I have a smaller chest size (haven't measured it so I have no idea what it really is), but I'm thinking of binding down my chest a bit more for days when I feel more masculine. The thing is, my parents have no idea that I want to bind, etc. When I do bind, it's usually with a sports bra or a very light sports bra paired with a second one. Does anyone know where to get good, long lasting binders? I guess more of a three quarters length down my chest, or a tank top style one. I've heard of Underworks before and people one Ebay that sell binders, but I'm still nervous about the idea of wearing one.. I've also seen multiple things where others will talk about it's bad using Ace bandages and to be careful with binding..
You'll want to measure it before you order any binders, because making sure you have the right size is important to binding. As long as you wear a binder safely, you will be fine. You shouldn't wear it over 8 hours in a day. You also shouldn't sleep in it. another piece of advice is to start wearing it slow. Wear it for a couple hours at a time until your body becomes used to it. Ace bandages are terrible to bind with. Every time your breathe, those bandages tighten. There are a lot of horror stories of people breaking their ribs by binding with ace bandages. Underworks is a good brand of binder. I've personally had good luck with their tri-top binder. The fabric on it is a bit weird though, so that takes some getting used to.
Underworks, gc2b, and LesLoveBoat are the ones I most commonly see recommended. The cheap ones from Amazon and Ebay are generally not a good idea. They are okay as temporary binders if you're going to be careful, but it's safer to get one from a respected brand because the cheap ones don't breathe well. It is important to be careful with binders, but as long as you wear them safely you'll be fine. I'm not going to rehash basic binder safety (Brad's covered it quite well), but I'll add that even if you're doing everything right, and you're not over the 8 hour limit, if it starts hurting, take it off. Some days your body just might not be up for binding as much, maybe you slept funny or you're already sore from something else, but pushing yourself to bind longer when it hurts will greatly increase the risk of injury, even if you have a good binder and you're following the other rules.
