I see Elvie pumps in every single place. My fellow mothers rave about it on Instagram. I discover it on retailer cabinets continuously. It sounded just like the newer, cooler model of the Willow pumps, which I’ve identified about since launch.

But once I lastly tried the Elvie, I discovered myself unimpressed with what the $550 pump may do. It’s not the one wearable pump with such a excessive price ticket, however its competitors can do methods that the Elvie simply cannot.

Mystery Size

When the Elvie got here within the mail, I had a direct query: What dimension is it?

It comes with plastic shields that sit on the breast, in two completely different sizes. But in contrast to different breast pumps, these shields aren’t labeled with the variety of millimeters to verify your dimension. (Check out our guide to shopping for a breast pump to see why it is necessary to get the best dimension.) I checked the field itself, and the directions, and got here up clean. The web site says that the field consists of 21 millimeters, 24 millimeters, and 28 millimeters, however my field got here with solely two sizes as a substitute of the promised three.

It wasn’t till I powered up the app and adopted the constructing directions that I realized there is a form on the protect that designates its dimension—a circle means 21 millimeters, a triangle means 24, and a sq. means 28. The app then guided me by checking my dimension. If I wanted a special dimension than those included, I would want to buy one in every of Elvie’s cushions to create a smaller dimension.

If you purchase Elvie on its web site, beneath the preliminary product banner it encourages you to verify your dimension. But it is easy to only click on “Add To Cart” above that banner and miss the reason on sizing solely. Third-party retailers do not point out it in any respect.

These sizes are the typical finest dimension for most folk, however not everybody. I do not use an average-size flange and the distinction is apparent once I put on my appropriate dimension. Sure, I can nonetheless pump with a 24-mm flange, however once I swap to a 21- or 19-mm dimension, the outcomes are clearly higher. It’s irritating that Elvie does not make it doable to purchase the right-size flange proper from the beginning, particularly contemplating the excessive price ticket.

Semi-Smart

Similar to the Willow 3.0 (7/10, WIRED Review), the Elvie will observe within the app how a lot milk you’ve got pumped throughout a session. But in contrast to the Willow, I discovered the readings to be wildly unsuitable almost each time.