Running Gear Reveal: 13 Winners for Runners at Big Gear Show

Half the battle in finding the next best-and-brightest piece of running gear is knowing it even exists. 

• 🏃‍♀️With new advancements in running technology and gear design at every turn, it’s hard to catch every update as soon as it happens.
• 🏃‍♂️By the time you stumble on your perfect Cinderella shoe or new running gear, you’re already two models behind when you could have been enjoying it for years in the making already. 

Such is life, and you can’t lay in wait just refreshing Runner’s World for the latest industry news…that time is much better spent actually running. 

✅ To make it easier to find all the information you need to embark on your next running gear haul, brands from all over the outdoor industry gathered together at the Big Gear Show in Park City, Utah, last week. 

👉Check out our top 13 picks of new releases and unexpected tools to help your hard work as a runner take you further. 

This classic brand is on a mission to rebrand and remodel itself, while aligning with more sustainable production processes using recycled ocean plastics and a greater quantity of plant-based material without compromising quality to keep you gunning ahead on the trails.

The new Agravic Flow 2 puts that plan into action by:
 

• Weaving recycled nylon and Parley Ocean Plastic — a material designed in cooperation with Parley for the Oceans and constructed from accumulated  coastline waste — into the shoe upper. 
• On the whole, this shoe offers a strong and steady bed for everyday trail action from soft dirt switchbacks to rocky mountain scrambles. 
• Price: $140, available now

TIP: Go with the original for a reliable three-season trainer, or upgrade to the GTX model for protection through the wettest and wildest terrain. 

Vests are the perfect layer for running as soon as the temperature drops.

Why? They keep your core protected while freeing up your arms to move freely in any direction for momentum and stability (plus, no sweaty armpits).

The Trek Stripe Vest takes those same benefits and puts them into a:

• Lightweight, breathable, and innovative package with the same ecologically responsible production components as the Agravic. 
• The inner material absorbs sweat while the outer material wicks away moisture to preserve warmth and dryness on both sides of the equation. 

But maybe the coolest thing about this warm performance vest is the shoulder gaiter design.

• Stretchy but secure material holds the vest in place on your arms to prevent slipping, sliding, and chafing as you pump them back and forth. 
• Available: Fall 2022

TIP: This vest will change your cold-weather running game, so snag it in time for the leaves to change and the snow to fall. 

This update to the beloved Distance Vest series from Black Diamond makes these hydration vests all the more comfortable for, well, going the distance — just as the name implies. 

• They’ve changed all the pockets to stretch-mesh, eliminating all cinches and clunky closures for greater accessibility. 
• Soft-touch seamless edging addresses one major complaint from past versions of the vest: bad chafing along the armpits and torso.
• Both flask pockets on the front have been moved down so that they sit lower, which keeps them from bouncing into your face with each stride and distributes weight better across the chest. 
• The line now also features separate men’s and women’s designs for more tailored, customized cuts. 
• Four different capacities — 4L, 8L, 15L, and 22L — mean that you’re covered no matter what kind of adventure calls, with the same basic fit to support each size. 
• Available: Spring 2022

TIP: The best running pack is the pack that you want to take with you, no matter how far, so Black Diamond aims to prioritize the comfort piece in these editions. 

There’s seriously never a bad time to add a massage into your day.

 Pre-run activation, post-run relaxation, evening decompression… they all give your muscles the TLC they need to keep coming back at their best day after day, run after run.

While we all dream of having our own masseuse on call, most of us will have to settle for personal percussion massagers as a close second.

The Roll Recovery R1 Percussion Massager is small and silent enough to bring along:

• To the trailhead
• Over to run club
• At races
• To your running buddy’s house
• At your work desk on vacations
• And pretty much anywhere else you can think of where you want to pass the time more wisely than just twiddling your thumbs. 
• Four different speeds and heads add versatility without getting too overwhelming
• Four different colors add a spunky touch that all runners secretly love in everything from their shoes to their recovery gear.
• Price: $129, available now

Plenty of runners have good reason to run through the dark: 

• Busy parents trying to beat their kids to the morning rush
• Ambitious professionals squeezing in the miles before or after long work days
• Ultrarunners going into the back half of their relentless mountain 100
• Or anyone desperate to find relief from the summer heat. 

But night running means adding a few extra pieces of gear to the quiver, including a reliable headlamp to light your way.

Petzl offers two new options that fit snug on the forehead for minimal bounce.

The superlight and low-profile Iko Core goes for the barely-there design, using a flexible headband for a light but snug fit. 

• Moving the battery to the back of the head keeps the lamp itself as thin as possible. 
• The whole thing weighs just 79 grams, and runs on either rechargeable batteries or triple A’s. 

The Swift RL model shines brighter, at 900 lumens compared to the Iko’s 500, at the cost of a slightly higher weight and a lamp that protrudes further out from the head. 

• But the reactive lighting feature that automatically adjusts brightness depending on your surroundings might also be worth the trade-off when you’re barely awake enough to get out the door, let alone fiddle with your headlamp every time you weave on and off the path of streetlights. 
• Price: $99.95 for Iko Core, available now
• Price: $124.95 for Swift RL, available now

Men and women experience temperature differently. 

That’s a big reason why things like sleeping bags and down jackets are differentiated according to gender. They feature different temperature ratings for the best chance at comfort. 

• But did you know that these biological differences affect our sweat rates and airflow preferences too?

CamelBak sure does, and they designed their men’s and women’s versions of the Zephyr Vest to best reflect those distinctions.

• The back panel on the men’s and women’s versions of the Zephyr features unique pod patterns based on data from heat sensors, to best support each gender in terms of sweat management and breathability. 

Besides that, the newest version of the 10L vest includes:

• Front flask storage
• Extra stash pockets within easy reach
• The ability to store an additional reservoir
• A large tunnel pocket with stretch cover for overflow, and...
• A detachable quiver for poles.
• Price: $150, available now

With the Planet line, Scarpa joins the host of outdoor brands shouldering more responsibility for eco-conscious designs.

This new edition of the Spin features...

• A highly cushioned and rugged technical trail runner, and it replaces much of the original material with recycled components. 
• The upper is constructed from 100% recycled material, while recycled products compose 45% of the midsole and 30% of the sole. It’s one of the few shoes in the running space to tackle both high performance and sustainability in a single package.

And it’s just the beginning for Scarpa. The brand aims to expand the Planet line so that it covers an increasingly wider range of their products, until these methods become more the norm than the exception. 

Price: $159. Available Spring 2023

This flask from HydraPak solves one of the most frustrating issues from my last race: Refillability. 

• It replaces the usual twist-top on most flasks with a flip-cap for quick open and close without having to take out the whole bottle and throw off your flow. 
• Each flask comes with both a long straw and a short bite valve
• It also comes in different shapes — round, oval, and flat — to fit the design of your pack. 
• Price: $22, available now

If you didn’t know that Scott even makes running shoes, you’re not alone.

This brand, best known throughout the skiing and biking industries, made the leap into running just last year.

They’re on the verge of releasing a pretty groundbreaking new shoe in the trail racing sphere… but you’ll have to hold tight for more information there as they gear up for the official release in the Spring of 2023 and keep tight lips until the drop gets closer.

For now, the Supertrac 3 offers:

• A promising update on one of their most popular originals. 
• This version is more durable with bigger lugs across a wider surface area.
• This allows for more lateral movement scampering along the trail. 
• Price: $170, available now

TIP: Snag the GTX model to run strong through inclement weather, or the Ultra model for an extra dose of durability on the longest endeavors. 

Most hydration reservoirs and flasks never quite lose their plastic aftertaste… you just get used to it over time. 

Mazama uses a different film for theirs so that you never have to deal with it at all. 

• Polyethylene, instead of typical thermoplastic polyurethane, doesn’t grow bacteria or leak that oh-so-memorable plastic taste. So it’s both more drinkable and safer in the long run. 
• The external structure and handle keeps the larger reservoirs from collapsing.
• It also protects the bottom portion of the tube so it doesn’t get pinched or squashed in your pack. 
• The top stays open for easy refilling and electrolyte fizzling, the absence of which I’ve noticed as an unexpectedly annoying design flaw in other reservoirs. 
• Mazama even offers an insulated version of the reservoir — including an insulated hose — to keep your water tasting refreshing in the summer and flowing in the winter. 
• Price: $34 for noninsulated, $40 for insulated, available now

I’d bet that everyone has heard about the performance benefits of wool, even for lighter-weight clothing. They...

• Wick sweat
• Don’t retain odors
• Stay cool in the heat and warm in the cold, and ,,,
• Offer much more comfort than synthetic alternatives

Most wool running socks, though, don’t actually contain that much wool. 

• That’s because wool isn’t actually the most durable material, especially when it comes to something as frequently and thoroughly used as socks.
• If a company claims to make a wool sock that will outlive you, chances are that the percentage of wool in that sock is fairly low. 
• The rest comes from synthetic material that, yes, might last a good long time… but turns crusty, hard, and downright uncomfortable long before it dies. 

Minus 33 doesn’t want to make a sock that lasts forever. This brand wants to make a sock that performs to its highest potential during its natural lifespan.

The Minus 33 Microweight Crew Sock with Light Cushion is the perfect trail sock: 

• High enough to protect from dirt and debris
• Low enough to let your legs breathe
• The sock boasts 61% wool construction
• Top-of-foot venting
• Seamless toe lining, and... 
• Bumper cushion on the front and back to prevent painful rubbing. 
• Price: $16.99 for crew.

TIP: For a lower alternative on cleaner terrain, the No-Show Tab version stays put under your shoe without riding down your heel or up your leg and includes the same cushion in all the places you want it, none where you don’t.  ($14.99 for no-show, available now)

I’ve used the original Katadyn BeFree bottle on long runs far away from any opportunity for a pit-stop.

The filter has kept me safe and hydrated on all-day runs through the mountains, and even on my own home trails when I failed to bring enough water.

It’s a constant in my pack for emergencies just like that, and it’s saved me heartache and headache more than once.

The new Black Edition not only looks sleek and sexy, it also features:

• A more durable exterior that you won’t have to worry about keeping in your pack like that and bouncing around among all of your other trail essentials. 
• It also keeps the water inside cooler and more protected from the sun. 
• Beyond that, expect the same incomparable quality and ease as the OG. 
• Price: $60, available Fall 2022

This soft but sturdy tank feels like putting on a pillowcase to run, in the best way possible. 

• The gentle seams and comfortable edges don’t rub anywhere, which is normally a huge issue for me with tanks that fit snugly over the shoulders and rise high up toward the neck like this one. 
• Instead, the fit feels secure and protective rather than constricting. 
• The armpits offer plenty of room for arm swingage, and the whole thing stretches to accommodate movement in any direction. 
• Price: $50, available Spring 2023

TIP: The light green color combined with the breezy material actually feels cool to the touch. It’s just the right choice for a blistering summer run when you wish you could be wearing nothing at all. With the wicking properties and UPF 40 sun protection, it might even feel better than stripping it all off. 

There was a lot of running gear, tech and shoes to see at the Big Gear Show. But these 13 items were among some of the best products for runners we saw at the show.

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