Running Roundup: Gear Up for Cold Weather

It's taken a while, but long nights and cold mornings are finally hitting Northern California.

With autumn comes a time of adjustment for runners; gone are the 5 a.m. sunrises and 75-degree runs after work, all replaced by pre-dawn runs at 6:30 a.m. and 50-degree weather after sunset.

The good news is no more heatstroke. The bad news is, low temperatures and less sunlight can chase runners indoors during the fall and winter.

With the right gear and some caution, though, there's no reason for runners to be stuck indoors until spring. Here are a few gear recommendations to help runners stay off the treadmill this winter.

Jacket: Sugoi Versa Jacket/Vest $120, sugoi.com

The Versa jacket is windproof and water-resistant enough to keep you dry in a light rain. and if you start to warm up, the sleeves (attached magnetically) can be removed with a quick pull and stored in the jacket's back pocket.

Gloves and hat: Pearl iZumi Shine Wind Mitt $30 and Barrier Headband $25, pearlizumi.com

The Shine Wind Mitt combines the warmth of mittens with the dexterity of a pair of gloves. The mitt blocks wind when you need it, and it folds back and packs away so you can open a Gu without taking the gloves off. The Barrier Headband keeps your forehead and ears warm, but its open design allows excess heat to escape.

Headlamp: Black Diamond Sprinter $79.95, blackdiamond.com

The Sprinter's 68-lumen LED bulbs are bright enough to light up the path ahead while its rear taillight strobe will keep runners visible from behind. A six-hour battery life keeps it alive on long early-morning runs.

Reflective Apparel: Brooks Infiniti Running Tights $70, brooksrunning.com

Brooks' Infinity tights provide a light layer of insulation to give you just enough warmth, while its bright yellow side panels and reflective detailing keeps you visible from every angle.

I'll be doing a head-to-head matchup of running pants vs. running tights, so keep an eye out for that in the near future.

Black Diamond's Icon Headlamp Upgrade: This One Goes to 11

When I first saw Black Diamond's Icon headlamp redux for Spring 2012 ($79.95), I was immedately intrigued by its cool metal body. So intrigued, in fact, that I accidentally hit the power button while I was staring into the bulb. It was like getting maced with light.

Getting blasted in the face by 200 lumens really helps you gain confidence in a headlamp.

That's how I met the 2012 Icon's QuadPower LED bulb, whose 200 lumens (versus the current model's 100 lumens) are estimated to throw a beam up to 100 meters, making the Icon the brightest headlamp in Black Diamond's lineup by leaps and bounds. The Icon also sports a 35-lumen setting powered by two SinglePower LEDs for slower pursuits, like camp cooking or setting up your tent. It's also got two red LEDs that can be accessed without turning on the white LEDs to give you a bit of light without killing your night vision. 

The super-bright setting comes in handy with anything from high-speed pursuits like trail running to high-dark pursuits like spelunking, while the lower setttings are handy for mellow campsite activities like setting up your tent or assembling your JetBoil. The one-button functionality is great, too - you can switch between both high and low beam settings and adjust their brightness by holding the button down. The red LEDs are accessed by holding the button down when you turn it on, which bypasses the other two settings and keeps your night vision intact. It runs on four AA batteries, and its max burn times are 75 hours on the highest setting, 175 on the lowest.

I had a friend of mine test it out on an evening trail run while I ran with Black Diamond's new Sprinter model on my head. The Sprinter's 75 lumens lit up the area, but the Icon dominated the dark. With him running behind me, my shadow ran ahead of me in sharp relief for the duration of the run, and I was treated to a sweeping view of the woods around me every time he looked around. The Icon (with the batteries) weighs about 8 ounces, but the topstrap kept bouncing to a minimum, and neither my tester nor I felt like it was uncomfortably heavy. 

Add the aforementioned tough metallic exterior and a waterproof housing (protected against immersion down to 1 meter for 30 minutes), and you're looking at a headlamp that'll take your flashlight's lunch money.

If you want to turn night into day (or you're trying to attract Mothra), you're going to be hard-pressed to find this many lumens for this many dollars.

Just don't look directly into the thing.