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Technical bags for going the distance
After a season of testing, these eight came out on top
In the age of big foam, the ghost of minimalism lingers— making for versatile kicks
The season’s best trainers keep you moving through nasty weather
From bare-bones featherweights to long-haul beasts, there’s a bag out there for you.
On turf or tarmac, these are our favorite women's trainers of the season
These six jackets will help you log miles—safely—by trail or road
The Ultralight Trail Running Essentials of 2015
The result of years of chaos—go minimalist! go fat! don't change a thing!—in the running market? Everybody wins.
The best thing going in this year's crop of shoes? Diversity.
Put some bounce in your step with the season's best road running shoes.
Spring's best off-road shoes strike a balance between speed and comfort
The best shoe for speed work, and efficient runners with minimalist leanings.
From superfat to ultrathin, these are the best new sun-season road runners.
It’s been years since we picked a thickly padded road runner as our top shoe. But the 1260v3 demanded the recognition. Yes, it goes overboard on the comfort, with a pillowy tongue and heel collar and spongy mesh in the upper. Yet it’s still efficient, so it was a welcome partner on long hauls.
Outside reviews the best gear in the Summer 2013 Buyer’s Guide, including the Avia Avi-Mantis
Outside reviews the best gear of June 2013, including the Saucony Kinvara 4
From minimalist speedsters to winter-ready mountain scramblers, we’ve got you covered.
Rather sort your sock drawer than run on a treadmill? Us too. Here’s the gear you’ll need to keep running outdoors all winter long.
While the minimalism trend has shifted the center of the running universe toward lighter, more neutral designs with lower heels, shoe buyers are still faced with one crucial question: Performance or comfort?
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2012 Winter Buyer's Guide, including the Saucony ProGrid Outlaw.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2012 Winter Buyer's Guide, including the Patagonia Ultralight Down Hoody.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2012 Winter Buyer's Guide, including the Pro-Tec B2 Snow helmet.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2012 Winter Buyer's Guide, including the CW-X Insulator Stabilyx tights.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2012 Winter Buyer's Guide, including the Saucony PowerGrid Cortana running shoe.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2012 Winter Buyer's Guide, including the L.L. Bean Polartec Power Dry Quarter-Zip Lightweight base layer.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Suunto M5 watch.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Highgear Axio HR watch.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Timex Ironman Race Trainer Pro Kit watch.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Tech4o Discover watch.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Garmin Forerunner 410 watch.
Recent studies are shattering the myth that life span is predetermined by genetics. The latest bombshell: your morning run could be the fountain of youth.
From hot springs to mountain-town fiestas to one surprisingly easy island getaway, we've got you covered.
TAKE IT ANYWHERE Small enough for short jaunts, cool enough for the heat of the desert, and tough enough for the mountains. The Direct 28 does it all, and for a sweet price. The abrasion-resistant 210-denier nylon body—and doubly reinforced bottom—is made for alpine abuse, while an aggressively arched frame…
With welded seams and a water-resistant polyester shell, this insulated soft shell is ready for any winter-weather play. 1.6 lbs; patagonia.com…
If you spend a lot of time doing self-rubdowns, get Trigger Point Performance’s Smrt-Core Grid, which gives a better massage than cheap foam. smrt-core.com…
Quiet, slightly stretchy GoreTex fabric. A simple cinchable powder skirt. Smooth-tracking waterproof pit zip. A truly helmet-compatible hood with great periphery visibility. While other hard shells offer these simple features, nowhere are they combined as elegantly and with as much attention to detail. You can just tell that every feature—like…
Fancy yourself a Mr. Fixit? You’ll never lack for the right screwdriver with this foldout tool and its six interchangeable bits (Phillips, flat, and Torx). Fix failed? The ‘biner clip can pop open a cold bottle of consolation. www.leatherman.com…
To trim grams, the Hydrogen forgoes everything but a small key pocket and full zip. The nylon breathes moderately well without the help of vents yet still shrugs off a light drizzle. 3 oz; thenorthface.com…
Good for Trail When the weather waffled between freezing rain and slushy snow, this top-shelf technical jacket hit its stride. It’s a hybrid—a 750-fill down sweater wrapped in an eVent hard shell—that never wet out, even in a deluge, but breathed well enough for alpine treks and…
Town Crossover Sure, you can sled or snowball-fight in your technical puffy. But you might appreciate the extra padding that this machine-washable wool-nylon beast provides. The huge collar pops up as high as your ears—and stays there. 4.6 lbs; TAGS: wool, machine-washable, heavy-duty…
This luxe jacket has a mesh-lined back vent, three pockets, and an MP3 pouch. It’s heavy, but the wind- and water-resistant polyester fabric is breathable enough for a cool-weather run. 10.8 oz; brooksrunning.com…
Made of lightweight carbon fiber, this sturdy probe is long enough for real rescues and thick enough to feel solid in chunky debris. 8 ft extended, 16 in collapsed, 8.7 oz; genuineguidegear.com…
Trickle Charger This mix between a 100-calorie gel and four-ounce sports drink has been designed specifically to top off your stores before a workout. The main sugar, isomaltulose, is a sweetener that digests slower (for more sustained energy) than traditional sugars. Our take: Works as intended. gatorade.com…
A pump inflates a bladder at the back of this audio-enabled lid, snugging up the fit, and the removable earflaps are loaded with better-than-average speakers. Smart detail: The cord has a volume adjuster, and it breaks away easily from the helmet if it gets snagged. TAGS: wired, inflatable…
LIGHT AND VERSATILE Consider the Talon an experiment in reduction: Every detail has been whittled down to bare essentials, making it a great warm-weather ultralight. But it's no one-trick pony. Thanks to a stiff aluminum/composite suspension, smart external lashing options, and a large stretch-woven shove-it pocket, one tester was able…