My chest isn't that big, but it's still noticeable with my XS Tritop on. Most guys swear by them so I don't know why I'm dissatisfied with mine. I always end up wearing a ton of layers even when I have it on. I don't want to keep doing this, especially with summer coming up.
I'm a small guy--at my latest doctor's appointment I found out I was 5'2" and 114 lbs. Maybe this has something to do with it. The Tritop seems like it binds my ribcage more than my actual chest, and it also rolls up like crazy.
Are there better binders out there for small-chested, small-framed guys? Or some useful tips? I'm really curious.
I don't have first hand experience with them but the t-kingdom and les love boat binders look like they'd work well with smaller guys (both frame and chest).
http://www.t-kingdom.com/ (http://www.t-kingdom.com/)
http://www.lesloveboat.com/shop/ (http://www.lesloveboat.com/shop/)
guess i fall in that category (small chested, small frame, small moobs but the tri top doesn't exactly do magic). It does have to do with your frame by the way, to answer your question. you need a binder that sort of gives you a male contour because you probably have no body fat on your ribcage that your chest could "blend in" with.
I'd recommend the 2nd gen. Jersey Mesh from Les Love Boat (or else the Esha extra strength short binder if you can get your hands on it since Love Boat doesn't carry the brand anymore) over the tri top. They only bind where you need them to (these are the shortest two binders I have, so these are the ones with no unnecessary ribcage compression for me, but then again I'm really skinny but I'm like 5'11'' and wear a size small in all my binders (except the tritop which i got in XS and it was still a little on the large side).
I don't recommend T-Kingdom, those just don't bind that well and some people had issues with seams popping after days of wearing them.
How's the velcro for the Jersey Mesh? My first binder was a T-kingdom binder with velcro and it was just a clunky mess that I couldn't wear properly/comfortably at all. I like the pullover style of the Tritop much better and never had problems getting into it. I'm concerned that the velcro would be stiff or noisy and crinkly.