comparison to clarify: A ski boot can have perfect downhill characteristics and a great walking mode, but if the heel slips or a wider forefoot can only be forced into the boot with pain, no matter how great the technical features are - we won't be happy with the boot. It's the same with bras.

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First impression

The Stratos Shift Bra is largely made from a blend of synthetic fibre and merino, only the back is pure synthetic fibre. The merino blend is double-layered at the sides and slightly airier. The cups have three layers and are therefore thicker. There are removable plastic pads between the layers of fabric. The cups are otherwise not pre-shaped and the straps are not adjustable. The elasticated band that surrounds the ribcage is quite wide. I have the green and black version and I like the colours.

Fit

I wear size 75-80D bras, depending on the brand, and am testing the Stratos Shift in size L. According to the manufacturer's website, the upper chest circumference (widest area) for size L is 97 cm. The underbreast/chest circumference is not specified. Compared to my other bras, the Stratos Shift is slightly wider. It is estimated that size L corresponds to an underbreast circumference of 80-85. Using conversion tables on the internet, the Mons size L is approximately 80/85B-C in bra sizes. It would be nice if Mons would do the maths for us and provide the bra sizes in their otherwise very practical sizing guide - this would make it easier to choose the right size, especially beyond the most common standard sizes.

So L is probably the size that is closest to my actual size. However, the fit of the Stratos Shift is not perfect for my body shape. The cups are a little too small, the rest a little too big. Thanks to the wide, fairly solid elasticated band and the very "stretchy" material, it still fits quite well. The straps are stretchy like the rest of the bra. I find them a little too long and would like them to be adjustable.

As the cups are not pre-shaped and are a little tight for me, the breasts are pushed to the side and gradually move towards the armpits, where the cut is again rather too wide. This is not particularly uncomfortable or annoying, but not really ideal either. Without the pads, the bra has no shaping effect as the cups are otherwise not pre-shaped. With the pads, a shaping function can be surmised, but this also makes the cups a little smaller, so the effect is not necessarily effective for me personally and tends to lead to lateral overflow.

Function

"Medium support" seems to me to be an accurate description of the bra's supportive effect. For running or similar, this is not enough for me, but for yoga or other sports without a lot of jumping around, the support is fine. I don't see any particular benefit in the pads and therefore wear the bra without them. Removing and refitting the pads is straightforward. The Stratos Shift is comfortable to wear and does not scratch. As expected, the material dries less quickly than pure synthetic fibre. During very sweaty activities, the pads also get wet if they are built in. In combination with the three-layer merino mix, the whole thing dries eventually, but it takes a while. Compared to my other sports bras, the Stratos Shift generally has a lot of fabric and therefore potentially a lot of wet fabric. However, you can also wear the bra as a top without it looking too much like underwear. I generally like the look of the Stratos Shift and find the design appealing.

Conclusion

Nice merino mix sports bra with medium support for more moderate sporting activities. Anyone who is happy with bras of this type (S/M/L sizes without cup adjustments, no adjustment options) will probably be completely satisfied with the Stratos Shift. Anyone who finds it a little more difficult to find bras that fit knows that nothing beats trying them on.

Advantages & disadvantages

+Material is comfortable to wear

+Can also be used as a top

-No adjustment option (straps)

-Limited size selection, not ideal for larger crotch sizes.

Information on

Material: Merino Shift Stretch

Weight: 180g/m²

Ingredients: 50% merino wool, 33% recycled polyester, 12% nylon, 5% elastane

Here is the link to the Mons Royale website with further information.

The article was provided to us by the manufacturer free of charge for testing. You can find out how we tested it in our test statement.

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This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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