Gear Reviews and Views

One of the aspects of running and fitness blogs I enjoy, in addition to race reviews and the like, are gear reviews. They are a great way to get inside information on all sorts of things runners need from shoes to shorts to nutrition. Plus, having first-person knowledge of the pros and cons of various pieces of gear can be really beneficial if you're trying to make an informed gear purchase decision yourself.

With all that mind, I thought I'd start reviewing or at least describing the various gear I use in my running. My gear is a variety in that some of it is very low budget, while some of it is more expensive, or at least more expensive relative to the cheaper stuff I employ. 

But to me, deciding what to spend on running gear is similar to deciding what to spend money on when getting married. Assuming you don't have unlimited resources, you have to make choices about where to allocate your resources. Do you shell out big cash on flowers and maybe skip the videographer? Do you get the high end photographer, but go with the more modestly priced bakery? Etc. 

Running gear is a lot like this. You can choose to go top of the line on everything from your head to your toes and that's fine! You'll have the best gear at the starting line, no doubt.
Or you can go with the value options on everything and spend all those savings on additional race entries. Those options, and everything in between, will work for various types of runners. My feeling is that if you're happy with the gear and the gear budget you're rocking, then you're doing it right. 

I'm somewhere in between these extremes. Generally, I will not spend a ton of money on things like shirts, shorts, hats, gloves, and sunglasses. I'll spend a little bit on other things like compression shorts, running tights, and cold weather gear. And I will always happily spend the most on shoes and socks because they are in contact with the most important part of your anatomy when running: your feet.

To that end, I'm going to start by reviewing the new shoes I just bought a few weeks back: the Brooks Launch 3. I have been a Brooks customer since I started running years ago, and the Launch has continued my love affair with the shoes. More detailed post to come soon.