On trial: Elvie Stride and Elvie Pump

Elvie, one of the original femtech companies, was founded by women’s health expert Tania Boler in 2013. Ever since then, Elvie has delivered cutting-edge technology to make women’s lives easier when it comes to breastfeeding and pelvic floor training.

Its five hero products are the Elvie Pump, Stride, Curve (manual in-bra silicone breast pump), Catch (milk collection cups) and Trainer (for your pelvic floor).

We put the Elvie Pump and the Elvie Stride to the test to help anyone who’s unsure which breast pump to invest in.

Where to start? The Elvie Stride is the brand’s newest pump, designed to move with you. Its hands-free, hospital-grade pump means that performance comes first, closely followed by comfort and discreteness.

There are 10 intensity settings, including stimulation and expression, so you can get comfortable with the one that works best for you – it's really tailored to the individual, which I love. The suction is powerful but so quiet compared to other pumps on the market. It’s also super small, and easy to use, carry around and store.

It has one malleable wire only, and is hands-free and lightweight enough that the 150ml cup can sit inside a baggy top without being obvious while you go about your day. The accompanying app is a highlight for me – I can easily see how much I’m pumping in a certain period of time and look back on my history, too. 

The Stride is the perfect addition to any mum’s breastfeeding routine.

The Elvie Double Electric Breast Pump is hands-free and extremely portable. The 150ml milk chambers fit inside your nursing bra so you can pump while on the move – I’ve cooked dinner, been to the cinema and secretly pumped during many a work call. One of the best things is that it's basically silent thanks to a miniature, coin-sized Piezo pump. 

This pump is really easy to use, the chamber clicks together without wires and the smart infrared sensor technology means it automatically stops pumping once it’s full – so milk never overflows on to your clothes. It also charges in under two hours which is important if you’re planning on solely expressing.

It comes with bra adjusters that mean the Elvie Pump can fit inside any maternity bra. Choose from 15mm, 17mm or 19mm nipple cushions to ensure you have a better fit and therefore a better flow. These cushions fit both the Pump and the Stride so you’d only need to get one set. 

For anyone looking to monitor how much milk they produce there’s an easy-to-use, free Pump with Elvie app so you can control the pump from your phone. If, like me, you’re usually too sleep-deprived to bother with the app, the pump still functions 100% without it. 

There's also a new Smart Rhythm pumping feature on the Elvie Pump which you can customise to suit your needs. The four settings are:

1. Multi-Switch to optimise milk output

2. Express and Collect for heavier let-down

3. Slow and Gentle for sensitive nipples

4. Single-Switch for automatic let-down detect

One thing worth mentioning is that every part of the chamber – the valves, spouts and seals – must be totally dry after cleaning before you reassemble the pump. If not your breast pump could lose suction and not get as much milk out.

We’ve both found that the Pump and the Elvie Stride are game-changers because of how portable and easy to use they are. 

For anyone who wants to express with the added bonus of being able to do something else at the same time, these come with brilliant superior technology and features that makes them well worth the investment as you begin your breastfeeding journey.