Each month the Run Testers try out piles of running products, but there’s a lot of kit outside of shoes and tech that we don’t get a chance to talk about until we do a full round-up.
This month we’ve got a whole heap of the latest kit to talk about, from winter hats and tops to our favourite running nutrition.
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JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
Nick’s Picks
00:37 – Soar Race Base
01:50 – Soar Trail Rain jacket
04:06 – Buff Crossknit Headband
Tom’s Picks
05:06 – Fractel “SIROCCO” Edition Winter Cap
06:54 – Darn Tough Grit Micro Crew Ultra-Lightweight Running Sock
07:47 – The North Face 1/4 Zip Run Fleece
Kieran’s Picks
10:44 – CXP Endurance XP Shorts
11:18 – UYN Strides Trail Shorts
12:22 – Untapped Maple Waffles
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Hey Tomy from the run cestors and Welcome to the monthly Roundup in this Video we talk about all of the bits of Kit that we've tested over the past few Weeks that we just haven't been able to Talk about in any of the other videos so Let's dive in and see what we all picked Over the past [Music] Month so to kick off this I'm going to Do reviews of a couple of bits of sore Running gear that I've been testing Lately some from their new Autumn winter Range for the year I've got the race Bas And the trail rain jacket which is kind Of like a smok jacket uh the race base Is £90 or $120 whereas the jacket is £250 or $325 so pretty pricey items but the Performance is always there as you Expect from s the race base is an idea I Really like cuz I am a coward I don't Like winter races and I always want to Be warm but I don't know tradition Almost dictates that you should just Wear a vest especially for things like Cross country races whereas I don't like To do that I like to wear a Bas layer And this is a really thin lightweight Bas layer made from the same material That you have for their race fests so Comes in white and black white happens To match my club Fest so I've been Racing in this a couple of times already
And using it pretty much week in week Out for my main hard session of the week As it's a bit colder slip it on under a Vest or a t-shirt you got a really nice Slight extra layer of warmth that's you Know not the hottest in the world so you Can still run fast and have a nice Breathable top without overheating I Think it's a really nice idea and very Much appeals to me as someone who would Rather be warm uh than really thinking About being as lightweight as possible For racing I think I race better when I'm a bit warmer and if you've got a Nice unrestrictive top like this uh it's Really good for fast running so yeah Huge fan of the race Bas very much Speaks to me as I say as a coward for Winter races now the trail rain jacket I Didn't use that much when I first got it Because it was just a bit too mild and Actually quite dry for a while in the UK But been using it a lot over the last Week or so this is a really really Breathable jacket um and actually it's More of an anarak really you've got the Smok style fit with this double Zip System at the front there the idea being That you can unzip both pull it down and If you're wearing a vest on trail runs You get a bit more of an opening there That works with the straps a bit better It's also got some abrasion resistance Sections to wear with the vest so you're
Not rubbing it when you are running on The trails packs away into a pocket very Quickly and easily have a couple of Buttons to hold it in place it's very Packable actually cuz doesn't actually Feel like thin and flimsy but it does Pack into a nice small package really Quickly and it is really breathable like I say like it's very much what sore goes For of all of its waterproof stuff and This is fully waterproof and abides by The regulations for trail races but in a Really lightweight package that's really Breathable so I've been using it last Few days actually a couple of those days It's just been cold or windy and it's Been great so I was up in Scotland over The weekend did one run on the trails But you know it's all it was about zero Basically the temperature for the whole Time there that's Centigrade don't know Fahrenheit uh and it was perfect up on The trails you know didn't overheat when I was pushing hard up hills and then on The top of them it's a good layer to Protect against the wind you get at the Top of little Hills and things like that Very cold conditions running on my Sunday long run down the canal in Edinburgh again it wasn't uh raining on Those days but it was very cold or windy And the jacket was a really good layer And then today went out and it was quite Mild conditions it must have been like 7
Or 8 degre here uh but it was wet and Again no overheating I've used it for Track sessions as well in Fairly mild Condition so it is really breathable It's kind of thing you just Chuck on now And if you're expecting that rain might Come you've got the layer on there and If it doesn't come it doesn't matter Your waterproof isn't too clammy so yeah I've been a really big fan of the rain Jacket it is very much a waterproof Though he's got that you know that feel To it it doesn't get clammy really I've Been wearing it with long sleeves mostly But it's not really a clammy sweaty top At all because it is so breathable but I Usually personally tend to prefer like a A water very water resistant top or a Slightly waterproof top that might not Hit regulations that has a slightly Softer fabric so does a lot of these as Well like things of their all weather Jackets and that kind of thing that are Waterproof but they have the feel of uh You know almost a normal running jacket But this is a really nice lightweight Waterproof for sure I'm going to use it A lot this winter and like I said Doesn't have to be raining for it to be Useful because it is so breathable so That's obviously a big tick when you're Paying this much money it also dries Really quickly was CU I was out in this Only a couple of hours ago and it was
Very wet at the end of that I went to Just grab grab it for this video and it Is completely dry so that's handy as Well and the last thing we going to talk About this month is the buff crossnet Headband which is £21 $26 it's a nice Winter headband basically it's a little Bit thicker than the ones that the very Thin fabric I tend to use over the Summer keeps your ears nice and warm It's got a fairly loose fit nice and Stretchy does a decent job of wicking Sweat away and not feeling like cold and Clammy on your head or too disgusting at The end of a run so you can use it a few Days in a row no problem at all again I Use this in the weekend up in Scotland For you know like a half round and long Run and like a run on the Hills and yeah Nice level of heat and warmth and Protection there without getting sweaty And clammy at all it's got this almost This Jewel layer that does dry very Quickly as well so nice option if you're A headband wearer for the winter month Works well with glasses I've not got my Glasses on right now because uh the ring Light reflects in them but yeah it's a Good headband covers the ear as well you Can use I wore it on both runs actually With glasses and uh ovar headphones like Hooking over and it's nice and stretchy And accommodating so it doesn't you Press those things against your head so
It's a nice headband to use for the Winter that's the buff cross nit Headband so my first pick this month is The fractal M series Soko winter edition Cap now if you are a runner who likes to Run a cap you've probably at some point Picked up a fractal cap I've got loads Of them I've been running in them all Over the summer I'm a big fan of them They're nice they're lightweight um but This one is a little bit different so This is a winter cap and you really can Only use it in winter it's quite thick It's got this fleece Line Design to it Um and if you wear in summer you're Going to get a very sweaty head in the Winter though um it started getting Quite cold here in the UK it suddenly Started to work really well for me when I I tend to use it when I go out for Those runs where I w't be going to do a The 10K 15K just at a nice slow pace Which for me would be around 5 minute 20 Km where I'm not really getting a Massive sweat on I'm just out there and I want something that's just going to Keep my head a little bit warm um and This does the job it's really Comfortable uh it's relatively Breathable uh but when I'm out in the Cold it's breathability is not really a Major issue because I'm not really Sweating a lot if I'm going slowly um But the other thing about this as well
Is it it's just a really nice looking Cap I mean you can probably just wear This all the time I've got quite a lot Of caps as you probably noticed if you Watch uh the Run testers videos I've Been wearing this as a normal cap quite A bit recently it's just very nice and Comfortable uh and does keep your head a Little bit warm on the winter days so Big fan of this is it's probably a bit More expensive than some caps you'll get It's £36 but it's a lot thicker and does Something that a lot of other running Caps don't do uh so yeah well worth Picking up if you're the sort of Runner That gets a cold head and want something That's a little bit toastier my next Pick this month is the socks and I'm Going to have to look at the name of Them because it's quite convoluted it's The danov grit micr crew Ultra Lightweight running socks now these are Really thin socks um but they're quite Nicely padded as well so they're nice Balance um I've been wearing them quite A bit over the past month I've used them Uh during races I've used them for long Slow plots I've used them on the trails They're just great they're really Comfortable they're they're quite thin So you can wear them with race shoes and They don't make them um make your foot Uncomfortable or make your feet too hot Um but also they're they're
Relatively um padded as well so you can Use them with other shoes and they don't Feel like ridiculously Ultra th socks uh Which are really just designed for Racing so they're a nice balanced pair Of socks they're just socks I don't have A lot to say about them apart from the Fact they're really comfortable they fit My feet perfectly no issues at all very Comfortable in the right areas nice and Breathable good socks my final pick this Month is the Northface quarter zip run Fleece I think that's what it's called Uh so I I got this few months back um I Think I got it in September and i p Tried wearing it once and I didn't pick It up again until now um because it's Quite a thick it's not really a fleece It's it's just more like a a running top Um but it it's quite warm so if you when I tried it in September it was just Instantly I was just way too hot and uh I wish I hadn't worn it for that for That run but since then as it's been Getting colder I've started to pull out A lot more of my winter kit from um my Stores and I've been wearing this quite A bit recently so as the temperatures Drop um and I don't want to wear a Jacket I try not to wear a jacket too Often when I go out running cuz more Often than not within about 3K I have to Take the jacket off um so I'm trying I Try I tend to use long sleeves quite a
Bit in the winter I'd still probably go For a lighter long sleeve if I was going Out for a really hard run like an Interval session or something but for Most of the runs that I'm doing at the Moment I'm not training for a marathon At the moment or really training for any Shorter races so uh most of the runs That I'm doing are really at a Comfortable base pace for me so um I'm Not really really looking to go all out And get a sweat on so but this is really Nice so basically you you you put this On head out there um it keeps you nice And warm when you just get out but it's Breathable enough to handle a nice Comfortable run without getting too Sweaty and it doesn't immediately don't Need to wear a jacket as well so I'm Really enjoying wearing this um it's Quite loose fitting as well so I'm a Medium this is medium and it's not Figure hugging it's got It's quite Relaxed fit which I like for my running I don't like having wearing things I'm Not I'm not a young man anymore um and Also uh my favorite thing about it which Is my favorite thing or a necessity for Me with any long sleeve tops is you've Got a little um thumb hole in it as well I always need a thumb hole love a thumb Hole in a top other things other things On it it has these reflective strips There's not many of them on it they're
On each arm I don't think they're going To make a massive difference in terms of Visibility at night but they do have it On there as well and the inside is very Soft so um some running tops if you get Technical running tops don't necessarily Have a a soft inner this does it's quite Comfortable to wear uh sometimes I put This on wear it all day before I go out For a run in the evening it's quite Comfortable top to wear uh if you're Working from home um and it zips up Nicely so I tend to start my run with it Zipped all the way up and by the end of The run I zip it all the way down and I've got my chest showing so yeah just a Solid nice uh running top that's very Very good for the colder days uh you Definitely won want to wear this in the Summer though cuz it's quite a warm One I've mentioned the cxp Run XP Running underwear or Bas layer shorts Before and these cxp endurance are a new Pair that follow the same blueprint as Those you get this incredibly light soft Pliable fabric that has this sort of Supportive second skin feel without Feeling too restrictive the waistband is Really nice and wide it doesn't roll it Stays securely put while being flexible Enough to avoid cutting in and you've Got these sort of CHA beating Flats Seems throughout plenty of support for All your important bits up front the
Other benefit of the thin fabric is that You can wear these under almost any Shorts they come in five and 7in legs The 7in also have silicon grips to Secure the legs they are brilliant cha Free running undies now these wind Trail Shorts surprised me I took a gamble on Day two of my 100 mile runaround Lake Garder earlier in the year and I swap Them in for my normal shorts now I'm not Usually a runner who wears tight shorts With everything on show but the hugging Fit and soft flexible fabric that's Almost silky on the inside make these Incredibly comfortable to run in I was Really super surprised they kind of Disappear for a almost naked feel and They just move with the body they're Made from thicker fabric that's designed For cooler temperatures but I actually Ran in these on 25° plus days for up to 6 hours they whipped well they dried Fast the lighter ventilated paneling in The front and around the hottest bits Really helps and then there's the Pockets you've got one stretch pocket on The back and you've got two zippered leg Pockets as well they're Ace for Additional easy access storage and I Like them so much that I wore them again On the final day of my run overall I Clocked around 60 mies over two days in Them without any chafe and in total Comfort and I really love them I'll be
Using them on Long Trail runs in the Future now here's one for any Ultra Runners out there looking for long run Fuel or in fact any runners who like to Top up their carbs pre- run or anyone Who happens to have a sweet tooth as Well when it's time to turn to the Solids on Long endurance efforts the Strp waffle I think is always a good Choice and these untapped waffles are 100% delicious they're basically maple Syrup they're sweet crumbly and almost Melt in the mouth so they're really easy To eat there's not too much chewing They're a little bit dry but not in a Way that leeches all the moisture out of An already dry mouth so you can get them Down even if you don't have water each One packs a hit of 20 gr of carbs there Are loads of lovely flavors to choose From including Maple lemon cocoa Raspberry coffee and chai if you're in The UK you might have to hunt a bit to Find shipping but it's probably worth Digging because they are delicious the Trick is going to be not eating them all Whilst you're watching telly on the sofa Though that's it from us this month on The monthly round up thanks a lot for Watching don't forget to like subscribe Click the bell all of those sorts of Things and if you go into the caption Below you can find a link to our podcast Which comes out at the end of each month
And if you're watching this in November Or December it's all about super trail Shoes so we're talking about carbon Plate shoes for the trails so uh thanks A lot for watching and we'll catch you Next Time
