Zach's been testing gear with Active Gear Review since it's inception over four years ago. In that time, he's completed numerous road and trail races, spanning distances from 5k to marathon. An avid snowboarder, Zach also was inspired by his work at AGR to create a demo site for all things snowboarding - eezysteezy.com. No matter what the gear or assignment is, he's always up for the adventure.
Run Better… now on a trail near you. Newton hit the scene a few years back with a simple Mantra: Run Better. This somewhat lofty goal has inspired them to design a create a type of shoe which literally guides your foot into a more neutral type of running form. Running in a Newton [...]
Temps are dropping, but the Elixir Jacket’s just heating things up. Here in Colorful Colorado, just about every serious runner has cold weather line up. I certainly have my favorite shirts and tights for just about every running occasion, and honestly, a jacket has just never entered the lineup. With fall in full swing, [...]
Socks are, well… socks. What is there really to say? Well, for those of us who are active, you know that socks have the power to enable or ruin your fun. Striving to create a sock that responds to all sock complaints (they itch, they fall down, they bunch, etc.), Fits researched what it is [...]
Rugged enough to kick up some trail dust, but clean enough to wear out to your local watering hole… Horny Toad’s attention to detail is fairly legendary. They’ve been around the outdoor scene for quite some time, and have gained recognition as a company that puts out rugged, long lasting clothing – all without sacrificing [...]
What’s coming down the pipeline? Julbo, that’s what. Sunglasses are difficult to test - more suited to individual tastes than just about anything we review, it’s hard to take an objective look at them. Just about anyone can look good in a running jacket or in a pair of boots (okay, not anyone – you know what I [...]
The Aero Square short – a performance piece for the rest of us. Lots of running companies out there make shorts in two categories – lightweight racing shorts, and baggy jogging shorts. Typically, the lightweight racing ones are split shorts with a small inseam and lots of tech. They’re cool, but if chafing’s a problem [...]
Make puma tracks – on the trail. Puma’s long been known for everything sports related – indeed, their slogan this year is to live the “sportslifestyle”. That’s all one word on purpose. It was only a matter of time, therefore, until Puma decided they needed to take their show on the road… or trail, rather. [...]
Run Happy – sans cold arms. I know I’m always happier when my arms aren’t cold. What I didn’t believe, however, is that these would do the trick. I’ll be the first to admit that I had previously thought that arm warmers were about the most gimmicky piece of gear you could buy. I’ve [...]
The go anywhere, do anything ”hoodie” you’ve all been dreaming of. If you’re anything like me, you can’t stand having a closet full of coats for “every” occasion. I want one coat to wear rain or shine - end of Summer through end of Spring. I need it to be wind proof, water proof, and warm in cold [...]
Get outside in the Sonic Glove. So let’s face it. The latest craze is barefoot running. Love it or hate it, it’s the “in” thing right now, and companies all over the globe are scrambling to put out shoes that fit the bill. Merrell is not one of those companies. Read that again – [...]
Biom – dare to be looked at. But don’t fall over. Ecco. Not the first name that comes to mind when the words “running company” are uttered. Yet any time a company puts a running shoe on the market for $195.00, you have to believe that they are attempting to make a play at becoming [...]
Say Hello to Neutral Nirvana. Some think that the term neutral describes a lack of pronation correction. Literally, an absence of technology which somehow makes the shoe less of a buy. Some companies are even guilty of using more tech laden shoes, pulling a correction last out of it, and putting it on the market [...]
Run Happy… for a really, really long time. Neutral shoes can be a lot of things. Some neutral shoes are designed for the fleet footed – energy efficient runners who skip along the road, hardly seeming to touch the ground. Some neutral shoes are tanks – they plow through just about everything you put in [...]
RevLite – if you haven’t tried it, get yourself some. New Balance came through in a big way this year, and not just in a single shoe. Numerous shoes on the lineup got a complete overhaul, and the 905 is one of them. Now deemed the 1190, the 905 got more than just your standard [...]
Run Happy? Yes, please. In the race to strip down, rethink, and re-innovate shoes to fit the barefoot movement, some companies seem to have lost sight of that one simple fact. Just get out there and run happy. Brooks hasn’t forgotten that some people don’t want to jump on (or off, rather) the barefoot wagon. [...]
Meet the latest race inspired trail shoe from Salomon. Salomon trail shoes have the ability to polarize debates on running boards and blogs across the country. Certainly a giant in the outdoor sports industry, Salomon has been around for some time. A company doesn’t do this without doing a few things right along the [...]
If you’ve never given wave technology a try, give it a go. You might just surprise yourself… To begin with, I ran in barefoot shoes just about all summer. I was looking for shoes with less structure, less padding, less… well, everything. Really, even though it all started innocently enough (I was looking to [...]
One would think that New Balance would run out of room to upgrade. Eventually, they would just hit a peak and be done with it. Especially on a no frills, entry level neutral cushioned shoe. It seems that an overhaul of the shoe was completely unnecessary for this year’s release. After all, the 759 (it’s [...]
A cool core is a must for all exercise – without a regulated core temperature, we see fatigue, exhaustion, and eventually collapse. This is evidenced in numerous sports, and we’ve all seen the video tape in which the athlete crashes just yards from the finish, unable to complete the race. The guys over at cool [...]
First ascent is the branch of Eddie Bauer that’s built for maximum performance. The line up has outerwear for every need, whether it’s undertaking your first Badwater marathon, or scaling the highest peak in North America. Granted, I put the Mistral through neither of these activities, but I did take it up the side of [...]
Ever get done with a race or long run, and feel almost worse than when you started? Sure, we all get that feeling of general wellness and accomplishment, but what about those days when muscle cramps, tightness, and soreness bog you down? For those of us without either the funds or inclination to find a [...]
We here at AGR will go to extremes to test gear. We do it so that you will know with absolute certainty that when the going gets tough, your gear gets going. Over the years, we’ve thrown all that we had at all manner of gear. It’s with some chagrin now that I have [...]
I admit it. Even though I have a full head of hair without a scrap of male pattern baldness (knock on wood), nostalgia takes over every summer and I shave my head. Okay, not completely shaved – more like buzzed. Really short. The smell of fresh cut grass, the sound of baseball games at Coors [...]
