I’m admittedly a gear guy. However, in both my personal life and in my role as the current head of iRunFar’s reviews and buyer’s guides, my focus has never been on wanting more gear. It’s about finding the right gear from the outset.
We live in a world designed to trigger a constant need for the “new.” Seemingly every month, a hot new trail shoe launches. Near-daily, we see social media posts from our favorite runners, brands, and races featuring “revolutionary” gear we can’t get our hands on just yet. None of this is by accident!
With that in mind, here are tips for finding the right equipment and making it last.
Nothing to do with gear. Just a pretty pic from a recent pacing gig at the Northburn 100 Mile. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
1. Do Your Homework
Outside of my professional life, I’ll spend tons of time researching niche products for my goal races. I invest that time to find the right product before I purchase it. I know my ideal setup before I ever see it in person.
Tons of buyer’s guides, reviews, and discussions are available online. Be sure to honor what qualities you like and dislike in a product category, rather than just following the hype or even one positive but untailored opinion. If you can test a product in person, that’s ideal. Alternatively, ask your community or on social media about what others have had the best luck with for your specific situation. What works best in the shoulder seasons in the Rocky Mountain West isn’t going to be the same as what works best in February in the Pacific Northwest or Georgia in July.
2. Use the Right Resources
Be skeptical of marketing and influencers. Their job is to sell you something.
In contrast, the current incentives for buyer’s guides are to feature extensive real-world testing and to actually be helpful to readers. That’s why they’re my first stop when buying something outside my own areas of expertise.
While individual reviews offer limited insight into a gear category as a whole, they are great for confirming specs or investigating specific use cases. For example, if buyer’s guides tentatively point me toward a product, I’ll look at a few reviews to see if the in-depth reality jives with my initial impression. On the other hand, I wouldn’t jump to a single review and as readily decide “I’m going to buy that.”
3. Pause Before You Buy
Wait a week between the urge to buy and the transaction.
The chances that you need something in less than a week are vanishingly small. This delay allows the irrational “I want it” thoughts — be they initial excitement, false scarcity, or something else — to fade. If, after a week, you still buy it, you’re much more likely to do so with a clear head.
Ignore this rule if you’re replacing a staple item that you’ve worn out, broken, or lost.
Another gear-free shot from pacing at the Northburn 100 Mile. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
4. Get the Goods Cheap!
Pro Tip: You never have to pay full price for running gear.
If you’re shopping online, a quick search will tell you when REI, Backcountry, and other large retailers typically run sales. On Amazon, tools like CamelCamelCamel can automatically alert you when prices fall.
In the trail world, brands regularly update their shoe models. Retailers discount the old model as soon as the new version launches. On occasion, the newest version is worth the premium, but rarely! This is your chance to stockpile your favorites at cut-rate prices.
Local peer-to-peer marketplaces or outdoor consignment stores can also land you some good bargains.
Finally, if you’re looking for your favorite long-discontinued item, it’s always worth throwing up a “Has anyone seen this lately?” post on social media. I’ve both received and given long-discontinued items in this way.
5. Ultra Premium Pricing Is a Red Flag
If a premium running product costs 30% more than most name-brand products in that category, there’s almost no way improved performance can justify the cost. Instead, what you’re paying for is the brand name and the intangible value consumer culture is attempting to place on it.
Could an ultra-premium pair of shorts, running vest, or rain jacket be slightly better in one or two aspects than a more normally priced competing name-brand product? Absolutely! However, as a holistic piece of running gear, there’s no way that the ultra-premium product is worth the price difference in terms of overall performance. Any gains are firmly on the margin. While it might be lighter or more breathable, those gains often come with tradeoffs in other areas or no improvement in basic utility. Often, it’s not unlike a recreational cyclist spending $5,000 more to shave 100 grams; the difference exists, but the value is often more about status than speed.
Sometimes what appears on its surface to be one product category, like sunglasses and camping gear, is better thought of as distinct sub-categories.
For example, budget and premium sunglasses meet the needs of two distinct user groups. Runners who regularly lose or destroy sunglasses are well served by budget sunglasses. Runners who will still reach for a pair of sunglasses three years after purchase will get their money’s worth from the more durable coatings and better performance of premium sunglasses. I’m in the latter group, but would still balk at any particular premium sunglasses that cost significantly more than their name-brand competitors.
On the camping side, there’s recreational backpacking gear and ultralight gear that, again, meet the needs of two distinct communities. Standard backpacking camping gear is great for a few nights while casually hiking, while ultralight camping gear allows a thruhiker or fastpacker to get more done with less risk of injury. Cutting half a pound off a single gear item or two pounds off four core items when weight savings make the experience substantially more enjoyable is enabling rather than necessarily being ultra premium, even if such products certainly exist! The facts that drastic improvements are unlikely and very long lifespans are common among ultralight camping gear further counsel that such gear is an investment rather than a superfluous spend.
Ultralight sleeping bags are more expensive, but they’re significantly lighter than standard sleeping bags. Photo: iRunFar/Ben Kilbourne
6. You Can Always Run in Cheaper Gear (But You Might Not Want To)
Yes, you can wear a trash bag as a rain jacket or use a Home Depot checkout headlamp for your next overnight adventure. Those solutions technically work, but for items that can last upward of a decade, a mid-range sale item offers better value.
I’ve long been frustrated with “gear will make it better” thinking. My semi-regular “jeans runs” — literally, runs in jeans and whatever else I happen to be wearing — are partly an FU to that mentality. I have run in plenty of conditions, from hellishly hot to brutally cold, in jeans and some sort of button-down shirt. I’ve run in steel-toed work boots, snow boots, slippers, and plenty of other foolish footwear options. A wool cheesecutter hat is, well, a hat, and one that can be run in. While running in jeans and work boots proves you don’t need the tech, I fully recognize the situation is far from ideal on the running side and takes an untoward toll on the gear.
My point here is that while we can substitute all the way down to the basement of the value chain and make do, for someone with a long-term relationship with running, the bottom of that descent feels like as big a value flex as running in $200 shorts.
7. Stock Up
Plenty of iRunFar’s test team buys multiple pairs of a shoe they love when a model is discontinued. They know well that the relentless march of progress doesn’t mean the next update will be better for them. I personally treasure a small stockpile of discontinued favorite shoes — like the New Balance 1400 or Montrail Bajada — that I use sparingly.
Similarly, I’ll hold on to my favorite apparel forever and use it only on special occasions. For instance, I wore a decade-old Mountain Hardwear shirt and wind jacket at the 2024 Ultra Gobi 250 Mile.
The top half of my kit during the second afternoon of Ultra Gobi 2024. The shirt and hat are ancient! Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
8. Take Care of Your Gear
For the most part, running gear is exceptionally well-made these days. Yes, there are ultralight or racing-specific items that explicitly make the tradeoff of lesser durability for better performance, but those are the outliers.
A pair of running shoes should last 500 miles, even if they eventually move from key workouts to easy days. I’ve never worn out a pack. Aside from shoes, the only running gear I wear out are socks, shorts, and pants. Eventually, friction takes its toll.
With few exceptions, when I see a shoe’s upper blowing out, I think “user error.”
If you end a run with shoes caked in mud or covered in dust, rinse them off so you don’t start the next run with built-in sandpaper. This practice is table stakes. Especially if you have a history of blowing out your uppers.
If you consistently blow out the same area of different shoe models, adapt. Find a shoe that’s well reinforced in your problem area, or pre-reinforce it with Shoe-Goo.
Similarly, if your stride leads to premature breakdown — like far-too-quickly worn-out soles or packed-out midsoles — find shoes with properties that address those needs. For example, you might have to trade the stickiest outsole materials for a more durable option, or the cushiest midsole for something firmer. And while I hesitate to ever suggest specific form changes, such abnormal wear might suggest targeted strength or mobility work to at least lessen that wear pattern. If you’re beating up your shoe, you’re beating up you!
9. Be Proud of Your Well-Loved Gear
Love your well-loved gear even as it ages. There’s trail cred that comes with gear that has survived a few seasons. If your favorite shirt has a gash from a memorable scramble or a burn hole from a fastpacking stove, don’t let vanity retire it.
A quick fix with a patch or some superglue can buy you years of additional use. I have shelves full of gear to test, but I still wear a ratty hat or a repaired belt on almost every run. We should value our gear for the miles it has covered with us, not for how shiny it looks at the trailhead.
Conclusion
I want to love the gear I have and make it last as long as possible. I want the same for you!
These steps also help you lower your environmental impact. Avoiding impulse purchases, buying the right gear, taking care of it, and using it to the end of its life are the best things you can do for the planet and your wallet.
Me on a “jeans run” from home. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
