Trail Running Gear Tips & Hacks 

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Nice! Ziplock bags by keeping clothes dry, you also end up with a lighter pack. A drenched midlayer,gloves, etc is much heavier. Thus, i even keep my wp layers in a ziplock bag. (Also because wp layers if left in water get drenched too). Keep spare everythings in duffel bag... add a towel and 2 spare socks. A shoe change midstage can help stave off blisters due to different hotpoints. If u know u have aid stations, u dont have to fill all your water bottles to the brink at the start. You can fill maybe just 1 bottle if thats enough to get you to your first aid station as a quick runner. Fill the other bottle with just the powdered electrolyte but no water. Most phones even wp ones cant be charged if they are wet. Just duct tape the charging port. For charging the garmin, if using a heavier power bank, you can just put that in your front vest pocket, and use a longer charger cable to reach the arm. You wont be in sprinting condition anyway by the time your garmin needs charging so the cable being yanked is highly improbable at that stage. Lastly, you can make do by combining a running belt and a smaller vest. Belt is for heavy small objects and poles. Vest is for bulky light objects like wp layers. This distibutes the weight better for long races, avoids bounce from vests and maybe prevent blisters from heavy packs... with a belt you can easily shift its position frequently and also move items around as you see fit between front, side, back of belt and front, side of vest. In a pinch, most vests can function as a running belt. So if your water bottles are near empty and your shoulders are aching alot, remove your vest and strap the chest strap around your waist instead. The bulkiest part of your vest should be on your side, near quads as there is less bounce there. The bladder insert becomes a quick access pocket in this mode. On sunny hot days you can use safety pins to pin your buff to a cap thus creating a legionnaires hat. At night, remove the pins and you use your buff as normal. Lastly, running vests and belts can be modified as you see fit. Some of my vests with floppy pockets have elastic straps stitched to them for support. I've also stitched elastic straps vertically to one of my suitable running shorts on the back to function as a pole carrier. Some races require you to bring a survival bag. You can take that survival bag and roll it up to the size of a folded running poles and strap that in as a running pole instead if needed. Use shrink wrap/cling film to keep that survival bag in form. In fact, you can use cling film to waterproof items you know you wont use unless dropping out of a race/emergency. One of my other running vest (salomon slab 2l) has a single horizontal strap for this purpose. No need for a full holster or pole carrier. ❤

An absolute must in any trail kit is an emergency whistle. Inexpensive and weighs nothing, and it allows you to call out to anyone in earshot for hours on end until someone/searchers hear you, farther away and for much longer than by voice. I've done a number of episodes on the importance and use of whistles. PS: Great Tor des Géants account.

On really cold days I'll cook up some perogies, wrap them in tinfoil and place them in my hydration bag near my kidneys! This gives off lots of extra heat and is a delicious trail snack!!

here is one of my secrets....for those days when your throat is parched are your nose is stuffy...I use Halls. It keeps my throat lubricated....plus the menthol keeps my nose clear for better breathing. those days when I run out of water...one of those Halls will help me to get to the next water stop.

Love the zip lock bags. I keep absolutely everything in my pack in ziplock bags. You know it's going to be dry when you need it! A must!

Really really great tips. Putting ice in the bottles before a summer run is so key! I know a guy here in Salt Lake City who will fill his entire vest with ice and it cools him down during runs. I also love putting on my sandals after a long run, it feels so good, almost as good as taking a ski boot off 😂

Another great video! My absolute must... I use a zip lock bag filled with pre- sectioned TP, a few period products, and a spare zip lock for packing out tp etc. Not only can feminine protection make you a hero and save a girl's day, but it can be used for wound treatment too, and help save a life. It's something that could benefit everyone to carry.

Great tips. One element I'm not sure I agree to much with however is the duck tape wrapped around (insert some item you'd carry anyways, nalgene, poles, etc.). IME, duct tape, or any tape really, that's been unwrapped & rewrapped performs significantly less well than the original thing on the roll. Moreover, if you don't switch it up for new one fairly frequently, you may find it's not nearly as strong either after a while, just from exposure.

Fantastic video!

Simple and great tips!

Love seeing the Suunto Factory Team shirt from a fellow teammate! Great video and suggestions!

Good information... bonus: TP in the duffle, just in case.

Awesome video. Thank you for these tips. The pods-cast for anti bear haha I was clapping and singing today on the trail, it was kinda sketchy with dead silence 😂

Awesome Video Jeff. Like you said, some of these seem pretty obvious but it's amazing what you'll forget in a rush. I definitely agree on packing extras of everything. It's good to be the person with extra in case someone forgets something :)

Great video and tips thanks

VIP = very inspiring people....great man 🤝

great tips!

Great tips! Thank you!

Nice Video.......really dig the T-shirt

Awesome video!!

"charge your watch" - laughing in Coros. .... Thanks for a nice video!

Learning 🙏🏽

Great tips!

Tip 7 was very cool!

I use packing tape on my zip lock bags. You can get a full season out of the bag. Twice as durable 👌✌

Really good video and superb tips. I always carry a sh*t kit with a small bottle of hand sanitizer.

Hi. I always take a knife, eyes cleaner, alcool and tape to take care of me myself if need. And never forget a life blanket and a whistle. Thanks

This is an old video but nevertheless, one way to help prevent water from freezing in cold weather is carry bottles upside down. That way, the water freezes from bottom to top. Using socks around bottles also helps.

Hey Jeff great to see you again. Hope you had a great Christmas and just wanted to wish you a very Happy New year and may 2021 bring you much success, joy and happiness. Stay safe and catch up again real soon. From a fellow marathon runner.

Great tips Jeff. We appreciate the content, thanks for sharing. #18 on you list isn't so cut and dry. Check out the Mpemba effect. Fun stuff to nerd out on...

Thank you Sr.

Even with my phone in a ziplock bag I was finding it turning on the camera/flashlight etc. So I set my phone to not be activated by the touch screen but by the side buttons only. Completely eliminated that problem.

My tip: Avoid short chain sugars, and add at least 10-20% protein.

Regarding warm water in your bottle on cold days, as obscure as it sounds, it freezes faster than cold water! It's called the mpemba effect. The bad thing is that cold water freezes from the top, pontentially blocking the opening of the bottle, while hot water freezes from the bottom. But I haven't had any problems with standard bottles in winter because the water sloshing prevents even more freezing.

“Charge your watch” dang technology has left me behind

What candy do u eat?

Learned 8 the hard way. 😣

Pocket knife and spare batteries.

I would put phone in a bag no matter what, phones are not salt/sweat proof. They will corrode the insides.