Tag Archives: Gear Reviews

When I first heard about the HOKA Evo Jawz, my imagination ran wild. I first pictured a smooshy pair of platform shoes with an aggressive lug pattern and wild colors. Well, it looks like I got the wild colors part right, but they are far from platform shoes. HOKA, known for their lineup of running shoes, decided to step outside of their comfort zone and enter our world with a shoe that ticks all the boxes for obstacle course racing: light, aggressive, bold, and reasonably priced.

Runderwear specializes in making underwear that won’t make you regret putting in those miles. Their primary focus is to make moisture-wicking, seamless, comfortable and anti-chafe underwear that will help you to stay as comfortable as possible on your runs, even the long ones.

I will admit it, sometimes I am a bit forgetful. Unfortunately, for me, it always seems to happen when I have an Ultra (Ultra Beast for those not up on the new Spartan Lingo) on the horizon. Last year, in Jersey, I decided to run with my goto shoe, the Inov-8 230. The day went on fine, but I started to realize my feet don't like to be crammed up in a shoe for extended periods of time. For the Sunday Beast run, I decided I would tackle the mountain in my Altra Superiors and I quickly remembered how much I loved the Altra trail shoe. I figured it was high time for me to get my foot into another pair of Altras for some late season races in preparation for the demon that awaited, Killington Ultra. With that in mind, I put myself, confidently, into a pair of Altra King MT 1.5's and...

So apparently Inov-8 and I have a certain pact made. I get my hands on their shoes and then I break a cardinal athlete rule. I use them for their first trial on a race day. We then examine for carnage or shenanigans to see how they did.  Like its predecessor, the 212s, the X-Talon 230s are some pretty sweet looking Off-Trail/OCR Shoes. They have a little more conservative color scheme, but you feel like these are one tough shoe. Certainly ready to tackle any course you are about to face.

It wasn't long ago that I had found my perfect Hydration Vest. However, you know as well as I do that things change and keeping an open mind is paramount. I had recently come across a reinvented vest from Salomon in the hopes that I could find something a bit lighter that sports a lower profile than my everyday wear. Enter the ADV SKIN 5 SET, a sleek, low-profile, lightweight vest from the team at Salomon. Not only is it very light, it looks good too.

If you have the itch for a long race, one of the items you will likely need is a headlamp. With so many options out there, it can be a daunting task trying to pick the right one for your needs. There are a few brands that lead the pack, Black Diamond, Petzl, Princeton Tec, etc. Unfortunately, it seems that one company doesn't seem to be mentioned all that much, and it is confusing as to why. Well, no more. COAST has set out to change all that, and your mind, with their FL75.

We are are all looking for the right shoe, the right pack, the right pants, the right... or anything for that matter. With every single shoe manufacturer jockeying for your hard earned cash, which of them should get it? There are brands like Reebok, Merrell, Salomon, Altra, inov-8, Ice Bug, and the list goes on and on. For years, I have been running in many of them, but the inov-8 200's have been my go-to shoe for just about any race. Well, Inov-8 has another shoe, the X-Talon 225's, and they look sexy.

A few months back I saw an advertisement pop up on my Facebook news feed for this Georgia Death Race (GDR) branded headlamp! Like any other race junkie, race gear is always something I want to try and experiment with to find what's perfect for me. The more I'm involved with the different race groups on Facebook, the more I am realizing that everyone has an opinion on gear, and everyone wants to know what you think! I've gone through three different headlamps last season; none of them were bright and most of them were of poor quality.

When I first heard about Spartan Race's Winter Sprint, I knew it was something that I had to do. I have never been a fan of running when it is cold, but something about putting snow and obstacle course racing together entices me. Mostly, I spend my winters hunkered down in a weight room packing on some muscle, and fat, for the upcoming race season. Having an extra layer of fat means more fuel for the upcoming race season that usually kicks off for me with an Ultra Beast in NJ. This year, however, would be a bit different. This year, I would run no matter the weather, no matter the conditions; like the United States Postal Service, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

If you are in the market to compete in a long distance OCR event, or even if you are just looking for a high-quality headlamp, there seems to be no shortage of options. We have already taken a look at what Black Diamond had to offer in their Spot model, but Princeton Tec thinks they have a product that can sway you.