We love our global running family and to show our gratitude, we put together this awesome gear guide for our friends and fans. We scoured the shelves and hounded our best connections for months and found a few beauties we couldn’t live without. Take a run through our spring gear guide for runners.
Salomon Sonic Pro 2
A precise and compliant running shoe from one of our favorite performance footwear brands, the Salomon Sonic Pro 2 is our aspirational choice for the road warrior. The new Wet Traction Contagrip provides traction and durability on hard urban surfaces, wet or dry. Profeel Film provides consistency and stability through the middle of the shoe during toe-off. Vibe Technology with OPAL and EnergyCell+ was invented to attenuate vibrations and reduce fatigue. Stack Height: 23mm/15mm (8mm drop) Weight: 240g (9M). ($140)
Headsweats Performance Trucker Hats
Made with lightweight and breathable Eventure fabrics that keep sweat off of your face and out of your eyes, Headsweats Performance Trucker Hats are bridging the gap between function and style in a majorly trendy way. From designs featuring the budding lotus flower to Bigfoot, a jackalope and the Loch Ness Monster, there’s a Headsweats hat for everyone. While their technical attributes make them a favorite, they’re equally awesome to wear for post-workout drinks with friends. ($26)
CurrexSole Insoles
CurrexSole is Europe’s leading insole brand with sport-specific models designed to work with the motion patterns of each sport and its footwear. The CurrexSole RUNPRO model is 0mm drop with a dynamic design to enhance the comfort of your footwear, but will not alter your natural running mechanics, or mess with how your footwear were designed to work. In current scientific research, comfort is the only proven aspect of footwear shown to prevent running injuries, and currexSole fitting is achieved through a semi-custom method (online or in-store) that takes into account your arch type and hip/knee axis.
Aevok Running Apparel
The Aevok Roar Tank is trending hard core for competitive running, trail running, and gym wear – but don’t think this is athleisure apparel. The unique arm hole cut and notch neckline enhances comfort for running and other workouts; and the shirts are imbued with AerDry fabric designed to keep you dry, cool and comfy. One of our favorite Instagram crushes assured us these tops look awesome and are super soft. ($65)
Brooks Hot Shot Sports Top
Newly redesigned for spring, the modern, minimalist Hot Shot Sports Bra from Brooks Running molds to the body for flexible comfort from trail to table all day long. Removable cups add shape and wide racerback-style straps deliver support. With an extra-breathable back panel and soft bottom band, the Hot Shot is another one of those must-have competitive essentials for women. ($38)
Polartec Delta Cooling Fabric
Polartec is rolling out a revolutionary new apparel technology this spring in a few select brands we dig. Unlike other cooling fabrics, which rely on chemicals to provide sensory cooling without actually lowering your core temperature, Polartec Delta is a special fiber and yarn construction engineered to enhance the body’s natural evaporative cooling response. Hydrophilic yarn is knit in a radiator matrix around hydrophobic yarn, providing the comfort of a cotton t-shirt without the fabric becoming a clingy, soggy, non-breathable mess, and without the flash drying of a pure hydrophobic shirt. Two of the best products made of Delta are the Rhone Glacier Short Sleeve ($68) and the Outdoor Research Gauge Tee ($59).
Decibullz’s Bluetooth Wireless Earphones
Anyone who’s tried to listen to music when working out has had their earphones fall out at unwanted times, causing a break in step, a trip hazard, or just an annoying distraction. Decibullz’s Bluetooth wireless earphones solve this problem by allowing you to mold your new earbuds for a precise fit. The game-changing Decibullz headphones are made to be thermo-fitted to the unique shape of your ear. It’s like molding a mouth guard: put the earplugs in hot water for five minutes, take them out, wait 30 seconds, and then mold the warm and pliable plastic to the exact shape of your ear. The result is earphones that fit comfortably and won’t fall out, whether you’re running or doing backflips. And if you mess up the molding process, just put the earbuds back in hot water and start over. ($119.99)
SAXX Kinetic Run Short
No other running shorts seem to prevent chafing quite like this. SAXX took their stretch micro-mesh Kinetic Boxer Brief and integrated it into a lightweight stretch woven short for a more streamlined fit and better liner performance for men. They also have training shorts that are a bit longer and are introducing a new, ultra-lightweight form of breathable compression in the Strike. Built for heavy workouts, Strike uses a structural approach to a man’s body. Ergonomically shaped, stretch-woven panels (80% recycled polyester/20% spandex) wrap around large muscle groups (glutes and quads) for a second-skin feeling and support. Strike’s use of bantamweight fabric relies much less on heavy-duty knits as the stretch woven construction does most of the heavy lifting. It provides lightweight breathable compression and quick-drying support. Saxx added non-chafing Flat Out seams for comfort as well.($74.95)
Columbia Montrail Titan Lite Windbreaker
The Men’s and Women’s Titan Lite Windbreaker is an ultralight layer for logging miles on so many iffy spring days. This stretch-infused trail running jacket features advanced repellency technology to protect you from sudden showers along with hidden vents and a sweat-activated super-cooling interior fabric so you won’t overheat. Reflective details will leave you visible in low light conditions, and the jacket easily packs into its own security pocket when it’s not in use, and at a great value. ($120)
One Gore-Tex Active Run Jacket
The ultralight One Gore-Tex Active Run Jacket utilizes the newest iteration of the Gore-Tex Active laminate, being called Shakedry. With its initial introduction, the Active laminate reduced nearly 50 percent of total thickness relative to previous Gore laminates — with corresponding gains in breathability — while retaining the completely waterproof and windproof performance that Gore-Tex products are known for. The Shakedry technology utilized in the One Gore-Tex Active Run Jacket continues this trend by eliminating the face fabric from the Active laminate, further increasing breathability and decreasing laminate thickness. And yes, as the Shakedry name suggests, the water-beading properties of this material are so good that you can dry the jacket with just a couple flaps in the wind. ($300)
–Author Aaron Bible is a lifelong outdoorsman, writer, photographer, gear tester and multi-sport athlete. He lives at 9,000 feet in Nederland, Colorado, with his growing family. Follow them at @team_bible_travels.
