Maggie Guterl making fast work of a hill in Durango, Colorado. Photograph: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
The working attire trade has modified quite a bit within the final decade on the subject of the most effective working attire manufacturers. Buyers are not restricted to what’s on the market on the specialty working retailer of their space. The direct-to-consumer period of web retail has meant that new firms can launch with only a web site and social media, and established manufacturers should keep on their toes and react to buyer wants and tendencies far more rapidly.
From fashion to supplies to performance, adjustments in attire have led to runners having extra selections than ever earlier than. Corporations have continued to make use of sponsored athletes and group leaders to showcase their gear on various kinds of folks and our bodies.
With this abundance of alternative, we used the iRunFar staff’s collective expertise to select ten path working attire manufacturers we commonly use from numerous value factors and totally different positions available in the market. On this group, you’ll discover the heavy-hitter manufacturers and smaller ones packing their distinctive punch.
Greatest Working Attire Manufacturers
Excessive-quality working attire can maintain you comfy and searching good. Photograph: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Location: Ventura, California
Common Fashions: Strider Professional Working Shorts, Countless Run Tights, Houdini Jacket, Capilene Cool Light-weight Shirt
What We Like: Patagonia is likely one of the finest manufacturers for considerate particulars, from the exterior drawstring on their shorts to the built-in working vest design of the Storm Racer Jacket to their use of planet-friendly supplies.
What We Don’t: The items will be an costly funding, however they’re constructed to final.
Patagonia’s path working historical past has been crammed with stops and begins with their footwear, sponsored groups, and attire, however the previous couple of seasons have proven an actual dedication to the class.
The Strider Professional Working Shorts alone will put Patagonia within the working attire model’s corridor of fame for many people, however the firm additionally has many different very considerate outerwear elements just like the Excessive Endurance Equipment, with its standout Storm Racer Jacket.
The light-weight Houdini Jacket is the go-to choice for a lot of runners and adventurers, particularly in alpine areas. Patagonia’s dedication to environmental advocacy makes supporting the model a no brainer for path runners, and the top quality of their objects makes them nice to make use of.
For extra on what’s occurring at Patagonia, try our Storm Racer Jacket and Excessive Endurance Equipment critiques.
iRunFar’s Craig Randall exams the Patagonia Storm Racer Jacket in, ahem, stormy circumstances. Photograph: iRunFar/Christin Randall
Location: Santa Barbara, California
Common Fashions: FKT 5″, EZ Tee LS, UtiliBra-vo
What We Like: Rabbit helps many high-level runners, however their emphasis is on enjoyable for everybody. The comparatively younger model has many colourful items for each women and men, and purists will love the brief inseam choices.
What We Don’t: Some girls want longer shorts than rabbit presents. We’d additionally like to see fashions and colorways stick round somewhat longer to advertise sustainability.
Rabbit was based by two girls in Santa Barbara, California. Just like the pacesetter their title evokes, their purpose is to be out entrance and push limits within the traditionally male-oriented working enterprise. Being out entrance goes past cutting-edge attire for the model; it additionally consists of the inclusion of all folks and sizes. Their shirts have confirmed to be useable by many ladies all through their being pregnant, stretching to suit a rising stomach and nonetheless being useable post-partum. You’ll be able to learn extra in regards to the rabbit EZ Tank prime and the rabbit EZ tee LS (hyperlinks?) at our finest maternity exercise garments information. The model gained early traction with path runners and has a definite presence in observe and discipline and street marathons.
RabbitRELAX material is a standout materials, incomes rave critiques from all who slip into items made with this buttery delicate materials. New collections emerge each season, however some staples embrace button-front shirts just like the Low Tide and the cutout Vert Shirt HP, impressed by the Western States 100 and Scott Jurek. Earlier than Hoka launched its attire traces, rabbit was the producer of the Hoka equipment utilized by the shoe model’s professionals.
See far more about rabbit in our girls’s chilly climate attire overview and girls’s heat climate attire overview.
The model rabbit makes nice attire for runners, together with this rabbit Excessive Nation SS worn by Kyle Curtin. Photograph: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Location: Ashington, U.Ok.
Common Fashions: Dart XT Thermal Zip Neck Lengthy-Sleeved Prime, Minimus Nano Pull-On Waterproof Jacket, Fireball Nano Hooded Jacket, Protium Lite Hooded Fleece Pull-On
What We Like: Wonderful high quality merchandise with an endurance focus, a great deal of choices for tops, pants, and equipment like hats and gloves, merchandise appear to be very sturdy
What We Don’t: Hardly any choices for working shorts
Montane is likely one of the few manufacturers dedicating its complete product line to high-output endurance mountain actions. And we’re right here for it. The U.Ok.-based model has quickly turn into certainly one of our favorites, due to its high-quality and high-performing lineup. Merely put, we’ve beloved each Montane product examined. The Dart XT Thermal Zip Neck Lengthy-Sleeved Prime is a wonderful piece that serves as a next-to-skin base layer or a stand-alone piece. Similar with the Protium Lite Hooded Fleece Pull-On, which is a bit heavier and might deal with temperatures into the 40s as a stand-alone piece.
The Fireball Nano Hooded Jacket is an progressive prime layer for colder runs because it options strategically positioned insulation on the chest and air flow underneath the arms and on the again. However maybe certainly one of our favourite items, not simply within the Montane product line however of all attire we’ve lately examined, is the Minimus Nano Pull-On Waterproof Jacket. The totally weatherproof jacket is extremely waterproof, packs down right into a wad most individuals can palm whereas working, and has confirmed to be a superb “simply in case” piece for us on mountain missions, from path working to mountain biking to fly-fishing.
We have now two notes to level out. First, Montane presently doesn’t have many — or any — critical choices for working shorts. We’d like to see the model take a dip into that class. Secondly, as a typical European model, the minimize and match of most items are slim and athletic. Personally, we like that, but it surely received’t be as inclusive for all physique varieties, and it’s best to in all probability go up one dimension in comparison with the standard American clothes manufacturers.
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Common Fashions: AFO Center Brief, 7/8 Groundwork Tight 2.0, Helio Tech Tee
What We Like: Janji is thought for daring and wild prints for women and men whereas standing for terrific causes like world clear water entry.
What We Don’t: It’s a critique you’ll see in a number of locations on this information, however slower mannequin and colorway switches would promote a extra sustainable strategy to working attire.
Janji exploded on the path working attire scene a number of years in the past with extraordinarily daring patterns and prints, discovering early distribution within the huge out of doors retailer, REI Co-op. What’s behind the title? Janji means “a promise or declaration” in Indonesian, and their dedication to environmental and humanitarian causes is immense. The corporate donates 2% of the proceeds of each buy to scrub water initiatives within the particular nations they use for inspiration for his or her seasonal collections.
Native artists create Janji’s seasonal collections, and two notably cool ones are designed by Arwin Hidayat and Soni Irawan, two proficient artists from the island of Java. The Batik prints are used notably successfully on the Groundwork Lengthy Bra 2.0, 7″ Tempo Brief, and the Helio Tech Tank. There are various extra examples of Arwin and Soni’s designs on a few of Janji’s hottest types, just like the 5″ AFO Center Brief and 7/8 Groundwork Tight 2.0.
In our girls’s attire overview, you possibly can be taught extra about numerous items from this model.
iRunFar’s Kristin Zosel carrying the Janji Groundwork Tempo Sports activities Bra and Janji 6-inch Groundwork Tempo Brief. Photograph: iRunFar/Kristin Zosel
Location: Seattle, Washington
Common Fashions: Ingredient Shorts (classics which might be not in line), Dare Cross-Again Run Bra, Distance Lengthy Sleeve
What We Like: Excessive-touch customer support and an superior 90-day satisfaction assure, so in the event you don’t love what you obtain, you possibly can return it without cost.
What We Don’t: Whereas path working isn’t an afterthought, Brooks is definitely most energetic within the street working scene.
Brooks is the self-proclaimed “Run Blissful” firm, and their legacy in path working footwear is firmly established with classics just like the Cascadia. Along with their well-loved sneakers, the corporate additionally has a deep and high-quality attire assortment for all sorts of working.
Again in 2008, iRunFar founder Bryon Powell mentioned that the Ingredient Shorts, the traditional shorts which might be not in line, have been the most effective working shorts he had utilized in his then-15 years of working. One can longingly recall the easier days of ultrarunning when a youthful Bryon Powell would have been working in these shorts and commuting to cowl races in his trademark Toyota Prius. The Journey Prius stays, and so does Brooks’s wonderful attire.
The corporate has taken actual management in high-visibility clothes meant for staying vibrant and noticeable in darkness. Whereas that is definitely extra of a priority with street working, the identical concentrate on particulars extends to the path. Items just like the Sherpa 5″ 2-in-1 Brief and Distance Lengthy Sleeve are extra sturdy than comparable merchandise from different manufacturers, constructed to resist snagging tree branches or the occasional catch-a-toe crash on laborious singletrack.
Brooks has received over iRunFar’s girls’s testers with its Dare sports activities bra assortment, a set of high-impact, encapsulation-style bras with seven totally different fashions out there. You’ll be able to be taught extra about these bras at our Dare sports activities bra assortment overview.
Brooks has lengthy made working attire, together with the Brooks Dare Excessive-Neck Run Bra from their Brooks Dare sports activities bra assortment. Photograph: iRunFar/Annie Behrend
Location: Ziano di Fiemme, Italy
Common Fashions: Freccia Brief M, Drizzle Overpant M, Timing Brief W
What We Like: Technical supplies and progressive textiles with a broad vary of attire for each women and men spotlight what this model creates. Items are an excellent funding and will be crossed over with different sports activities.
What We Don’t: The match is certainly European sizing however not as inconsistent as La Sportiva’s footwear will be. Prospects ought to overview attire dimension charts earlier than shopping for.
It’s a pure transfer for La Sportiva, which makes world-class mountaineering, climbing, and snowboarding merchandise, to supply a set of mountain working attire that may cross over into any, or generally all, of these different sports activities. And happily, attire for all sports activities advantages from being breathable, quick-drying, and simple to layer.
La Sportiva’s working attire for women and men consists of every part from shirts to sports activities bras to shorts and skirts and light-weight packable overpants for wet runs. The match is extra European than American, with tighter traces, silhouettes, and vibrant and daring colours. La Sportiva is a part of a dwindling group that also presents an iRunFar favourite: the half-zip working shirt with raglan sleeves — not less than for males. The Limitless T-Shirt M makes it straightforward to control physique temperature whereas working.
La Sportiva has lengthy used the exceptional anti-odor and -bacteria know-how Polygiene, which may maintain your working attire from smelling and preserve water and vitality by requiring fewer washes.
Working in Colorado at dawn. Photograph: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Location: Annecy, France
Common Fashions: Bonatti Waterproof, S/Lab Velocity Bob
What We Like: Salomon presents one of the in depth attire assortments on this information, with many choices for women and men.
What We Don’t: Provide chain points hit Salomon laborious the previous two years and stock has suffered.
Ever since Kilian Jornet tore across the Western States 100 course in 2010 donning a skimpy pair of white Salomon half tights (extra like quarter tights) with a skin-tight prime, Salomon’s path working attire has stood out. The S/Lab vary, the place Killian’s aforementioned tights got here from, has constantly pushed the boundaries of technical efficiency and match. A previous favourite from that period was the lads’s Exo S/Lab Twinskin Shorts, which have been tremendous stretchy and comfy paired with an over-short with pockets for gels and different small objects.
Salomon is now synonymous with the likes of Courtney Dauwalter and François D’Haene, two athletes on the prime of the ultrarunning world. The corporate has used these two runners’ distinctive types, together with their love for lengthy shorts, as inspiration for brand spanking new items of attire.
These days, items just like the technical Bonatti Waterproof and the S/Lab line pair with one of many broadest ranges of shorts and shirts of any model on this information. Their affordability can be wonderful, with many attire items starting from $40 to $50.
iRunFar’s Ben Kilbourne exams working attire on a morning run in Colorado. Photograph: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Location: Seattle, Washington
Common Fashions: Roga Shorts, Flyout Wool Half Zip, Tremendous Seamless Bra, Flyout Brief Sleeve
What We Like: Oiselle is really a for-women, by-women model that has positively grown by means of the enter of its prospects {and professional} athletes by commonly fielding suggestions from the general public.
What We Don’t: Generally, the sizing is inconsistent throughout the product traces.
Oiselle got here on the scene in 2007 as a woman-founded model producing attire distinctly by girls and for ladies. Lots of our testers incessantly comment on the sturdiness and longevity of the items. Oiselle has famously tussled with massive establishments within the sport, like USATF, over emblem placement and allowances for its sponsored athletes. The model received quite a lot of followers for daring to alter the paradigm for all athletes, notably feminine ones, since sponsorship wages are lean and laborious to return by.
The Roga Shorts debuted in Oiselle’s first yr and have stayed within the line ever since. They’re every part you’d need in a pair of shorts for every day working, with daring colours and prints that make them stand out and a flat waistband, giant again zip pocket, and semi-fitted fashion. The corporate continues to create items of clothes which might be as enjoyable to put on as they’re practical.
The Flyout Wool Half Zip combines a half-zip entrance with a brilliant comfy wool mix that wicks moisture, breathes, resists odor build-up, and stays reasonably heat when moist from rain or sweat. iRunFar tester Kristin Zosel says Flyout Wool is the lightest weight wool and polyester mixture material she’s ever worn.
Learn extra about Oiselle in our finest working shorts for ladies information and finest working shirts for ladies information.
The Oiselle Featherweight Roga Shorts are a superb companion to any run from the model Oiselle. Photograph: iRunFar/Abby Levene
Location: Powder Mountain, Utah
Common Fashions: Sykes PX – 5″ Brief, Lynx PD – 3″ Base Liner, Cascade SS T
What We Like: The shorts use a layering system consisting of a boxer transient paired with an over-short, a mix that is likely one of the most comfy working setups we’ve ever used. Bought direct-to-consumer solely, Path Tasks’ retail costs are extremely aggressive.
What We Don’t: The styling is a bit subdued and understated, so followers of daring and vibrant prints received’t discover the choices satisfying. Additionally they solely make males’s merchandise.
Path Tasks walks the road between path working performance and a complicated look higher than anybody else. They make merchandise designed for sturdiness that also have fashionable options like cellphone pockets. Not fairly Lululemon, however equally high-end in its product growth, Path Tasks has a few of the best-priced working attire in the marketplace.
The corporate was based to be direct-to-consumer, constructing the model fully on-line. Particular collaborations with group leaders like ultrarunner and filmmaker Billy Yang and an curiosity within the quickest recognized time scene have proven that Path Tasks is dedicated to the core of the game.
To be taught extra, see our finest working shorts for males information, the place we named the Graves PX – 5″ Brief the most effective worth brief.
Path Tasks is a small firm making nice males’s working attire, together with the Path Tasks Graves PX – 5″ Brief. Photograph: iRunFar/Christin Randall
Location: Osaka, Japan (American headquarters in Boulder, Colorado)
Common Fashions: Rain Trekker Jacket, Tachyon Parka, Cool Gentle T
What We Like: Montbell flies somewhat underneath the radar in comparison with a few of the flashier and hyper-marketed manufacturers on this information, and but they’ve persistently produced class-leading working jackets in addition to a full assortment of path working merchandise.
What We Don’t: The widespread working attire items, like shirts and shorts, are restricted to only one or two choices.
Montbell is a staple amongst hikers and ultralight backpackers, and whereas it doesn’t do quite a bit to place itself particularly inside the path working class, the attire supplied is a few of the finest out there for our sport. Runners who spend quite a lot of time tromping across the mountains in tough climate circumstances typically flip to Montbell merchandise to maintain them comfy and protected.
A number of of Montbell’s jackets are prime picks in our latest jacket guides, together with the Rain Trekker Jacket in our finest working rain jackets information and the Tachyon Parka in our finest working wind jackets information.
iRunFar’s Meghan Hicks wears the Montbell Tachyon Parka. Photograph: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
The place to Purchase Working Attire
In contrast to trainers, which generally line the partitions at retail retailers, working attire tends to be simpler to return by immediately from manufacturers’ web sites and different out of doors specialty on-line retailers, like REI Co-op, Backcountry, and Working Warehouse, relatively than in-person. You’ll discover the larger manufacturers like Nike, adidas Terrex, and Brooks generally on the retail flooring, however in the event you’re on the lookout for a few of the smaller gamers like La Sportiva, you’ll wish to go to their web site. Different merchandise, like these made by Path Tasks, are solely offered on-line.
Different Working Attire Manufacturers
Our prime 10 selections for finest working attire manufacturers barely scratch the floor of the working attire manufacturers out there. Listed below are another manufacturers we’ve examined and luxuriate in utilizing, shared alphabetically.
Soar Working makes a lot of wonderful working attire, together with this Soar Working Sizzling Climate T. Photograph: iRunFar/Christin Randall
Name for Feedback
- What are your favourite working attire manufacturers?
- Why do you just like the manufacturers you do? Due to the attire made? Due to the corporate’s environmental and social practices? Due to your historical past with them? For another motive?
