Gear

Yesterday, iRunFar published a review of the best trail running gear from the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. Since some of this gear isn't even available yet and won't be until early next year, the seemingly late review comes at a good time.

These new products range from a $17 pair of socks (lime green color), a $150 backpack (with room to carry an axe), a $165 hooded jacket (weighing in at only a few pounds) and a $500 headlamp (with its own battery pack to carry). Yes, I want all four of these items.

Which begs the question: why would I need all this gear? The answer is: I don't. I live in suburbia and the highest point in my state is barely over 1,000 feet. Ironically, it's called High Point. This past summer in Colorado, I merely ascended a set a steps that topped such an elevation; shout-out to Manitou Springs and the Incline. I have dirt bike trails near my neighborhood that allow me to run for about 7 miles roundtrip. I simply don't need any gear.

But this does not stop the want I feel inside. And it does not stop the urge to facilitate a change in climate so that I will need such gear. What I'm trying to get across is that I will move to Colorado permanently (or another location with elevation above a few thousand feet) in order to need items such as a high-powered headlamp, a lightweight backpack with the capacity to allow me to comfortably get lost for hours on end, or an invisible waterproof cloak to protect me from freakish weather changes on the top of a mountain.

In three days, it will be Christmas. I will be hundreds of miles from the Appalachian Mountains and a mere few inches from level pavement. So long as Santa brings me a sweat-wicking long sleeve top, I think I'll be just fine.