Kit List (Winter)

There’s something unmistakably alluring about the idea of simply pulling on some shorts on a fine summers day and leaping over the back fence to see where and how far our feet will take us… but let’s face it, with any type of distance running, barefoot or otherwise, there’s a certain amount of risk involved. So much depends on your location, the weather, your ability on the day, the terrain, the time of day (or night), whether or not you’re running alone: there are so many variables at play and numerous unexpected events that can conspire against you, it pays to be prepared!

It’s for these reasons that I always carry kit with me whenever I run further than 5 miles. If I’m not sure how far I’m going to run when I set off, I take my kit. It has become second nature.

In addition to running longer distances, I also enjoy running at night and some of my regular routes take me through quite remote locations: I need to know that if something does go wrong which results in me having to stop for any length of time, I can at least summon help and keep warm until it arrives.

So this is my winter kit list, I live in the UK where “winter” tends to be relatively mild: you may need more (or less) kit than me depending on where in the world you live and run…

• Haglofs Gram Comp 25 backpack
• Medium Exped dry bag
• Petzl Actik 350 lumens headtorch with spare batteries
• Leggings
• Ronhill lined shorts
• North Face lightweight top
• Arm sleeves
• Montane warm jacket (sewn in hood)
• OMM waterproof smock (sewn in hood)
• Montane VIA Trail gloves
• Chums glasses strap
• Emergency whistle
• Emergency bivvy bag
• Micropore tape
• Mobile phone (not shown in the photo)

Everything is lightweight: 1,200 grams in total.

I won’t go through all the items in detail, I just want to mention a few of them…

Haglofs Gram Comp 25 Backpack

As the name suggests, this is a 25 litre ultralight backpack weighing in at just 320 grams, that’s incredibly light for a 25 litre pack! It’s not waterproof but even with the additional weight of an Exped dry bag, it’s still a super light combo.

It has adjustable shoulder straps along with adjustable waist and chest straps so you can get a really snug fit to your body thus minimising bounce. There’s a main compartment, a zip top pocket on the flap, two drawstring side pouches (which are just about accessible whilst on the move) and two zip pockets on the waist straps which are fully accessible whilst on the move.

It’s an incredible backpack, the only issue I’ve had with it is I pulled too hard on one of the drawstrings and the elastic came out. I could repair it (and will) but given I hardly use the side pouches, it’s not a problem.

Montaine VIA Trail Gloves

These gloves are amazing! They’re light, just 39 grams, windproof and warm. They aren’t waterproof but they do have the special material on the thumb and fingertips that enable you to use touchscreen devices without needing to remove the gloves.

Petzl Actik 350 Lumens Headtorch

Although this headtorch has 3 brightness levels, I only use full beam as there are no street lights at all where I usually run. Even so, battery life seems good and the strap is adjustable and comfortable. The projection angle of the beam can be adjusted up or down depending on where you want to concentrate the light.

This is a great general purpose headtorch and I’m largely happy with it but I’m considering upgrading it at some point to one of the 750 lumens models as I find that it doesn’t give me enough ground illumination at distance, especially on very dark, very wet nights.

Micropore tape

The whole point of barefoot running is enjoyable, injury free running right? Yes, it is and it’s incredible how the human foot will spread the weight and mould around all manner of small objects (if you’re relaxed) but I’m not so naive to believe that I’ll never need a little strip of Micropore tape!

Pushing the Boundaries

If I’m planning to run a longer distance or I’m unsure of how challenging the terrain might be, I’ll chuck in some Vibram Fivefingers. As yet, I haven’t needed them but for the small amount of additional weight, less than 300 grams, it’s worth having something to put on if I really need to.

General Safety Tips

I’ve mentioned I like to run at night in quite remote locations, here are just a few fairly obvious general safety tips…

• Check the weather forecast, I know you can’t always trust it but at least you’ll have an idea of what you’re in for.
• Always take a fully charged mobile phone with you (and a means to charge it if you’re running ultra distances).
• Share your route with someone: you can simply do this verbally or go high-tech with features like Strava beacon or GPS tracking devices.
• Make known your expected return or check in time.

Food and Water

If I am planning on being out for more than 4 hours, I’ll take some home made energy balls with me (more on nutrition and a recipe to follow) but otherwise I don’t carry food, water or gels.

Thanks for reading, let me know what you carry on your longer runs!