Donald Buraglio

Fall demands a little more out of our sock game: more insulation, more durability and more dynamic performance to accommodate rainy weather and dropping temperatures. Here’s a new harvest of styles to keep your feet comfy as the days get darker and colder. 

The Allbirds product line has historically been focused on casual and athleisure-type footwear, however, they’ve recently expanded into high-demand athletic use. The Trail Runner SWT (sugar, wool and tree – the shoe’s primary source materials) is their first model built specifically for trail running. So far, we’ve put more than 250 miles on each of our test pairs, and their durability has been quite impressive.

Most of XOSKIN’s apparel lineup consists of light compression-style garments that dissipate heat and moisture while diminishing friction on the surface of your skin. We tested two new products in the XOSKIN lineup: the men’s 3.0 XOUNDERWEAR liner shorts, and the 4.0 Compression Shorts which are offered in men’s and women’s versions.

We tried two new shirt options from Ibex’s summer 2021 lineup. Both are soft, lightweight, odor resistant and temperature regulating; we tested them on cool and foggy coastal trails, as well as temps in the high 90s. Both feature classic styling and exceptional comfort that is true to the company’s heritage, which makes them equally suitable for athletic or leisure pursuits.

Speedland has made an outstanding trail shoe in the SL:PDX. Between the secure fit, responsive midsole and strong traction, there’s virtually nothing holding you back from running fast on all kinds of terrain, and there are enough comfort elements to keep you rolling during ultra-distance outings. If you have enough disposable income and share the company’s “no compromises” approach to your training and racing, this shoe is certainly capable of helping you accomplish those objectives.

The primary change to the Mafate Speed 3 is the upper, which replaces the previous monomesh material with a recycled polyester mesh. This is in line with HOKA’s ongoing sustainability initiatives and thus far, we have been pleasantly surprised at how well the uppers have held up after about 300 miles of testing, including some thick bushwhacking adventures.

Arc’teryx has had a longstanding commitment to environmental responsibility and more recently, they have partnered with the global Fair Trade Certified™ program to ensure responsible treatment of workers at every phase of the production process, along with protection of natural resources. The company’s goal is to have 80% of their products meet all Fair Trade Certified™ guidelines by 2025, and all of the items we tested from their summer trail running collection meet these standards.

With longer and brighter trail days upon us, eye protection becomes critical. However, many of us would like to keep our fashion game strong as well. We’ve tested an assortment of styles and price points to provide you with plenty of options for looking good while providing maximal protection.

A few key characteristics of the rabbit brand stand out: their use of exceptionally comfortable materials, skilled balance of innovating and launching new styles without compromising existing favorites and perhaps, most importantly, a willingness to listen to customer feedback. All of those aspects are evident in their spring trail collection which combines two new products in response to popular demand, and two items that are updates to tried and true favorites.

This spring Garmin introduced an entirely new product line with the release of the Enduro watch, a model that is something of a hybrid between the Forerunner and Fenix series, with a massive increase in battery life that makes it ideal for ultrarunners.

Brighter days and longer miles during the spring months help build a base for fun adventures throughout the year. Just in time for your ramp up in training, we’ve tested a new crop of socks to keep your feet comfortable.

Salomon has had a longstanding commitment to socially responsible manufacturing practices, and this spring they are debuting a flagship running shoe that exemplifies this concept. The Index.01 is designed as a high performance road running shoe that is completely recyclable: it is made entirely of repurposed materials and is intended to be completely disassembled and recycled after its lifespan, with the raw materials incorporated into other Salomon products.

Saucony’s Kinvara and Peregrine shoes share similar DNA, even though one is a road shoe and the other is designed for trails. Both were born from the minimalist running shoe boom of the mid-2000s, combining sleek design with lightweight construction and just enough performance elements to allow fast but natural movement. Each of these models have been through a number of revisions since that time, but they haven’t strayed from their original mission and both received a few updates this spring.

Spring temperatures are often warm enough to ditch the jacket, but still too cold for short sleeves. That’s where long sleeve shirts come to the rescue. Having a variety of thicknesses to choose from allows you to customize the degree of insulation or ventilation you might need depending what temperature awaits outside.

UltrAspire is known for its innovative approach in the hydration vest space, and their design philosophy emphasizes minimizing the footprint of the vest against your body while still providing adequate storage for a variety of adventures. This spring, UltrAspire updated two of its popular unisex minimalist vests, the Alpha 4.0 and Momentum 2.0.

Donald Buraglio reviews the Altra Timp 3 trail shoe and new Altra Rivera road shoe.

This spring, The North Face swings for the fences with a new footwear design approach that has been several years in the making and tested extensively with their team of elite athletes. The technology is called VECTIV and in essence, it combines a rocker high-energy midsole compound with a firm propulsion plate, and a super-secure outsole platform to grip the trail and allow speed with confidence.

An update to Garmin’s Index Smart Scale, which measures a number of physiological metrics in addition to basic weight. The S2 is smaller and lighter than the previous model, with a new color display and improved sensors for increased accuracy and syncs with Garmin Connect via wifi.

The Vantage V2 includes a number of features first introduced on this year’s Grit X watch, plus three new assessment features and music player controls. All this is done in a significantly lighter and sleeker casing, making the Vantage V2 much more comfortable for all-day use.

Run commuting has steadily gained a loyal following in recent years, which is why Tracksmith created the Run Commute Collection. The collection is an assortment of existing items from the Tracksmith line-up plus some key new pieces to provide added protection and durability, and a pack to hold everything together.

An an offshoot of Topo’s most popular trail running model, the Ultraventure Pro has the same geometry and stack heights, plus added design elements to improve comfort and performance for long outings on rough terrain.

Long sleeve shirts are a staple of fall training. There is a lot of variety within the category, from lightweight fabrics intended for high-intensity work, to thicker layers that protect you on long aerobic outings or in harsh conditions. We’ve tested a range of long sleeve tops so you can choose one for your specific needs.

The successor to Garmin’s multi-sport focused Forerunner 735XT, expands the functionality of that model extensively, and closely approaches the feature profile of the higher-end Forerunner 945. In comparison to the 945, the Forerunner 745 has a smaller casing, minimal navigation features and lower battery life, but has a more affordable price point.

Autumn means cooler temps, wet trails and a new harvest of running socks to choose from. Here’s a rundown of models we’ve been testing over the past several weeks.

Innovation can be an interesting process. Any creative-minded person can attest that you have to throw some ridiculous ideas into the world before you develop one that lands precisely where you’d like it. If it took working our way through the TenNine shoe to get here, the Clifton Edge certainly seems to have justified the creative process.

We’ve spent the summer testing four high-performance trekking pole options in mountain running environments and big vert days on our home trails: LEKI MCT 12 Vario, Ultimate Direction FK Ultra, Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z, and Black Diamond Distance Carbon.

This longstanding trail favorite is the most famous model in the Brooks lineup, and for good reason, as it performs well for a broad spectrum of users under a variety of conditions. The shoe dependably gives you a comfortable, stable ride with more than enough support and durability to handle ultra-distance mileage.

This spring, Topo released two road shoes that, at first glance, look remarkably similar but have significant distinctions in their midsole construction to place them in different training categories. The Ultrafly 3 is an update to a well-established everyday trainer, while the Zephyr is a new model built for moving fast with increased responsiveness.

For a company that innovates as frequently as HOKA, it’s a testament to the success of the original Torrent shoe that they left it untouched for two full years. The Torrent was often described as “The HOKA shoe for people who don’t like HOKAs.”

Lightweight, high-stretch shorts without a liner to allow versatility of use for those who prefer their own baselayer. The Talus shorts use Matrix fabric which has excellent dynamic functionality for a range of conditions.