Branwyn Essentials Review: How Their Merino Activewear Performs for Women Who Do It All

I didn’t want to write just another gear review. Activewear is everywhere, and let’s be real, most of it doesn’t live up to the hype once you’re sweaty, traveling, or out in the wild. BRANWYN caught my eye because it’s women-owned, built on merino wool (aka stink-free magic), and promised to handle more than just one sport. But the real question was: could it handle my life?

The Test Grounds

I didn’t test these pieces in a controlled gym setting or a neat little product studio. I tested them where they’d actually get used:

• Essential Compression Short → daily wear, CrossFit, adult co-ed softball league

• Essential Racerback Sports Bra → daily wear, gravel bike rides, yoga

  Essential Hipster Underwear → creek wash + re-wear experiment, every day life

• Essential Busty Bra → everyday comfort, long road trips, multiple-day festivals

This wasn’t a neat-and-tidy test. These pieces had to survive real life — sweat, travel, creek washes, and a laundry schedule that’s let’s just say is flexible.

The Standouts

Essential Compressive Short

The website doesn’t lie, these are compressive. They recommend sizing up if you want less squeeze, but I wanted the compression. What I didn’t want was to stop breathing. I normally wear a large in elastic-waist shorts, so I went with that…and I should have listened to their size chart.

The exchange for an XL was easy, and once I got the right size, they felt strong, supportive, and move-friendly.

I wore these to CrossFit, to softball, running errands, and in everyday life. I didn’t experience any rolling in the waist, but I did get the dreaded thigh rollup. Honestly, it is so hard not to, and that certainly didn’t turn me off from these, and it shouldn’t for you either until you try them yourself. Our bodies are so different that not everyone will experience the same pain points.

• CrossFit - I’m used to wearing short shorts and a thigh roll, so while it wasn’t a game-ender, they aren’t my go-to high-impact workout shorts.

• Softball - This was mostly for kicks. We aren’t sliding in adult co-ed, so shorts are normal, and our entire team is part of the same CrossFit gym, so we are those short short girlies. Again, it was the thigh rolling that wouldn’t make me choose them as the “distraction-free” shorts I’d be wearing chasing fly balls.

• Everyday - being merino, I go commando in these and love them in the warmer months to wear around the house or town, yoga, working out at home, and remain, confidently, stench-free. Much like every other piece of BRANWYN I own, these also got a fair amount of testing during long drives, where you may not always even notice you’re sweating, but you sure are.

Compressive shorts in action, working on back squats.

Essential Racerback Sports Bra

Sports bras are usually hit or miss, too much compression or not enough support. This one found the sweet spot. It stayed comfortable and supportive on long gravel rides, dried quickly after sweaty efforts, and never cut into my shoulders. I’ve worn H-back bras for years, so switching to a racerback took a minute, but once I adjusted, it became a reliable pick for yoga, rides, errands, and those half-active, half-everyday kind of days.

Biking to nowhere in my Racerback and Compressive Shorts.

Essential Hipster

If you’re like me, you choose underwear based on what your whole day looks like, not just one activity. The Essential Hipster nailed it. The waistband stayed put, they didn’t bunch under shorts or leggings, and the merino kept everything feeling dry and fresh. I tested multi-day wear and a creek wash, and they passed with flying colors. No weird rubbing, no stretching out, and no odor…even when I pushed it.

Essential Busty Bra

Not every piece needs to perform under pressure, some just need to make daily life feel better. The Busty Bra became exactly that. Soft, supportive enough for light movement, and unbelievably comfortable for long wear. I wore it on road trips, festival weekends, and those nonstop days where you don’t have a second to think about what you’re wearing. The straps never dug in, the band stayed flat, and the merino kept it breathable even when temperatures changed. It’s the bra I can forget I’m wearing.

What Actually Impressed Me

Here’s the thing: lots of brands make shorts, bras, and underwear. But after weeks of real-life testing, sweat, travel, long days, creek washes, and all, a few things genuinely stood out.

• Merino wool does what it promises: no stink, all-day comfort, and performs way beyond synthetic basics.

• Each piece found its own lane: different styles worked best for different activities, but everything held up better than expected in real conditions.

• They survived the chaos: training days, travel days, multi-day wear…none of it left these pieces feeling gross or stretched out.

But the biggest standout? BRANWYN is women-owned, women-tested, and clearly designed for how women actually live. At the end of the day, I kept choosing them without even thinking, and that’s the real test.

If you want gear that respects your time, your body, and your lifestyle, their essentials are a solid place to start.

Shoveling Snow in my BRANWYN Racerback.

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