- Can you make a whole video
about just a running cap?
Is that overkill?
Hey, I'm Braden with REI.
It's one of the most difficult questions each
and every one of us faces every day.
What should I wear?
Well, I'm zero help when it comes to fashion,
but I do know a thing or two about running clothes.
So today we're gonna talk about what to wear running.
I'm gonna cover what I wear for runs in the winter,
how I dress for rainy runs,
what I wear on warm days,
and we're gonna talk a little bit about fabrics
and do a little demonstration to see
what the differences are.
The right clothes for your run
will depend on a few different things
like the temperature or the weather conditions
and even just a lot of your personal preference.
This is my base outfit.
It's what I wear on the vast majority of my runs.
I've got a synthetic running T-shirt
and shorts, wool socks, and a brimmed cap.
And as a side note,
I am a huge fan of running caps
and this one in particular.
I love that they keep the sun
and the rain out of your eyes.
And here in Seattle where
the weather is never just one thing
that's super useful.
I can tuck my hair into it
so I don't have to deal with ponytails.
I can pop the brim up and out of the way
when I don't need it.
Just a huge fan of running caps
and I recommend you find a good one for yourself.
I've been running with this cap
for as long as I've been running,
which might be too long.
That's my base outfit, but when it gets really cold,
I'll swap out my T shirt for a long sleeve wool shirt,
and I'll throw some
wind breaking pants over my shorts.
I'm not a huge fan of running in tights,
but I will wear them when it gets really really cold
'cause they are warmer than my pants and shorts combo.
I also have a lightweight softshell running jacket
that I'll throw on just to cut the chill.
And if I'm not using it,
I'll throw it in my pack or wrap it around my waist.
That's usually enough insulation for me,
but everybody's different
and a lot of people will bring
an extra layer like maybe an insulated vest
just to add some more warmth.
I also like to bring a thin pair of wool gloves
and a neck gaiter again just to cut
the chill a little bit.
And my shirt has a hood so I'll throw that on.
But if it didn't have a hood,
I'd bring a nice warm cap-something to cover my ears.
This is pretty much my cold weather
and my wet weather running kit
but if it's really raining out
I might switch out my softshell
for a waterproof hardshell,
but it would really have to be raining like cats
and dogs for it to be worth it for me.
If we were talking about what to wear on a hike,
I would switch out my softshell
for a hardshell at the first sign of rain.
But when you're talking about running,
you need to balance the need to stay dry from the rain
and the need to not keep all your sweat in
so it's a little bit
more challenging to find that line.
That being said, I sweat a lot
and so I like to stay with
a softshell most of the time,
but if it's really cold out
or you're just not sweating that much
a hardshell might be a better option.
It's probably pretty obvious for my clothing choices
and maybe it's just
because I'm from the Northwest
but when it comes to cold wet runs,
I take a more minimal approach.
I like to start off cold
and warm up as I go so that
I'm not having to shed layers
10 minutes into a run because I got too hot.
The huge caveat here though is that
if I'm in the mountains
miles away from the trailhead and any help,
I will always err on the side of caution
and take an extra insulated jacket
in my pack just in case.
When I'm running in the city
the consequences of getting too cold
and wet are not that bad,
but out in the mountains,
hypothermia is a very real possibility
and one that I don't mess around with.
Alright, let's talk about warm runs.
Full disclosure,
I'm a huge wuss when it comes to heat.
So as soon as the temps hit like 73 degrees,
I'm swapping out my T-shirt
for the lightest tank top I own.
I'll also switch out
my crew socks for ankle socks
unless I'm wearing gaiters,
in which case I'll keep
the crew socks to make them more comfortable.
I'll also of course
add sunglasses to protect my eyes
and lather up with plenty of sunscreen.
All the clothes I've shown
and talked about have one big thing in common
and that's that they're made out of
what we call technical fabrics.
But what is the technical fabric,
and why does it matter?
Well, it's actually pretty straightforward
when it comes to running clothes,
technical fabrics are anything
that do a good job of pulling moisture
away from your skin
and spreading it out over
a wide surface area to help it dry more quickly.
So we're talking moisture wicking and quick drying.
To demonstrate the difference.
I've got a few different shirts here.
This one's wool, this one is synthetic
and this one's cotton
and am gonna pour the same amount of water
onto each of them
and we're gonna see how long
it takes to dry
and how much the water spreads out.
Here we go.
So as you can see already,
the synthetic one is spreading out really quickly,
the cotton is pretty much just sunk down
and the wool is still getting ready
to soak it up.
Wool's a little bit different.
So the way wool works is
it actually pulls moisture in
toward the core of the fiber.
And what that means for you is
that the outside of the fiber
the part that's actually against
your skin is gonna end up
feeling a lot drier than like a cotton would.
Wool's also kind of cool
because it's naturally antimicrobial,
which means that it won't stink as much
or as quickly as a synthetic will.
And it's a great temperature regulator.
So when you hold on to that moisture
as you start building up, you know heat
and you start getting warmer,
that moisture will actually start evaporating
and you'll get an evaporative cooling effect
so it does a good job
of kind of keeping you comfortable.
But let's talk about cotton for a second.
You might have heard the old adage
that when it comes to outdoor clothing,
cotton kills.
Well, it might be a slight overstatement.
But cotton can lead to
some pretty uncomfortable issues, mainly because
it just holds on to moisture doesn't let it go.
So when you're running in the cold,
this is a problem because when you stay wet,
you stay cold.
When you're running in the heat,
it's also a problem
because when you're sweating into that shirt,
it's just holding on to all that sweat
and not letting it evaporate,
which means you're not
getting that cooling effect
and you're just staying hot and clammy,
which is kind of the worst of both worlds.
Having wet clothes
can also lead to a lot more friction,
which means blisters,
which is why it's especially important
not to wear cotton socks
when you're running pretty much ever.
Synthetics or wools are always a better option.
You might get away with wearing a cotton T shirt
if you're just running through the city
for a short run or not working out much
of a sweat or it's a very mild day.
But once you start running in technical fabrics,
you will notice the difference
and I don't think
you're going to want to go back
and that's it for what to wear running.
If you have any questions
or other videos you'd like to see,
leave a note in the comments
and I'll see what I can do.
Thanks for watching. Take care.