I am tired of wearing Nike, Under Armor, Adidas, Brooks, and NB. What are some lesser well-known running brands?
I am tired of wearing Nike, Under Armor, Adidas, Brooks, and NB. What are some lesser well-known running brands?
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Fashion Statement wrote:
I am tired of wearing Nike, Under Armor, Adidas, Brooks, and NB. What are some lesser well-known running brands?
Pearl Izumi, Topo, Altra, Smart Wool, Features, Farm to Feet, CEP, Inov8, and The North Face just to name a few.
If it's to wear while you're running then who cares whether it is mainstream or how it looks? If you still want running gear beyond those big 4-5 then look at the list of brands on Running Warehouse for the next tier of 10-15 legit brands. If it's for fashion then google "athleisure" which is trendy right now.
Boa. They sell high quality split shorts for reasonable prices. They have their own site boausa.com or you can find their stuff on running warehouse.
russell athletics
It's more for just showing off...like these ladies:
What are you looking for? Apparel? Shoes?
Plenty of "non-mainstream" brands make running gear. Most are more "outdoor companies" but have gotten into trail running and surprisingly make pretty good apparel.
Mountain Hardwear
Outdoor Research
Salomon
North Face (their Better Than Naked line is great)
Ultimate Direction (getting more into apparel)
Arc'teryx
Craft
Most, if not all, of these brands are more expensive than the "mainstream" brands. The difference is they really stand behind their products and if there is something that goes wrong (outside of normal wear and tear), they will replace it for free, ie a lifetime guarantee. You won't get this with Nike, UA, Adidas, etc.
I'm not aware of any "cottage industry" running apparel companies. Maybe I am and am just drawing a blank at the moment, but there are several on the hiking and winter apparel/gear market, like Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends and others.
Not sure how mainstream you think this is, but I am loving Saucony apparel. They are stepping their game up and making some great stuff these days.
Sugoi - tri, bike and run gear
Tracksmith
MeWhereYouWhere?! wrote:
I'm not aware of any "cottage industry" running apparel companies.
I am not sure how, but I got added to some list for super high-end clothing "look books." It may be work related... A lot of them are European.
Anyway, I will occasionally get catalogs from men's athleisure companies and the prices will blow my mind. Way higher than LuLuLemon. The products are always hilarious, too.
Of course I cannot think of any of the companies right now, but one that I started getting about a year ago has a stretch, moisture-wicking sportcoat for the business man who enjoys an active commute. When I think active commute, I don't think about running in my actual work clothes, lol. The thing is, it is probably comfortable as hell for a sportcoat, so I have thought about getting it... but they only have black and a black sportcoat is for a douche. They have all kinds of other similar things, ridiculously overpriced ($1,500+ cashmere sweatsuits, etc.)
I'm going to come back to this thread and list some brands once I can remember them.
grandmas running company, go find them on insta
jim hammer wrote:
grandmas running company, go find them on insta
I tried. Nothing.
For apparel - Gore and Icebreaker. Not "underground" but their stuff is dope.
For shoes - Skora. I get compliments all the time on those.
Tracksmith
Janji is a lesser known running apparel company. Their stuff seems to be reasonably priced and of good quality. Their shorts have a back zipper pocket (essential if you like to run with a key), and thick waistband is comfortable.
Bring Back the 880 wrote:
Janji is a lesser known running apparel company. Their stuff seems to be reasonably priced and of good quality. Their shorts have a back zipper pocket (essential if you like to run with a key), and thick waistband is comfortable.
Everything about Janji is awesome except for their liners, as has been noted on here before. Liners are way loose. I had mine altered at a tailor and I love them now. Cost me an extra $25 bucks to alter three pairs but they're otherwise great shorts and I am now happy.
I just wish the company would do something about it. I read similar complaints on the site prior to buying but figured they couldn't be that loose... they are. Seems odd as most runners are going to be thin.
Great company, though, and I look forward to seeing what they release next.