Nipple Protection for Runners — A Sweaty Summer Roundup

From my perspective, the BAND-AID Sheer Spots are the classics. I have no idea what kind of injury they are actually made for, but they seem perfectly suited to the nipple problem. They are little 7/8 inch squares, not circles, so, uhh, measure your nipples I guess? They fit mine great. They consist of a lightweight, classic BAND-AID colored adhesive section bordering square BAND-AID standard padding in the middle. These are easy enough to put on, with my one minor complaint being that you have to be careful when tearing open the package — you really need to tear around the bandage, because if you happen to catch the bandage on the tear, it can cause a little ripple that can cause irritation while wearing. Once they’re on, they stay on, in my experience. I’ve never had them start to unintentionally peel off, regardless of the amount of water or sweat. Maybe I’m strange, maybe I’m hairy and sensitive to tearing off bandages, but I tend to wear all of these options for multiple days at a time, including through showers. These have no issues coming off until I want them off. Once I do want them off, these are easy enough to remove. On the run, these offer solid protection without any noticeable feeling of having something on your nipples. Even with the thinnest of shirts, it’s never looked obvious to me, in the mirror, that I’m wearing them. Overall, these are utilitarian, but work as you need and at 6 cents per wear, it’s impossible to fault them for the price.

BAND-AID, apparently competing with themselves, now has what is effectively the same as the Sheer Spots, except this one replaces the adhesive section with a clear, waterproof, but still breathable material. The other change with these TRU-STAY bandages is that the wrapping is way more complicated — layers of paper to peel, on both sides, making application fiddlier. They feel a bit more premium, for some odd reason, but feel basically the same as the Sheer Spots, from a functional perspective. I will call out on one run that I had a little bit of chafing where the bandage ended — I suspect this could happen with the Sheer Spots, as well, and was a positioning thing. Another complaint is that the clear material makes these kind of difficult, and sometimes slightly painful, to remove. Overall, these are practically the same in use as the Sheer Spots for me — just more expensive (about 50% more than the Sheer Spots) and harder to remove.

I am not sure who Mr. Nipple actually is, as this brand has no website I can find other than the listing on Amazon, but his Hide and Protect nipple covers are pretty nice. These are round and slightly larger than the BAND-AID options, at 1.2“. The whole thing is an incredibly thin, semi-transparent, plasticky feeling material (the listing says polyvinyl chloride film — so, a shower curtain?), with the whole backing being adhesive. They provide better overall coverage than the BAND-AID options, stay put just as well, and I find they are easier to remove. You are definitely paying a premium for these, at well over double the cost of the Sheer Spots. But to me, they feel and cover the best of these options.