Hempvana Straight 8: Easing Your Aches – Our Honest Review

I work where I have to spend most of the day sitting. It’s not ideal for my posture or my back’s health. I do stretches every evening to try and work out the kinks and sore spots, but I’m sure how effective that strategy really is.

If you’re like me, and your lifestyle is starting to make you worried about your back, I would HIGHLY recommend the Hempvana Straight 8. It helped me improve my posture and back pain so much.

I’d never seen a product like this before, and I wasn’t even aware they existed until a chiropractor friend recommended it. I told him about my posture woes, and he said I should give the Hempvana Straight 8 a try.

Design and Ease of Use

It’s basically like a little harness you wear over your shoulders and back. The figure-eight part fits comfortably between your shoulder blades and supports your neck, shoulders, middle, and lower back. It’s super comfortable and discreet, and I’ve improved my posture and pain in the six weeks since I began wearing it.

I think the discreteness of it is one of my favorite features. The straps are adjustable, so you can easily manipulate them to fit snugly against your shoulders and back. (I believe a snug fit is also essential for maintaining the effectiveness of the Hempvana Straight 8. It has to be close to your muscles to do its job.)

When it’s fitted properly and adjusted so that it feels comfortable over my back, I hardly notice it’s there. I can wear all my regular clothes, and no one ever notices.

That factor alone has probably done the most to ensure that I actually wear this thing enough for it to do its job. I can wear it to work, the gym, church, dinners with friends, etc. Unlike other back braces that tend to be clunky, super noticeable under clothes, or just awkward to wear while working and moving around, this one fits like a glove.

It’s called the Hempvana Straight 8 because it’s made from hemp fibers, which are basically like cotton but more moisture-wicking (and also better for the environment, I think?). I’ve noticed that I can wear this much longer than I’d thought before it gets sweaty or needs to be washed. I usually throw it in the wash once a week, and I’m golden.

Durability and Maintenance

Speaking of the wash, do NOT throw this thing in the dryer. I wash it on the cold and gentle cycle, and it’s fine (although the instructions say to hand wash only, so it’s up to you how cautious you are). Then I let it air dry.

I threw the first one I bought in the washer/dryer without reading the tag, and it basically shrunk and became warped. That was on me for not reading the instructions. Since then, I’ve been fine washing it in cold and air-drying. It dries overnight and is ready to be worn again the next day.

Okay, let me answer some of your questions. Will this back brace fit me? Unless you’re extremely petite or large, you should be fine. It’s a one-size-fits-all situation, but, as I mentioned, the straps are adjustable, so you can tighten or loosen them depending on what you need to feel comfortable.

It’s just like putting on a backpack, really. If you tend to need specially-sized backpacks to feel comfortable wearing them, you might not be comfortable in the Hempvana. Otherwise, I think you’ll be fine.

Improved Posture, Sleep, and Professional Performance

Another thing I’ve noticed about this is that even when I’m not wearing it, it has still improved my posture. It seems like it works as a corrective or helps create muscle memory in my back. Like after wearing it for several hours a day, several weeks in a row, now my back and neck just remember to be straight.

I found that to be a huge perk. I started wearing it nearly all day long, and now I just wear it for a few hours in the afternoon when I’m doing a lot of sitting, and I feel like I’m experiencing the same benefits.

My sleep has also improved from wearing this. I don’t wear it to bed, but I think the improved posture and added support on my back and neck during the day allows my body to relax more and get deeper sleep. Normally, I have to toss and turn a bit before I can get comfortable in bed.

Sometimes, I even wake up in the dead of night with what feels like a crick in my spine and have to rearrange my pillows to support my back to fall asleep. I haven’t had to do that once since I started wearing my Hempvana during the day. In my mind, that’s a sign of a great product.

Let me tell you a little story to illustrate just how well this has worked for me. I have to frequently get on conference calls as part of my job. Sometimes, I’m just a part of the audience and don’t have to do much.

Other times, I’m the one presenting. About six months ago, I had to give a major presentation on this conference call. I was nervous the night before, which contributed to my poor sleep. But so did my back pain. I woke up EIGHT TIMES during the night, needing to shift around, adjust my pillows, etc., to try and get comfortable.

I was extremely stressed, exhausted, and uncomfortable when I woke up the next morning. Needless to say, the presentation was a disaster. I was a mess, and it did not go well. It was one of my lowest points, professionally, of the last several years.

Fast forward to a week ago; I had a similar big presentation with another client. At this point, I’d been using the Hempvana for several weeks. I was nervous the night before, but I only woke up once during the night and felt SO much more well-rested the next morning. The difference was stark.

Even my wife commented on it. Knowing how poorly the last one went, she’d asked me about the presentation and was curious what had caused such a dramatic improvement. Of course, part of it was just improvement at my job and learning from the catastrophe before. But I credit a huge part of it to the Hempvana Straight 8.

Conclusion

I wouldn’t recommend this product if you don’t suffer back pain or feel your posture needs fixing. In that case, it would probably just be redundant or useless for you. But if you’re like me and spend much of your day sitting or get poor sleep because aches and pains in your back and neck wake you up, I highly recommend this product.

It was super useful for me, and I would love to spread the word and help out other people who may benefit from support on the upper back and neck.