Welcome to Gear Talk: The Löw Tide Böyz and Swimrun Labs swimrun gear review show!

In this episode, we discuss the NU Lapa Bra for women (and men.) Annie and Brooke swear by this undergarment for Swimrun and we get their full download in this episode. You can also read their review on the Swimrun Labs website.

Before we get into that, we have some gear updates.

Gear Updates

Brooke has been training with her Ark Keel in the pool all year and has noticed that she started getting some lower back pain. She thinks that the pain might be from overuse (she uses it about 70% of the time) or muscle imbalance. She has started mixing the pull buoys that she uses during pool training to see if that helps.  

This echoes what our guest Shane Chaplin mentioned recently on the podcast that training for Swimrun-style swimming is different than training for open water swimming and that doing both is probably the best practice in order to be a good overall swimmer…and survive if you lose your pull buoy for some reason.

NU Lapa Bra Review

We briefly mentioned that Lapa Bra in our Swimrun Undergarments episode. We thought that it required a full review given how much Annie and Brooke love this piece of kit. Before they found out about the Lapa Bra they had tried a whole bunch of DIY options. When Annie discovered the Lapa Bra, she immediately called Brooke and proceeded to yell on the phone that they “cracked the code” for undergarment storage.

The Lapa Bra ($60) has three pockets in the front of the bra that provides ample space for storage. Brooke liked the color scheme (not the “shrink it and pink it” approach) of black and yellow and it was specifically designed for the needs of female Swimrunners.

General Impressions

Taking into account that all bodies are different, Annie and Brooke found this bra to be very supportive. Sizing is based on chest circumference but the ability to use the pockets for storage might depend on chest size.

The bra material is mostly mesh material and very breathable. It did not get soggy and would wick water well. The three separate pockets are also mesh and they have a lot of elasticity to expand to hold a lot of gear. This bra allows users to fine-tune a “system” that can always be helpful.

The bra did have a lot of seams and Brooke in particular has gotten some chaffing under the arm from the seams. That would be the main thing that she thinks that NU could improve upon in future versions of the Lapa bra.

Swimming Impressions

Annie and Brooke both gave the best endorsement for the bra…that it was a “non-issue in the water.” This is what we always look for how a product will work during the swim legs of a race. The last thing that you want is to be bothered or need to stop to readjust something during a swim.

Transition and Running Impressions

The ladies thought that the Lapa bra worked well during transitions and during running legs. Annie was able to stuff her paddles in the center pocket and Brooke would use her pockets for a spare set of goggles, nutrition, and one specifically for trash. As mentioned above, they thought that the bra was very supportive but that might be individual to the chest size of the end-user.

Annie’s Pull Buoy Ranking

Annie gave the Lapa Bra 4.5 pull buoys. She wears it every time that she Swimrunners and hasn’t had any problem with it. She docked ½ pull buoys due to the seams being a bit thick and the need to make sure that it is lubed up before a Swimrun. Annie sees this as an “insta-buy.”

Brooke’s Pull Buoy Ranking

Brooke gave the Lapa Bra 4 pull buoys. Brooke thinks that her Lapa Bra (next to her pull buoy) is a must-have. She docked it points for the reason that the bra drew blood once due to chaffing. Overall though, she thinks that this product is essential for female Swimrunners.

Overall Impressions

This is a sport-specific piece of gear that is made for women (or people with breasts) that actually works. That, in and of itself, is a great thing. The NU Lapa Bra also reflects well the ethos of Swimrun of it being an inclusive sport and the fact that brands in the sport are designing products that are specific to the needs of female Swimrunners is really great…and we hope to see more if it down the road.

The best part of this entire review is that Swimrun Labs now has an online store where they are selling NU products in the U.S. (rather than from Spain.) So head over to their website and order!

That’s it for this week’s Gear Talk show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram and on Twitter. Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, and/or meme suggestions. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.