Review: Elvie Pump

I see Elvie pumps everywhere. My fellow moms rave about it on Instagram. I find it on store shelves frequently. It sounded like the newer, cooler version of the Willow pumps, which I've known about since launch.

But when I finally tried the Elvie, I found myself unimpressed with what the $550 pump could do. It's not the only wearable pump with such a high price tag, but its competition can do tricks that the Elvie just can't.

When the Elvie came in the mail, I had an immediate question: What size is it?

It comes with plastic shields that sit on the breast, in two different sizes. But unlike other breast pumps, these shields aren't labeled with the number of millimeters to check your size. (Check out our guide to shopping for a breast pump to see why it's important to get the right size.) I checked the box itself, and the instructions, and came up blank. The website says that the box includes 21 millimeters, 24 millimeters, and 28 millimeters, but my box came with only two sizes instead of the promised three.

It wasn't until I powered up the app and followed the building instructions that I learned there's a shape on the shield that designates its size—a circle means 21 millimeters, a triangle means 24, and a square means 28. The app then guided me through checking my size. If I needed a different size than the ones included, I would need to purchase one of Elvie's cushions to create a smaller size.

If you buy Elvie on its website, underneath the initial product banner it encourages you to check your size. But it's easy to just click “Add To Cart” above that banner and miss the explanation on sizing entirely. Third-party retailers don't mention it at all.

These sizes are the average best size for most folks, but not everyone. I don't use an average-size flange and the difference is obvious when I wear my correct size. Sure, I can still pump with a 24-mm flange, but when I switch to a 21- or 19-mm size, the results are clearly better. It's frustrating that Elvie doesn't make it possible to buy the right-size flange right from the start, especially considering the high price tag.

Photograph: Elvie

Similar to the Willow 3.0 (7/10, WIRED Review), the Elvie will track in the app how much milk you've pumped during a session. But unlike the Willow, I found the readings to be wildly wrong nearly every time.

The Elvie gives an estimate while you pump that usually ranges an entire ounce. For reference, an average pump session might be 3 to 4 ounces, so already the range isn't specific enough to be helpful. After a session, it suggested a number in that range it thought I had pumped, but allowed me to change it before I finished the session. It was incredibly inaccurate; I usually found myself decreasing it by at least an ounce, if not closer to two.

The Elvie has three special pump modes, called SmartRhythm, that you can choose between in the app (but you have to choose these in advance of starting your pump session). It defaults to Single Switch mode, which means it will go from a couple minutes of stimulation mode to expression mode for the rest of your pump session.

The other three modes are Multi-Switch (which switches back and forth from stimulation and expression to activate letdown multiple times), Express and Collect (designed for heavy flow pumpers), and Slow and Gentle (for those who are sensitive to a pump). These modes are a nice option if you already know that pumps sometimes hurt or that you make a lot of milk, but can feel a little random if you don't have a lot of special pumping needs.

Speaking of the app, the Elvie app is fine, but nothing fantastic. Connecting the pump is slow, since you have to click “Connect my pump” every time and connect each half of the pump one at a time. If I wanted to update the software, I had to go into my phone settings to forget the pump and reconnect it through Bluetooth. But you shouldn't dismiss the app entirely. It has plenty of important information and pumping-related content, and you'll need it to access the timer, too.

Photograph: Elvie

The best thing about the Elvie is the built-in bottles at the base of the pump. They're easy-ish to see in order to check your milk output (since the app is usually wrong with how much you've pumped) and the bottles can be removed and stored in the fridge with an included cap. The bottles have measurements on the side, but the measurements on the Elvie bottles didn't always match the measurements on a standard baby bottle when I transferred milk.

If you wanted to be able to pump and pop straight into the fridge, while also using a wearable pump, then Elvie is a great choice. But portable pumps allow you to pump straight into a bottle, too—for around half the price. Everything else about the Elvie … works? Sort of? But it isn't worth the high price tag.