Gear Round Up: Mid-Weight Winter Soft Turtle Gloves

Disclaimer: I received a pair of Turtle Gloves to  review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

As the seasons move from fall to winter in New York, the first accessory that I add to my running attire is a pair of gloves – Yes, I have totally been that runner that has a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on, with a pair of gloves covering up my hands.

Last year I had the chance to test out a pair of turtle gloves referred to as “the Flippers,” which are both wind and water resistant, which became my go-to gloves when I was running or just existing in general. This year, turtle gloves brought a different pair of gloves to the BibRave team, the mid-weight winter soft model. I excitedly volunteered to test out another model, and was so excited when they arrived in the mail.

It may seem strange to be excited for a pair of mittens, but my hands are always cold. When I opened up the package with my mittens, turtle gloves had also sent me a drawstring backpack, some stickers, and a bottle koozie. The gloves were bright orange, and had the BibRave logo printed on them, so they match all my other BibRave gear! I tried them on, and was pleasantly surprised with how soft the inside of the gloves were. The gloves are made of Polartec® Power Stretch Pro® material, which wicks sweat, dries quickly, and is very breathable – and of course since they are turtle gloves, they have the added breathability when you flip them from being mittens to exposing your fingers.

The “flip” feature is what sets turtle gloves above other brands for me. As someone who always wears too much at the beginning of a run, this is the perfect design. It lets me start my run with a pair of mittens, and then “open” them to expose my fingers when I warm up, and roll them down further as needed. Plus, since they are tubes when flipped open, I can slide them right onto my running belt if my hands are just too warm.

On one of my runs recently, there was snow lingering on the streets from a recent storm, and I lost my footing as a rounded a corner. After trying to regain my balance and failing, I took a tumble, and bared the brunt of my fall between my hands, my hip, and my knee. My hands stung, but luckily I had been wearing my turtle gloves at the time – I looked at my palms which were red and stung, but there were no cuts or damage to my skin. My hip and knee both wound up with bruising and scrapes that kept me from running for a few days. But after saving my hands, my gloves were a little dirty from the fall, but undamaged. This experience gave turtle gloves even more points in my books.

 I found that my new turtle gloves, the mid-weight winter soft model, are much warmer than my flippers. They are great on days that you are dealing with frosty temps outside during a run, but I have also used mine on chilly mornings when I get in my car, and when I am working on a computer with cold hands. 

I love that turtle gloves went the extra mile to get us the perfect BibRave orange color, and were even able to print our logo onto the gloves! If you are searching for a glove that will keep your hands warm on the coldest of run, some turtle glove midweight winter soft mittens are just what you need.

If you decide to pick up a pair, the coupon code “TURTLEBIBRAVE” will save you 15% on your own pair! Click HERE to check out all of the color choices they have available for these awesome gloves.

Gear Roundup: The Buff Pack Run Cap

The shorts that I managed to comfortably fit this hat into the pocket of.

Disclaimer: I received an Buff Pack Run Cap to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

You may have noticed from my photos that I pretty much always have either a hat or sunglasses on when I’m running – heck, sometimes both – regardless of the season. I am for sure a person that prefers the sun to be kept out of my face, since I burn after about two seconds of sun shine. When Dad and I head out for long runs (where he bikes along with me), he even brings along sunscreen so I can re-apply mid run. I am serious about my sun protection!

Most of running hats that I have acquired over the years are from various races, and are more focused on the race itself over their functionality as a running hat, so I was eager to get my hands on a Buff Pack Run Cap when they came to the BibRave Pro program, especially because I loved the headband that I got from them last fall.

When I got my package in the mail containing my hat, I was shocked at how light the hat was! It is a normal size hat but felt like I was practically holding nothing (something I texted at least 5 people about upon discovering, because I just thought it was so cool!). Plus, the design I got has fun, bright colors, which is always a plus in my book. The hat is adjustable, and there is a bungee with a part that holds the size setting.

 Of course, I had to coordinate an equally bright outfit to match my hat and set everything out for my run the next day. I had to adjust the hat a little bit to get the sizing right, but then I was good to go for the rest of the run. It was so light that I honestly forgot it was on my head at times, and I did not have to adjust it as I ran, like I have to with many of my other hats. It was a humid day, and the hat even helped with keeping sweat from dripping into my eyes – it is made from moisture wicking materials which is a nice feature.

 There was one day I headed out to run, and the wind picked up so much while I was out that I started to worry that my hat was going to blow off my head – so I decided to try the “pack” part of the Buff pack run cap, and folded it up and tucked it into the tiny zipper pocket on my running shorts, and was pleased to find it was easy to fold got very tiny. Plus, when I pulled it out of my pocket at the end of the run, the hat happily popped back into its intended shape.

 Also, remember how I mentioned my commitment to sun protection at the beginning of the post? Well this hat is made from UPF materials, for extra protection from the suns rays.

 This hat has been the one that I grab every time I need a hat for my runs since I got it, and I keep considering ordering a second one so I have more color choices!

 If you decide you want to try one out for yourself, visit https://buffusa.com/bibrave and sign up for emails to receive 15% off of your purchase.

Gear Roundup: BUFF® Tech Fleece Headband

Disclaimer: I received a BUFF® Tech Fleece Headband to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

As the temperature drops and we head into winter, I add layers to my running outfits. I move from shorts to leggings, from t-shirts to long sleeve shirts, and then start adding a vest or a jacket to my ensemble as the winter gets colder.

But before I even increase the length of my pants or transition to long sleeves, I pull out my two mandatory pieces of winter gear – a headband that covers my ear and a pair of gloves. My current favorite running gloves, which I have mentioned in blog posts before, are a pair of brooks gloves that have a mitten option that pops out of a pocket (they are an older model, but closest to the “nightlife” glove that they currently sell). 

As for headbands, I have a little more of a collection. My go to has been a newbalance one that I bought with the NYC marathon logo on it in 2017, and then I have two other ones that float around. Point is, I am a fan of headbands that can keep my ears cozy when I run. 

When BibRave opened up an opportunity to test a Buff tech fleece headband, I signed up to give one a try. My headband arrived in the mail about a week later, and I was excited to try it out! The first things that I noticed about the headband were that the material was much thinner than other headbands I have, and the inside was so soft! The headband is supposed to be wind resistant, and since I was set to volunteer at a race that was going to be cold and windy I thought it would be perfect to try out the next morning.

The Buff website lists the product details for this headband, and it includes that the headband is made of stretchy polyester elastane with a soft brushed fleece inside. It is also moisture wicking, quick drying, and breathable – I have had issues with other headbands winding up soaked through with sweat in cold weather, so this was another feature I was looking forward to testing. 

The first day I wore the headband, it stayed in place and kept me warm as I ran around performing various volunteer duties. It was so windy that day that the finish line chute had to be assembled last minute so that it wouldn’t blow away, and despite all that windiness my ears stayed warm – which I took as a “check” in wind resistant column. 

About a week passed before it was cold enough on a morning run to warrant a headband, but was soon as the temps dropped into the 40s, I put my new headband on as I headed out the door.

The headband was so comfortable, that I almost forgot I was wearing it! With other headbands I sometimes have the issue that I sweat through it, and then I am very aware of how cold the air is as the white headband sits on my ears. But with my new buff tech fleece headband I never had that issue. I am looking forward to more miles with my headband as the winter continues to get colder. I am confident it will keep my ears warm and keep me comfortable for many miles.

If you’re interested in trying out your own Buff Tech fleece headband, head to www.buffusa.com/bibrave and sign up for their emails for a 15% off coupon code! Let me know what you think of your new headband too – because I am guessing you’ll love it as much as I do once you feel the softness of the fleece.

Gear Roundup: Running Shorts

There are two things that I really look for in running shorts:

1. They have to be long enough that my thighs don’t chafe

2. They need to have some kick ass pockets!

New Balance 2 in 1 Shorts

Honestly, I wish I could tell you that the first thing was the most important to me, but if a pair of shorts had great pockets, I would probably happily load up on body glide in exchange for them being able to hold all of my crap when I am heading out for a long run.

My go-to shorts for the last few years have been the new balance 2-in-1 shorts, which used to have a great pocket in the waist band that my cell phone could fit snugly into. The downside was that when I raced in them – something I did often, as I have run 3/5 of my marathons in these shorts – I needed to also wear a fuel belt with them to hold my inhalers and Gu, as there is no way that anything other than my phone is fitting in that pocket. But last summer when I looked to expand my collection of these shorts, I found out that they had been redesigned, and the pocket that was previously large enough to fit my phone now could barely fit my inhaler – a total bummer.

So, I began my new shorts quest, since I would really like to own a pair of shorts with enough pockets to comfortable fit my cell phone, inhaler, and race fuel. I like my SPI belt, the fuel belt that I own, but sometimes the weight of anything beyond gels in it makes my back hurt, and lately I have been using Skratch gummies over Gu as long run fuel, which takes up more space.

I already owned a few pairs of shorts other than my trusted 2-in-1s, all of which I like for shorter distances, but just weren’t capable of the carry capacity that I need for half and full marathons. I’m going to run through a few of them here, because I would still recommend these shorts, and the new shots that I purchased that have become my go-to shorts:

For track workouts:

New Balance accelerate 2.5” shorts:

These shorts have a wide opening around the legs, and allow you to really get moving with some strides. They do have a small interior pocket that I would say is sized to carry a key, but there is no means to close the pocket, so I have never used it. The one downside? They are a little bit on the short side, so on humid or rainy days, I do apply body glide before running in them to avoid chafing.

Oiselle Roga Shorts

For a long run when you don’t have much to carry:

Oiselle Roga Shorts

I purchased these when oiselle did a warehouse sale last summer, and they are a little on the short side, but are made of a super comfortable material. They have a good sized zipper pocket on the back of the shorts, large enough for my inhaler or one Gu, but too small for my cell phone. I ran in these for the Star wars Dark side half marathon in 2018, and while it was a humid day I can happily report that no chafing occurred.

Reading the product descriptions on the oiselle website, it seems that the “toolbelt” rogas offer more pockets, but I have yet to try a pair of those shorts myself.

But as for my hands down, favorite shorts:

So, in my search for the holy grail of pocket shorts, I spent a lot of time on running websites, looking at photos and descriptions of pockets. I checked out shorts on the brooks website, on REI – which carries a variety of brands, and at target, hoping maybe they would have something a little more budget friendly than the big running brands offer. Ultimately, I decided to order a pair of Pocket Jogger shorts from Oiselle, because I was basically drooling at all of that pocket potential, and I had a $20 coupon code to Oiselle for referring a friend to their site.

Two weeks or so later my shorts arrived in the mail, and I fell in love with all of the pockets. They have two deep side pockets, that full fit an iPhone X, one back zipper pocket, and two small open pockets in the waistband, which fit fuel well. It was still winter in NY when I ordered them, so I hopped onto my treadmill with them, and they fit like a dream. They stayed in place, without rolling up along my legs, an issue that I have with some spandex shorts. Heck, I can’t even wear the Nike PRO shorts that so many runners love because they immediately roll up on me! To really test these shorts, I loaded them up with my phone and race day fuel, and put them through the paces on the treadmill. Everything seemed to stay put, with no bouncing despite loaded pockets.

When I ordered these shorts, I figured I would continue to try other styles and brands if I was not happy with them. But I never did get around to ordering any other pairs, and for valentines day Dennis surprised me with two more pairs of pocket joggers – I had talked about how much I liked them so much that my non-runner husband had decided that I needed more pairs of these perfect pocket shorts.

My next warm weather race was the events at the princess half marathon weekend, and when I packed for Florida, I gave myself options for shorts – I had never run outside or over 6 miles in these shorts, so I wasn’t sure how they would compare to my New balance 2-in-1 shorts on race day. I packed a pair of each short style to go with my outfits for the princess 10k and Half, figuring I would make a race day decision. I was wearing a skirt for both events, so figured I had time to decide as things didn’t need to coordinate perfectly.

Oiselle Pocket Joggers

The morning of the 10k it was hot and humid, and I was going to attempt to race the event. I made the decision to go for the pocket joggers, since it was the shorter distance of the fairytale challenge, and if I liked them, then I would do the same for the half. My gamble paid off, and even when I was pushing the pace, my phone stayed securely in the side pocket. Plus, I no longer had to fumble with a zipper with pulling my phone out for photos, which is a frequent occurrence during RunDisney events. Since the shorts had served me well at the 10k, I decided to wear another pair for the half the following day, when they would really be put to the test, as I would be running with my GoPro.

I ran the WDW half marathon in January while wearing my newbalance 2-in-1 shorts, and spent most of the race just holding the camera in my hand, as I didn’t have a large enough pocket for it and it bounced too much when I clipped it to the waist band of my shorts, even if I was clipping it to my SPI belt at the same time. I figured worst case I would just wind up holding it, like I had done in January. But when we got moving, I slid the camera into one of the side pockets, and was shocked to discover that it sat there comfortably when I wasn’t filming with it, with no real bounce or annoyance. So, the pocket joggers passed yet another holding stuff test, and officially became shorts that I would wear for longer distance runs.

I plan on continuing to run in these shorts as I train for the Chicago marathon this summer, and will update this post if I purchase any new shorts, or have anything to add. But as of now, the Oiselle pocket joggers have officially become my go-to running shorts.