Review: Women’s Reebok CrossFit Headband

This week, we take a moment to review the Women’s Reebok CrossFit Headband.

Item: Women’s Reebok CrossFit Headband
Price: $14 USD
Manufacturer: Reebok
Purchase: Reebok

As you can seen from my photos I have long hair, which is often hard to tame during my workouts. Therefore, depending on the WOD an easy solution for my hair getting all tangled up is to throw on a simple headband. I particularly like wearing them in workouts involving double unders, box jumps and any time I’m working on my Olympic lifts.

In the past, I have always worn Lululemon headbands and although I have been relatively happy with the quality and style of them I decided to try Reebok’s CrossFit headband after seeing many of the female competitors wear them at last year’s CrossFit Games.

After wearing Reebok’s headband for a few months now I thought it was the perfect time to give an informed review. There are currently two styles of headbands with two different colour options on offer at the Reebok CrossFit online store. Out of those I chose the Women’s Wide Headband in black, which retails at US $14.

Initially, I was attracted to the design and I have to admit it still happens to be one of my favourite features of the headband. Aside from the design there are a number of things both good and bad about this headband so I’ll jump straight to them.

The Good

It’s Tapered: One of the best things about this headband is that it’s tapered in the back. This means that the width changes from wide in the front, to thin at the back preventing any hair to kink at the base of the head.

Material: This headband is made from moisture wicking fabric, which is perfect for exercising because it regulates body temperature, allows the skin to breathe and prevents sweating.

Gel Strip: There is a gel strip on the inside of the headband, which helps it stay put during exercise. When I first got the headband I thought the gel would pull on my more vulnerable strands of hair but surprisingly I was wrong. Somehow Reebok have designed it so that the gel is forgiving when putting the headband on but remains firm during rigorous workouts so the hair stays in place.

Design and Style: I am a sucker for pretty things and I’ll admit I was first drawn to the look and style of this headband. It has a simple swirl design imprinted on the crown, which I think gives it a little feminine edge.

The Bad

Reebok CrossFit Imprint: The words Reebok and CrossFit along with the banding symbol appear at the back of the headband and are written in a white and red screen print gel. While not a complete deal breaker the gel writing looks and feels cheap. Although it hasn’t happened to me yet the writing looks as though it will easily peel away after prolonged use. As the brand names only appear at the back of the headband the writing is only a minor issue but something to note if you are brand conscious.

Price: Okay so US $14 for a single headband doesn’t sound like much right? Wrong. The cheapest option for shipping within the US starts at $6. So your reasonable $14 headband really costs $20 if shipped inside the States. Yet that pails in comparison to the exorbitant price Reebok wants to charge you for shipping outside of the United States. To ship this headband (which let’s face it, is small enough to fit in an ordinary envelope) outside of the US the price jumps to an astonishing $50. For a single headband of this weight and size this is simply unreasonable and will hopefully be remedied as Reebok continues to grow with CrossFit internationally.

Issues with Order: I ordered the Women’s Wide headband online and after waiting longer than their advertised shipping time, when it finally arrived it was the wrong headband. Instead of my order I received the Women’s no slip Headband. Once I contacted Reebok they were willing to send the correct order but still frustrating nonetheless. I understand that these things can happen from time to time but the fact that the order was not sent correctly I think is still something worth noting.

Conclusion

Despite some of these issues I have to say that this is still one of, if not the best headband I have ever worn. It’s comfortable and if you leave it on throughout the day it won’t leave you suffering from a tension headache, like most other headbands. It’s stylish, breathable and not only perfect for the gym but it looks great for any occasion (that is of course if you’re into wearing headbands).