Running gear product reviews appear infrequently on this blog. The following aren’t so much reviews as they are enthusiastic thumbs-ups for one long-lasting product line and one seemingly indestructible device.
I’ve always enjoyed Brooks running gear beyond their shoes including hats, shirts, shorts, and pullovers. While there have been one or two duds for me, most of their items not only work well, they also last forever.
In 2000 I ran the Columbus Marathon and like most races, they handed out a shirt. In what was a more unusual move at the time, the shirt was technical. It occurred to me that this was an excellent running shirt and I made sure to hang on to it. For the last twenty years, it’s been a perfect shirt when it’s in the 40s or 50s. Just warm enough to ward off the chill, not too warm to be stifling. Oddly, it was only a few days ago that I noticed the brand name on the tag and saw it’s Brooks.
Reflecting on this, as well as a couple of fifteen-year old pullovers and a warm hat that are also in their line, I have several go-to pieces that have more than withstood many years of tough weather and use. I can’t guarantee the durability or comfort of Brooks but if I had to choose running clothing based on brand name, their stuff has outperformed just about everything else.
On to the indestructible item. I may be overstating this–I was tempted to run over it with my car just to see if it would survive but that seemed a bit extreme. However, I have other evidence. When doing the laundry in my house, occasionally I can tell there’s a decent sized object in there that doesn’t belong: with kids in the house I wonder what they left in their pockets but occasionally, it’s what I let slip in.
I clip these onto the back of my shirt when running in the dark and because of their light weight, it’s easy for me to forget they’re there. Into the wash they go and then out they come, and they work just fine. I have two of these lights and each one has been through the wash multiple times. I know they’re supposed to be water-resistant but these have been fully submerged for prolonged periods of time and they work just fine.
My goal is to not put them back through the wash again–at some point it would have to destroy them–but they definitely survived my neglect in removing them.
It’s next to impossible to know what gear will last a long time and work well, yet it’s satisfactory when years later, or a few cycles through the washing machine, they’re still doing their job.
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