McDavid Ankle Brace Ultralight for Sprained Ankle, Figure 8 Ankle Braces, Lace up Ankle Brace, Ankle Braces for Men and Women, Ankle Support Brace and Stabilizer

I ordered this brace because I injured my ankle while training and lifted some heavy weight off a squat track wrong which resulted in some prolonged ankle soreness.I've had bad ankles from playing offensive line in high school and having level 1-3 tendon tears in my ankles from those years past, I used to have two of these back then but lost them when I moved out of my parents house way back when. I can say that this is by far a great brace because the fit is snug and during my most recent injury my ankle has pain in the front that gives me pain when I'm on my feet for too long or walking a lot (live in a metropolitan city so I do a lot of walking). Since using this brace it has mitigated that pain because it is snug enough that it isolates where my pain is and allows me to walk normally and without a limp.Comfort wise the brace is snug. I usually run a 9.5-10 shoe and in my walking shoes it fits fairly well an 8/10 fit, in my dress shoes for work it fits very good 10/10 but I do need to use a shoe horn to slip into my shoes. I ordered a medium in this case.Practical usage of the brace when I'm walking home or to work it gives me maximum comfort and helps me forget that my ankle even hurts. When I'm training I don't feel any pain either but I'm not lifting with as heavy weights until I heal up. The support given in my opinion is around the 9-10/10 mark just because of the isolation during walking motions and the stability offered on the sides. When I'm on the bus standing up I can balance myself if there's weird motions as opposed to hopping about looking to grab onto something for support, and I can also jump 2 stairs at a time without worrying about pain from stressing it in different motions.As far as putting the brace on or taking it off it is fairly straight forward. The side bands that form a figure 6 (I think it's mentioned in the description) help to provide that motion stability I mentioned previously, and the top bands that secure around the laces are all straightforward in attaching and removing. The laces and brace itself does run slightly tighter and more snug than any other brace, so you'll need to spend some additional time with that portion of it. If you have swelling then this could be good for mitigating the swelling (not a doctor or health professional) but if you're pain adverse then I'd exercise caution just because of how snug the brace can be.Overall 5 stars because I'm familiar with the product and it does as advertised and it is not a cheaply built neoprene sleeve.

My son fractured his growth plate in his ankle and had a level 3 sprain. After being in a boot for a month, the orthopedic specialist he was seeing wanted him to wear this same brace. At his office it cost $90. I told the doctor I wanted to shop around for a better price, and he told me to make sure that I bought a brace that laced up the front AND had a "figure 8" wrap around strap. He said that this type of brace offers the best stability and support. I decided to look on Amazon and found it here for less than $25. This is the exact same brand and model of brace that the doctor had at his office.This brace is very sturdy and stabilizes the ankle. It's made out of a nylon material, laces up the front, and then has a velcro strap that wraps under the foot and around the ankle and then up around the leg. The orthopedic doctor says this offers much more stability to the ankle than a "stirrup-style ankle stabilizer air cast" (Ace makes one) which are found at the drugstore--and honestly this brace is cheaper on Amazon than those anyway! My husband had bought my son one of those stirrup-style braces to wear when he started to refuse to wear the boot any longer (13 years old and was mad about having to wear the boot past week 4 and in the middle of his baseball season which he missed most of), but before the doctor was recommending a brace. My husband figured it was "better than nothing"...the doctor said, well yea, it was better than nothing, but not much. And I could see that my son could still twist his ankle in the stirrup-style brace, which is harder for him to do in the McDavid brace.My son has to wear this brace for all physical activities (long boarding, running, etc.) and it doesn't seem to bother him and his sneaker fits over it just fine. I know others have mentioned that the upper, front area (the "tongue") rubs or bothers their leg, but my son has not had that problem. He's even been wearing it with ankle socks, rather than crew socks now, although if it were me, I would definitely wear a higher crew style sock. But hey, he is 13 and knows everything!My son wears a size 9 men's shoe. The sizes of this brace overlap. The small fits up to a size 9 and the medium starts at a size 9. I contacted the manufacturer and they recommended that my son wear a medium. The medium fits him perfectly, and I feel that the small probably would have been too small.Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase. Especially since it is the EXACT same brand and style that the doctor's office charges $90 for. It's been working great for my son and I would not hesitate to recommend this brace for anyone who needs extra support and stability to an injured ankle.

I like this brace a lot!COMFORTIt’s a lot more comfortable than others I’ve tried, which have the metal support on the sides.COMPRESSIONThe compression is evenly distributed around my entire ankle. I appreciate that it can be tightened with the shoe strings and the Velcro.SUPPORTIt provides high support without the discomfort of the metal strips that many other braces put on the sides. My ankle is completely stabilized in this brace.COSTThe price is fair for a good quality brace.DURABILITYThis brace appears to be far more durable than other braces I’ve tried. For instance, I have one by ACE, which has lint balls on it after just one week.BULKINESSThis brace is a bit bulky than others I’ve tried. I suppose due to the figure-8 style where the straps wrap around the arch of the foot, it’s nearly impossible to wear shoes. I’ve been wearing either Birkenstocks, Nike slides, or low UGG boots. (-½ star)GETTING IT ON/OFFPutting it on and taking it off as proven to be a bit more difficult than I would like. Since the brace keeps my ankle so secure, it makes sense that it’s difficult to take off, but it’s also inconvenient to take off. I literally have to loosen the laces all the way down the brace before being able to remove it. (-½ star)OVERALLThis ankle brace works well for me. I’d certainly recommend it to a friend.

I had previously bought a similar brace and it was thicker and too bulky making it uncomfortable. I took a chance with my wallet and got this one and don’t regret it. While it’s thinner, it’s still very supportive and keeps my ankle in place providing the support it needs.