Hi all,
Just starting out in fell racing and I'm looking to get some basic gear. I was wondering if anyone might be able to explain to me what the difference is between Ron Hill Tracksters and normal lycra tights? I've heard quite a bit about the tracksters but I'm not really sure what the difference in performance is.
Cheers.
Welcome Gareth , RonHills are a bit outdated now, they're cheap and do the job if not going too far afield an don't get too wet (they tend to sag abit when wet).
Lycra tights can often be picked up as cheap at somewhere like JJB (cos they end up with proper runing gear that ppl don't buy) . Lycras fit a lot tighter and don't sag when wet. They'll keep you warmer and it's easier put put overtrousers over them as they are close to your leg. As a tip ALDI often do some good ones really cheap, i have a couple of pairs and apart from the zip tag breaking eventually , they are fine.The ALDI stuff isn't in all of the time thou. Try Start Fitness they're very good on price and do mail order.
The only drawback with lycra is that its very figure hugging , so sometimes u feel self concious if u nip in the paper shop after a run like i do.
Cheers Alf, not sure if the sight of me in lycra is likely to be very pleasant, but then it is getting very cold....
Decathlon have some good ones - tops too - 'Kalenji' I think they're called.
Tao begets one. One begets two. Two begets all things.
I've had two pairs of tracksters for years now - they seem to last for ever. The older ones are slightly thicker and looser with two zip pockets and are great for very cold but dry days. I've then got a neater fitting thinner pair I use in the wet and they don't cling or sag too much.
For water repellency, try tracksters in DXB. 7 years ago, I bought a pair to do a Scottish C2C for my 50th summer ( birthday is November - I'm not quite that crazy) - the only item of thermal leg cover that I carried, plus a pair of Rock & Run pertex overtrousers made by Mardale in Preston.. I waded rivers above knee deep and the DXB tracksters soon dried out. These days for winter off road running I tend to wear 3/4 capris that keep my upper calf/knee joint/thighs warm. The Nike 'Dry Fit' kit from Pete Bland performs even better than the RH DXB gear. The big benefit is that after a 'dirty' run you can get away with just washing off your lower calfs - no really filthy legs on full length leg cover.
cut the rons off below the knees and then get someone to hem them for you or do it yourself, stops the sagging and makes for a good pair of 3/4 pants
Good tip Phil.
The Old-style Traksters have been going well for me for 20 years now. Still work fine for cold running. They do sag a little around the ankles if you get them very wet - eg running through bogs etc.
The Decathlon Kalenji-branded stuff is surprisingly great.
I've used the basic £4 shorts in all sort of events incl marathons without any probs. Also I really like their "knee" shorts that come just below the knee (wore those on the Round Rotherham last weekend). They do some basic lycra tights as well which are pretty good.
Don't worry about looking a t1t when wearing figure-hugging lycra. It's too late to be worrying, if you are wearing running gear of any variety: it marks you out as a lunatic anyway, regardless of your shape.
It must be personal preference as i found the sagging of them is a real hassle. Lycra ones fitting tighter don't suffer from it.
One other useful design feature often found in Lycra tights is a key pocket (zippable).
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote