The fabrics used not only give you an indication of how durable it will be, but how it will help your workouts. Below we have compiled a list of materials that we made sure to include in all of your products, and the reasons we selected these types of materials

Nylon: This is one of the most prevalent fabrics in these types of products, and for good reason. Not only is nylon incredibly resilient and easy to care for, but it also doesn’t stretch out and become permanently warped. One of the most important aspects when it comes to these styles of products is that it needs to maintain its form, even after you have been wearing it all day. This is why nylon is so beneficial- because it can do all of these things, and it is also very easy to wash. These garments will start to smell a little funky after a while, so it was important that it was something that you could toss into the washing machine (on a gentle cycle with cold water). Some designs that are made from a thick layer of neoprene may offer superior compression, but they are often not very breathable and are a pain to wash.

Spandex: Spandex is what is more than likely in charge of providing you compression. If you want more compression, you basically want more spandex. However, a design that uses too much spandex often doesn’t provide enough rigidity, because without some type of stiff material you are basically wearing a swimsuit on your knee. So, spandex was important to consider, but we made sure never to select a design that uses a little too much of this type of stretchy materials. It is also important to note we also made sure to include elastane and lycra into this category because they especially serve the same function.

Gel Rubber: You need to have something on the inside that will keep the garment in place as you move and jump. For us, gel rubber was the obvious choice because it creates a comfortable layer of friction between the gel and your skin, and that includes when it starts to get a little sweaty. Property placement of the gel rubber was another thing that we took into consideration. Typically, users prefer this gel band to run along the top and the bottom of each unit. This material isn’t breathable in the slightest, so overusing it is a recipe for a hot leg!

Hands down, the level of compression used was one of the most important things that we considered when selecting products for our list. However, different users need to utilize different levels of compression, so we made sure to select various levels to suit your needs. We also wanted to take a moment to break down the different levels of compression, and who will benefit most from using them.

Light compression: This style is generally made from an incredibly lightweight material that may not feel like you are wearing anything at all. Users the benefit from light compression are runners that don’t have an injury but notice their knees are starting to ache slightly as they really dig into each and every mile. Injuries often occur when joints and tendons are unit consistent pressure without any attempt to give them a rest. The best way to prevent an injury is to listen to the signals that your body is giving you experience minor pain, and cut it off at the pass before it explodes into a full-on an injury. Light compression in this instance is an excellent way to keep your body happy when you want to really push yourself to your limits. It is also a great addition if you are someone that works on their feet all day long.

Moderate compression: If you have experienced a light injury, or your joints are always screaming every time you bend over to lace up your sneakers, moderate compression may be the way to go. These designs are typically made from a thicker layer of nylon and lycra over their light compression counterparts, but they still allow an excellent range of motion for the most part. You won’t be as free and nimble as you would with a light compression design, but it is something that you will likely just have to get used to. Keep in mind that these will be a little hotter than light compression.

High compression: The high compression designs are typically for those that are recovering from a serious injury, and sometimes even an injury that required surgery. Higher compression will get your back on your feet sooner, but it doesn’t come without its setbacks. The first problem with high compression is that it doesn’t offer you a very high range of motion. That means that if you are playing tennis or basketball, you may not have the same reflexes and movement that you would have if you were wearing nothing at all. The second problem is that it can be very hot when worn for long periods of time. Users that lift heavy weights at the gym also benefit a lot from this option.

If it’s not comfortable, or it hinders your performance, the competitor in you will suffer through the pain of screaming tendons to feel free and unencumbered. That’s why we really wanted to make sure that we selected designs that would be something that you were excited to slip on, and not something you felt like you had to suffer through. To ensure that they will be comfortable, there were quite a few things that we considered.

Breathability: Keeping air circulating to your skin while blood circulates to your joints is the key to success. While these products will not feel as nice and breathy as a cotton shirt on a windy day, there are a few designs features that can help let air move.

The first features that you will want to look for are material that have vents. These vents may not be fantastic at letting air in, but they do a good job of letting the hot air radiating from your leg out. This will help keep your leg from overheating when wearing a bulky piece of fabric.

Low-cut design: Pragmatically speaking, the less room that it takes up on your leg means the more room you leg will have to breathe. We liked designs that fit to be a little lower down on the thigh. Not only will this keep you cooler, but it is designed to fit more sizes and shapes of athletes as well. The only downside to a low-cut design is that it is more prone to shifting around and bunching over longer models. This is also great for running on the treadmill or outdoors on a hot day.

Materials: Materials often make a world of difference. Most of these designs are made from a blend of some type of breathable and moisture-wicking materials such as nylon and then use a percentage of lycra to give it a good stretch. When selecting the materials blend, it was important that the percentage of lycra never exceed the amount of nylon. If you have a predominantly lycra design, it will not be very breathable at all!

It can be a little difficult to determine what the best size will be because these products tend to fall into a Goldilocks scenario- you need to ensure that it fits you just right. That’s why selecting brands that had a wide variety of sizing options was one of the big things that we considered with each product. Here are some issues that users had when they selected a size that wasn’t the right fit for them:

Too tight: You may think that selecting a size that it too tight will turn the dial up on the compression. While that may be true and it will ease the pain in your joints- you will suddenly feel it in other ways! Designs that are too tight will cause you to lose circulation in the lower part of your leg- and even couch potatoes know that you need circulation in your feet while training! Plus, designs that are too tight just flat out feel terrible, and they also will roll down your legs with each and every stride.

Too loose: If you accidentally buy the wrong size, we feel that it is better to get one that is slightly larger. The problem with designs that are made to fit too loose is that they will not be able to do their job offering any compression. Sure, they will be able to offer some compression, but it likely will not be enough for your needs. Plus, they will bunch up in the crook of your leg with each and every stride- which is never a good feeling.

That’s why we made sure to check out the sizing selection. For most brands, they offer general small, medium, and large sizes, with many companies going above and beyond in sizes such as extra small and up to XXX-L. If you really want to ensure that you get a perfect size, we suggest checking out style from Bauerfeind that gives users the option to choose from sizes 0-7 with a very detailed sizing chart.

We wanted to select designs that provided users with the best of both worlds- compression and flexibility. Typically, when a product offers a lot more compression than the others, it often comes at the cost of flexibility. If you want to ensure that you won’t lose your full range of motion with these products, there are a few things to consider:

Shape: The best designs that we found users really loved were those that have a little bit of shaping in the design. Products that looked like a wide paper towel tube typically will not conform to the shape of your leg as well as the designs that already come with a slight bend in the knee.

Materials: We have talked about materials a few times already, but it is worth mentioning again. To ensure that you get something that is really able to move with you, spandex, nylon, and lycra are the materials that you need. There are some designs out there that use a very thick layer of neoprene for their designs. Sure, neoprene offers unmatched compression, but you will have a hard time moving about. Neoprene is typically used by those that have a pretty serious injury, or those that are powerlifting and need more support on their joints when loading up a barbell with over 500 pounds.