The Good and the slightly disappointing

You know, I get questions all the time about what is the best shoe? What's the best clothing? What GU's taste the best? Well, a lot of this is sheer opinion but I'll give you my two cents. I have the pleasure of ordering the absolute best running clothing and shoes in the world and it is sometimes hard to differentiate what truly is the best. However, I can tell you from personal experience what works the best for me.
This week I'll attack a couple subjects:
1. Running Shirts. I know, you have a closet full of race T-shirts so you never need to buy a new one, right? I hear you.... to a point. Now, I agree, it is nice that long ago are the days of receiving cotton T-shirts from races that were really only "performance wear" if you were painting your house, cleaning your gutter, or well, you get the idea.
However, while the shirts from races are now "technical", I certainly wouldn't call them top of the line. The first shirt winter shirt that I grab out of the drawer is my Craft zeroextreme shirt. They fit right against the skin (think Superhero!) and somehow they seem to be the absolute perfect weight on their own for anything from about 30-55 degrees. I like that I don't have to wear multiple layers in anything but the nastiest weather and the tight fit prevents any rubbing or chafing. They aren't cheap ($70) but in my opinion, they are truly best in class.
Here is a picture of Michelle and Heather wearing the new winter design.

Socks: I believe that we carry the best sock lines on the market. However, in winter, my main concern is getting a sock that can truly wick moisture away from the skin as fast as possible. Stepping in snowy "puddles" is no joke when it is below freezing out and you need something that will keep your foot as dry as possible. I don't think that there is much question that Drymax socks keep feet drier than any on the market. Check out these cool videos on how Drymax works. Click here. And, right now, we are running a special on Drymax socks. Buy 2 and get 1 free! Come give them a try, you'll be glad you did.
Okay, I don't have a "bad" but I do have a disappointment. As you know, we at Fleet Feet are huge fans of Hammer Nutrition. One of the items that we were most excited about were Perpetuem solids. This was going to be a densely caloric product made up in an energy "bite" that could be consumed while during an endurance event like marathons, Ironman, etc. The advantage would be to be able to have an easy to eat item while on the run instead of constantly eating GUs or energy blocks.
I went out for a 2.5 hour run this weekend with training buddy Dave Bowman and we cracked open a new baggy of them. Excited, we each popped one in our mouth. Man, it had to be just about the most chalky and hard to chew item that I have ever tried. Bummer! We were all so excited to get those in the shop. As always, I like that Hammer is pushing the envelope with new products. However, in my opinion, this one is a bust unless you have about three liters of water to take with them. Anyway, those are my reviews for this month. Hope you enjoyed them.
Rod B.