McDavid Lightweight Ankle Brace

works great

Comfortable and helping my injured foot and not cumbersome!

I use it while playing basketball as I'm a weak-legged, painfully mediocre player with a history or sprained ankles and I just happen to be taller than the other players in my group so I use my height to my advantage a lot (lots of jumps and landings).-The Brace obviously limits my movement in Basketball and makes me less agile than the players around me. But, that's just what you get for wearing the most protective Ankle Brace McDavid offered for Basketball! It may limit my agility significantly (especially against, shorter and faster players) but it has protected by ankles countless times (you can literally feel your ankle begin to turn/shift and then be pushed back in place by the brace which bring a smile to your face!) and increased my on court confidence tenfold!-If you play Basketball frequently you know how much injuries negatively effect confidence. In a sport where split-second decisions mean everything (even in pick up games!), all it takes is that hesitation when the man you are defending goes up or when you are near the basketball getting ready to elevate. All it takes is that second of hesitation for someone to be there to block you or corner you and you are frozen and forced to find a pass. This Ankle Brace has brought out my full potential on Defense and I have no fear going up to defend or get a rebound, I don't need to worry about my feet at all! It brings your confidence to where it should be, on the court!-WHY I GAVE THIS A 4-STAR AND NOT A 5:The Brace is as comfortable as you want it to be without sacrificing it's purpose when tied tightly. The only problem here is when you add on your shoes and tie them, the knot of your shoes meets at the bend in your foot (that upper arch) will be tight and put pressure on your foot during activities. This isn't debilitating or anything if you are wearing high socks like me, but it's not comfortable.-If using the Brace during Basketball, the loss of mobility in your Ankle I find, is made up by my Knee. The inability to bend my Ankle would force my Knee to move a bit for my Ankle when adjusting my position laterally (especially when "your man" has the ball and he is in front of you trying to fake you one way so he can crossover or just drive the opposite way). This put a lot more strain on my Knee than I would have wanted. But a simple Compression Sleeve on Knee kept/keeps my Knee flexible but resilient and after games, I find myself with very little strain/soreness compared to before.-Overall, this Ankle Brace is great, you only need one, just mentally be ready to put your force on the Ankle with the Brace a bit more than your other Ankle and you won't sprain either one. The laces will begin to fray a bit like any laces and the Brace does show wear and tear over extensive amounts of time. Great brace but when it eventually comes time to buy a new one, I will definitely look into new options before buying these expensive ones again (although I will most likely buy them again if not much has changed)! By no means are these worth the price or spectacular beyond belief so no customer loyalty, but I like what I bought and they perform well!

My ankle measured 9", 1" above the protruding bone (per instructions) and I bought a medium. It fits well. I sprained my ankle badly hiking. After the swelling mostly went down I started using a wrap brace. It kept sliding off. I tried a compression wrap but it was tight and cut off circulation to my foot. When searching for a new brace I saw this item recommended on the website of a local foot and ankle specialist in my area. It offers great support and keeps my ankle from moving side to side. I have to loosen the whole thing and unlace the top 2-3 eyelits to put it on, unlike what the video shows. I also have to unlace it all the way down to the toes in order to take it off. I adjust the foot area then re-tighten the ankle area a few times to get the fit right for me. Longer laces might have been helpful, and I would not have been able to use this when my ankle was very swollen as it is hard to pull on easily. I am impressed with the quality and the ability to contour to the curve in my ankle. I tried it on and it does fit in my Sauconney running shoe. I am hoping it will work for support hiking and will update once I have worn it for a longer time period.

A couple of reviews said there are no stays. Incorrect. But they are different. There is one long stay on each side that forms a U going underneath the ankle bone and then goes up on both sides of the bone to the top of the brace. This seems to be a good design. I had EPAT treatments for a torn peroneal brevis tendon 2.5 years ago, long recovery, have many ankle braces, was able to hike more than a year without a brace and have had hopefully a minor setback. But need to wear a brace while hiking again for a few months. Most braces don’t work in mid hiking boots. I used a Don Joy Stabilizing Pro Ankle brace but it was bulky with the strap at the top and the straps that wrap around and under the arch eventually hurt my foot . That brace is the same design as the Aso Ankle Stabilizer brace. This McDavid brace is less bulky and the design of the stays having two on each side seems to be good. I wear a women’s 8.5 extra wide or a men’s 7 and the size small fits good.

FOR ME IT DID NOT FIT RIGHT

I had a bad sprain a number of years ago, and after it healed as much as it was going to, the orthopedic specialist recommended an ankle brace for strenuous workouts. I bought what he recommended at a local store, and it worked very well. Fast forward a number of years, my brace is showing significant wear, and I try looking for a replacement. Unfortunately we've moved, and the local stores in my new location don't carry anything like my old brace. I try a couple of braces, neither of them work well, and I give up.About a month ago, my old brace lost structural integrity and the search for a new brace becomes a necessity. I again try the local stores and strike out. It finally occurs to me to try Amazon, and they have a number of well-reviewed braces. This is the fourth one I tried. The first was both ineffective and uncomfortable, the second was so uncomfortable I had to remove it after two minutes because my foot hurt so badly, the third provided sufficient support but chafed my ankle and was far more complicated than this brace. Now I've found what I was looking for. This brace is both effective and comfortable. After four miles, my ankle is fine, with no issues from lack of support or from chafing. It turns out that my old brace was an earlier version of this. It seems kind of old-school, but it works better than anything else I've tried, and I'm planning to buy another as a backup.A couple of suggestions for use: 1) don't tighten the bottom two holes very tightly, but really crank down on the next two, as this seems to provide the best balance of comfort and support; and 2) when removing, only unlace the top two holes and loosen the bottom four, as this will allow removal and speed up replacing it.