What Our Editors Used and Loved in June

Published June 30, 2021 09:45AM

Every month our editors and staff spend hours and hours doing triathlon things. Yes, we test the newest gear, but we also all have our old favorites—what works (and what doesn’t work). Each month, we share our favorite things getting us through the tri-life right now and members can enter to win one of editors’ picks.

Nathan Pinnacle 12L Women’s Hydration Race Vest

I feel like I’ve run so many miles with this vest lately that it’s actually become part of me. With my training for Leadville 100 in full force, I’ve been covering some seriously big runs over the past month and this vest has had my back on all of them. It’s surprisingly lightweight and easy to run with considering it’s a 12-liter pack, and it’s quite the Mary Poppins bag when it comes to storage (there are 13 exterior pockets that seem to absorb all of the things). It features a 1.6L bladder, as well as space for two front hydration flasks, so it makes life easy when you’re looking to stay well-hydrated. Having run many hundreds of miles with its predecessor, the VaporHowe, you can tell some further head scratching and intelligent R&D went into the tweaks on the Pinnacle. It sits slowly lower in your back and moves with you a little more effortlessly. It’s a great choice for any adventure you have lined up this summer.

Goodr Sunglasses

As triathletes, we go out and train year-round–and so we have all sorts of gear for every weather condition. We have jackets for when it’s windy or raining, we have gloves and hats for when it’s cold and shorts for when it’s warm. And when it’s sunny, you need a good pair of sunglasses. I first learned of the Goodr brand when I was hiking a 14-er and my friend was wearing the Mach Gs. I had on expensive casual glasses that fell off my face every time I looked to the ground, but I wanted to look “cool” and stylish. Finding the perfect pair of sunglasses that work for both sports and aprés activities can be difficult. I was looking for a pair that I could wear both for running and casual wear, that fit my face, that would stay on, and that wouldn’t be so expensive I’d be upset if I lost them or scratched them up. These Goodr glasses are perfect. They’re cheap, well-built, polarized, have UV400 protection, don’t bounce, and come in a ton of fun colors. My favorite pairs: Midnight Ramble at the Circle Bar and Nine Dollar Pour Over.

RinseKit Plus

I’m not really a big pool guy. In fact, it’s probably been a few years (even pre-pandemic) since I’ve been in one. Since I do pretty much all of my swimming in the open water, and since I’m often at unusual spots to swim, I’m usually a sandy, salty mess after I’m done. Rather than rely entirely on the seat covers I have in my car and the lovely mud mats that came with it, I’ve found that the best way to clean off after a swim—especially the kelpy, fishy kind—is to get hosed down with fresh water. Now that might not sound revolutionary, but actually rinsing off your fancy wetsuit (and trust me, I have a fancy wetsuit, I’m a gear editor!) can keep the thing lasting longer and staying in better shape.

In order to achieve both accomplishments—washing body and suit—I’ve tried lots of different things. My favorite right now is a four-foot section of 1-inch plastic tube that I can hold to a sink faucet or outdoor nozzle and use like a hose. While I think it’s super cool, the people around me don’t always appreciate my spray and for sure look at me like a transient. So my second favorite way to rinse off is definitely this little bucket thing called a RinseKit. You simply fill it with water from a garden hose, bring it with you where you’re swimming, and use it to get a pressurized spray for about two minutes. It even has a nozzle just like a garden sprayer so you can choose your spray pattern. The biggest trick is remembering to refill it basically after every other use, lest your spray is reduced to a trickle, then a sputter, then a wheeze. And the best part? You won’t look like someone experiencing homelessness.

Otter Pops

Hear me out. I raced Ironman Coeur d’Alene this past weekend—and by “raced” I mean I death jogged on the surface of the sun—and the only thing that hit the spot in the second half of running a marathon in 100+ degrees were the Otter Pops a couple of college-aged kids were handing out. We called them Otter Pops growing up. You can call them freeze pops or, apparently, zooper doopers in Australia, but whatever you call them in the midst of a hot hard sweaty deep-dark-place run they are excellent. I know some people aren’t nuts about the sugar content, and certainly it depends on what else you consume, but for me the combo of an icy slushy I could chew on as I ran with an extra jolt of sugar and a few calories was exactly right. When the college kids ran out, I wasn’t sure I’d make it to the finish, and when they restocked, I cheered (and freakishly quizzed everyone around if they’d tried one yet). Reality is there are going to be a lot lot more record-setting hot training and racing days in our future. Put some of these in your freezer now.