I'm almost a little afraid I'm going to jinx myself for posting a "rave" review, but I just knocked on wood, so here it is! If you don't feel like reading my whole spiel, the bottom line is that this brace is FANTASTIC for lateral support! A LITTLE BACKGROUND TO EXPLAIN MY FANATICISM ABOUT THIS BRACE: I have a condition called "general joint laxity," which means that almost all of the joints in my body are "looser" than they should be. In most places on the body, this is a neutral or even good thing, but NOT when it comes to the knees. I frequently (at least twice per month) dislocate the knee I had the ACL repaired on over a decade ago, which can happen at any time, often without warning, from a variety of causes, sometimes even from something as mild as sitting incorrectly on the floor or going down stairs. My point is, for me to be an active person in any regard, I need to have reliable support in the knee area, to keep my joint safe and my mind at ease enough for me to get the job done. COMFORT: I've tried A LOT of braces, and have gone through the tedious tasks of getting special orthopedic fittings, often to get little or no relief from this issue (or at least, not enough to put my mind at ease), so I'm always leery of trying a new brace. I recently started running again and decided to try this one because of it's impressive amount and quality of reviews, and was very excited by how well it works for me. Most braces are extremely unforgiving and uncomfortable, causing excess heat and sweat which often is accompanied by a rash; however, this one is comfortable enough that I actually forget I'm wearing it most of the time, and is easy enough to adjust that if it does start to feel uncomfortable, I can quickly and easily shift it around to make it feel better. Part of the reason it's so much gentler on the skin is because of a kind of silky hidden sleeve that is sewn into the inside of the brace (you can't really see it in the picture), which doesn't make it slide around, but does protect your skin from the scratchiness of the outer material. It's designed so that it accomplishes more with less fabric and leg-coverage, too, which is a big plus. SUPPORT: This by far has the BEST support of any knee brace I've tried, and it's made even better by how adaptable it is. Because of my anatomical abnormality, I need varying strengths of support in VERY specific points on my knee, which has often been a challenge as most braces have only a small range in which the straps will fasten/adhere correctly (and these never line up the way I really need them to.) Since this brace has straps coming from both sides, I can focus the support on the outside of my knee where I need it most, and still have a good amount of support on the inner side of the knee without making it extremely difficult to bend and move well; I especially love that the two skinnier straps go around the outside, because I can cross them over one another to make the fit tighter. This cross design also allows me to put the opening in just the right place on my kneecap (which is slightly to the outside), where most other braces I've tried don't fit correctly unless you center the hole right over the knee cap. The other brilliant thing about the design is that the entire surface of the brace is Velcro-y, so you can literally stick the straps ANYWHERE on the front to get the perfect fit everywhere on and around the kneecap, instead of being forced into one or two configurations that may or may not work for your leg. The one warning I will give is that it will take a couple of tries to find the "sweet spot" since their is so much flexibility with it, so start slow until you figure out where to put everything, how tight to pull the straps, etc. I'll also say that my knees are in need of lateral support, because my condition is often exacerbated by torque on the joint rather than impact, so I'm not sure how the brace will perform for other situations. QUALITY: I haven't had the brace long, but it's already holding up better than most I've tried. Many other braces will have the Velcro all fuzzy on the soft side and not sticking as well on the hard side after just a few uses, but this one appears to be stronger. Since it is so small in surface area and light, it also doesn't retain as much sweat and is easier to wash/air out, which keeps it from deteriorating due to excess moisture (this also keeps it from taking on that terrible "gym bag" smell, too.) The seams are sturdy and the straps are very solid, and they are stretchy enough but not overly so, so the integrity of the shape isn't easily compromised; everything on it is well-reinforced, and the fabric is of a high quality. To be honest though, even if the brace falls apart sooner than I'd like (which I seriously doubt), I will probably continue to purchase them because of what a good job they do while they are in good shape. It's quite a bargain, especially for someone who has to find one that's JUST RIGHT to make it worth it!
