Continuing our series from Return to Fitness. Previous parts here: Return to Fitness: Introduction, Bike Fit Return To Fitness: Saddle (The Butt) Old-fashioned bike purists will swear by their well-broken-in leather saddles. But these seats can take several thousand miles of riding before they conform to one’s buttocks. Bike seats are now made with spongy,…
Author: Nicholas P, Chief Reviewer
Nicholas Pang is a competitive Northern California track & field athlete, runner, and Editor-in-Chief of the most comprehensive minimalist shoes and running accessories review site, Minimalist Running Shoes. He is also the author of 'The Minimalist Runner' and 'Wear Tested', books focusing on how to transition to barefoot-inspired minimal shoes and developing good running form. Nick is a member of the USA Track & Field organization.
Return To Fitness: Introduction, Bike Fit
Bill Katovsky was a two-time Hawaii Ironman finisher, a guy who bicycled solo across the U.S., an endurance athlete who competed in a three-day race mountain bike race across Costa Rica. But through a series of misfortunes, including depression, losing his dog, death in his family, and debilitating health problems, Katovsky went from being a…
The new speed racer in town – Altra ONE 2.5
The new Altra ONE 2.5 is built for speed, without sacrificing the comfort needed to maintain it through the finish line. The ONE 2.5 is a fast, do-it-all performance shoe with an incredible cushion-to-weight ratio. From a casual seven-mile run to a full marathon, this shoe delivers comfortable, stable performance. The ultra light InnerFlex™ midsole…
Step Aside Black Friday – Meet Amazon Prime Day
My family have been a loyal Amazon Prime member since March 30, 2005! The savings from one- and two-day shipping of bulk items like TVs, lawn mowers, BBQ sets, and countless books for my kids have paid for the annual membership fees many times over. Most important, getting something in your hands within two days…
Summer travel with Craghoppers Spring Summer collection
Ever since I wore my Craghoppers outfit last summer on a two week vacation to London and Paris, I’m sold. For Spring Summer 2015, Craghoppers has designed a whole host of highly packable, compact clothing that will allow you to pack smarter while still offering all of the comfort and performance you’ve comes to expect….
Minimalist Running Shoes Hall of Fame
After over 5 years of wearing and exclusively testing over 300 pairs of minimalist shoes (road running, trail running, casual, gym, dress), here are our absolute top 3 favorites for road, trail, and business casual. I’ve been loading up on these models as they go on sale or being discontinued. I wish they would keep some…
Moji Foot Massager and Foot PRO
We have wear tested a few Moji products (Moji Curve (formerly Moji 360) and Moji Mini) in the past and the Moji Foot massager is the latest addition to their family. The Moji Foot massager is great for relieving foot pain and revitalizing sore and tired feet. It is also great for relieving Plantar Fasciitis….
Reebok Introduces New Nano 5.0!
Take your workout-of-the-day to a whole new level with Reebok’s new Nano 5.0! Reebok’s lightest, strongest, and most innovative Nano yet. For the first time ever, the Nano’s mesh upper is infused with durable Kevlar® for elite-level abrasion protection. Plus, the entire midsole shape has been re-engineered to fit more precisely and support your foot…
Swedish Shocker – Salming Xplore & Race Delivers
Salming, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden with US operations in Raleigh, NC, while new to the US running market, has delivered two surprisingly great models of natural running shoes to runners: Salming Xplore and Salming Race. Salming Xplore Heel-to-Toe Drop: 3mm Every runner benefits from strong feet! When using the Salming Xplore natural running shoe you…
RecoFit Shin Splint Therapy Compression Sleeves
We have wear tested a few RecoFit products (compression calf sleeves and full leg compression sleeves) in the past few years and the shin splint therapy compression sleeves turned out to be our favorite RecoFit product because of its technology and multi-purpose usage (more on this later). And we have tested tons of compression calf…
Olympic Caliber Running-stride Program from Topo Athletic & ACU
Topo Athletic today announced that they have sponsored ACU (Assess, Correct, Unify) Running, a FREE training program that helps runners rebuild their stride from the ground up. The experts behind ACU-Running reverse engineered the running stride down to its biomechanical components so that a runner can first master the underlying movement patterns that serve as the building blocks…
National Trails Day: June 6, 2015
Saturday June 6, 2015 is National Trails Day! National Trails Day events will take place in every state across the country and will include hikes, biking and horseback rides, paddling trips, bird watching, geocaching, gear demonstrations, stewardship projects and more. Get out there an enjoy the outdoors!!! What is National Trails Day? American Hiking Society’s National…
National Running Day: June 3, 2015 + giveaway!
Today, June 3, is National Running Day (#NationalRunningDay). Think about why you run and celebrate that. Encourage less-active friends to start running – they don’t have to wait another year! Reaffirm your love of running and for beginners to kick off a life-changing commitment. As a bonus to our readers, Skora Running is having a giveaway….
Take the Topo Athletic Runventure on your next adventure
Topo Athletic‘s newest addition to its ‘Trail’ collection, the Runventure, features a strong abrasion resistant mesh and no-sew printing techniques that protect the upper while adding structural integrity. A molded TPU midsole plate and 19mm platform provide plating protection without sacrificing ground feel. The multi-directional lugged outsole offers traction over a variety of surfaces. Topo…
2015 Zappos Bay to Breakers
If you have never participated in the annual Bay To Breakers 12K race in San Francisco, CA, you will have to try it at least once (add it to your bucket list). Or do it twice – experience the craziness first and then plan on running it as a seeded runner the next time. I ran…
Minimum parts, maximum comfort with the new Skora TEMPO + GIVEAWAY!
When Skora started shipping the new TEMPO model last month, we called it the ‘natural running shoe for the masses‘. As we noted back then, I’ve been long-term wearing testing the pre-production prototype of the TEMPO since September 2014 and have put in a few hundred miles in them. And now, we have confirmed with…
The next game changer is coming – VIVOBAREFOOT MOTUS
Over a year ago, many of my readers asked for a zero drop tennis, squash, basketball, parkour, urban running, road running, gym, or travel shoe. Now VIVOBAREFOOT has started to deliver one, the MOTUS. They are taking pre-orders now and will ship around May 19. With its resilient rubber toe guard, VB Motus protects your feet…
The value priced Ornot SS Jersey & Bib Shorts 2.0
By popular request, our readers have asked about more affordable but high quality and high performance running and cycling apparel. Brands like Ashmei, Rapha, Icebreaker and Smartwool are on the higher end of the price spectrum when viewed in the short term. So we have decided to wear test a few select running and cycling…
Light & Motion Urban 800 FC fast charging compact light
Light & Motion, the leading California manufacturer of personal lighting systems and LED bike lights, launched their innovative Urban commuter light collection last year. The Urban 2.0 line features a new array of colors and a complete redesign from the ground up to gain performance, efficiency, and all-weather reliability. It is the first fully waterproof…
Altra Running Interval 1.0 Compression Calf Sleeves
You know that Altra Running is known for their zero drop natural running shoes like the Instinct 3.0 and Superior 2.0 that we recently reviewed. But did you know that Altra also make performance apparel like compression calf sleeves? We have been fans of compression socks and calf sleeves since 2011 and have wear tested…
Go everywhere with the LEMs Shoes Primal 2
The new LEMs Shoes Primal 2 have arrived in three new exciting colorways – ECLIPSE (blue), SHADE (black) and CARDINAL (red). With a common zero drop platform, wear a different color for different occasions from casual to business casual. The zero drop LEMs Primal2 is assembled using a no-sewn construction thus allowing the shoe to…
Boston Marathon and Motivational Monday
The 2015 Boston Marathon is on Monday, April 20, 2015. If you are running Boston this year, you’ve probably already selected your running gear for race day. If you are not, you can watch it live online and purchase Boston 2015 apparel – they are great motivational equipment in addition to your selection of music/songs, hydration…
Universal interchangeability with the new Tifosi Pro
Tifosi Optics today announces the availability of the Tifosi Pro with ICS, an interchangeable system that integrates Full Frame, Half Frame and/or Shield eyewear into one complete kit. This revolutionary patent-pending design allows for universal interchangeability. Simply snap the universal arms onto any of the included frames, add the appropriate lenses, and go! Adaptable For…
Recon Instruments Launches Recon Jet™ Smart Eyewear for Your Active Lifestyle
Revolutionary wearable tech product delivers critical information at a glance Recon Instruments, the award-winning technology company behind the world’s first consumer smart goggles for sports, today announced Recon Jet, an advanced wearable computer for sports and outdoor recreational activities. Jet will begin shipping this week. Featuring a dual-core CPU, high-contrast display and point-of-view camera, Jet connects…