Gear

Here you can find the products that I own and I tried over the years. Aside from the sponsorship from Coeur Sports that paid for my first tri kit from them, I did not receive any compensation from the brands below for featuring them on my blog. However, you should know that if I didn't believe in what I said I wouldn't mention it. This is to let you know what has worked for me. What works for me may not work for you, but feel free to contact me with questions or comments about the products below.

Disclaimer: all links on this website that lead to Amazon.com take advantage of the Associates program and therefore if you buy the product via these links, a small percentage will be gifted to me (4%). It never happened until now, I'll make sure to let you know if it does.

Swimming:

ROKA Women's Maverick Elite Fullsuit Wetsuit - upgraded from the XTerra Vortex wetsuit and I could not be happier with my choice. It fits very tight though and the upper section looks quite fragile, although I have been lucky and I did not damage it in all races that I used it. It is a lot sturdier than it looks!

ROKA SIM Comp Shorts - better than a pull buoy, they help you keep a good position in the water and let you kick at the same time.












Running/Triathlon Clothing:

Coeur Sports Tri Kit (sponsor) - THE perfect racing kit. I own the "Fleet Foxes" and "Checkmate" designs in M size and I could not be happier with them. No chaffing whatsoever, and the seam free chamois, it's absolutely revolutionary. Bye bye crotch pain! (no idea how it works, but believe me that it's the bomb).

Sugoi SubZero Zap Insulated Tights - My go to tights for running in very cold weather. I am crazy enough to go out in -10C, so these are great for such conditions. I usually wear another pair of regular women's tights underneath because I don't like feeling sweaty in them.

2XU Recovery Compression Tights - amazing compression tights. I wear them at home under my PJs and at work under my dress pants. They keep my legs happy.

Nike Dri-FIT Tech Capris
Nike Dri-FIT Shorts

Shoes:
K-Swiss Women's K-Ona S Triathlon Shoes (Ironman branded, red) - Very lightweight trainers, I love them. I used them for most on my runs this year, up and including the marathon distance. Ironman power for a small price (about $75)!

New Balance Minimus WR00 - I recently discovered minimalist running and this is the pair of shoes that I chose for being the most comfortable for me, it feels like I was born in them. They are incredibly lightweight, have a zero drop and a very comfortable toe box. I only use them for strength workouts though.

Biking:

Cervelo P2 Ultegra 2013 - her name is Trinity, because you know, Neo and Trinity, they go together well. She rides beautifully and I expect her to take me successfully through the 180km of bike course at Ironman Mt. Tremblant in 2014 (and beyond!). It came with a Fizik Arione Tri2 saddle, but I switched to the Cobb Max saddle after the winter/trainer season was over.

For racing, I also installed 3Sixty5 FAT 60 carbon race wheels, but I ended using them for most of the outdoor season. They make a great difference on flats and downhills, I feel like flying with them. Apparently they also make a cool "whoosh" sound when you zoom by someone else. ;-)

Rudy Project Wingspan TT helmet - bought this one as a bundle with the Rudy Project Zyon Sunglasses and both are extremely comfortable and versatile. We love racing gear that we can share in our household, it's less $ to spend. These were unisex/unisize, and they work for us just great. They even make us (look) fast!

Diadora Pro Racer 1.0 Helmet - so light and it fits well on my small head thanks to the knob adjustment at the back. Bought at Sport Check for about $40.

MEC Rapide Cycling Shorts - I use these shorts day in and day out for all my training bike rides. Great padding and compression, they don't feel awkward or look like I'm wearing a diaper when I go on a run afterwards. You can always trust MEC.

Kurt Kinetic Road Machine - Indoor bike trainer - best trainer ever, quiet and reliable. Can turn legs into Jello.

Trainer Road - Online trainer workouts. Best value for the buck I could find and works really well with the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine to measure and display power in real time. For the geek in me, it is very satisfying. You can see my workouts here.

Socks:

Injinji Performance Series Toesox Socks - it took me a long time to find a pair of socks that don't give me blisters for runs over 10 miles. These are the ones. They feel a bit warm, but they do the trick.

Nike Dri-Fit Pro Compression Football Socks - These are not your serious pair of medical compression socks, but they fit nice and tight and don't give me blisters. I ran the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in them and they served me well. No issues with them whatsoever. I am just not ready to spend $50+ in a pair of "real" compression socks. It's all in my head anyway. :-)

Sugoi Women's R+R Knee High Socks - compression socks that I bought at one of the race expos (for $34). I love them for recovery runs, rides and everything in between. You can see them in my blog banner. I am ready to buy another pair, or two, or ten.

Smartwool Women's PhD Outdoor Socks - I was on a hunt for socks to keep my feet warm during winter outdoor runs and I found these at the MEC. They were rather pricey at $25/pair, but they are amazing! They keep the fit very warm, they stay in place perfectly and I wore them 5 days in a row and they never smelled. :-D

Underwear:

Champion Women's Spot Comfort Full Support Bra - this is it. I found it. All other bras can move out of the way, there is no better one for me. No chaffing and excellent support.

Oh wait, there is another one: Shock Absorber Women's Run Sports Bra, which I wear in triathlon races as it has less padding than the Champion and amazing support.

Falke Women Panties - my underwear for all long races. Just feels like it isn't there.

MEC T1 Hipster Underwear - I have half a dozen pairs, I use those for all my workouts. No comments, they just fit and stay put.

Accessories:

Garmin Forerunner 910XT - THE watch for triathletes, it does just about everything. The only complaints I have about it are the GPS reception during open water swims and that it has a hard time counting laps without a glitch for the entire swim.

SPIBelt - Small Personal Items Belt - I usually carry in it my phone and my keys when I don't need water on my runs. It's perfect for this, plus you can use it as number belt for races and store gels at the same time.

Fuel Belt Endurance - if you go for runs longer than 1h, you probably need this. I haven't tried another brand, this is the only belt with bottles that I own. I usually carry my phone in one of the stretchy pouches and bottles in the other three, toilet paper and keys in the larger pocket at the back. It's very sturdy, I've had it for 3 years now and it looks like new.

MEC Metro Cycling Gloves - they do the trick and they are light and cheap.

YaxTrax - if you plan to run outside in the snow and on ice, these are indispensable.

Miscellaneous/Retired gear:

Xterra Vortex 4 Fullsuit Wetsuit - my first and only wetsuit. I bought it directly from Xterra website and used their sizing chart which ended up being extremely accurate. I love it, it's fast and warm and gives me no chaffing anywhere (if I don't pull it too high on my back). I managed to find a coupon for 70% off, so I got it for cheap, so to speak .

Swim suit of no particular brand bought from Bikini Bay. I found that I need a "long torso" model and they had a good selection, chlorine resistant that fits great. I wear this one exclusively in the pool to swim laps.

Cervelo One tri bike, bought locally from a Kijiji ad. You can read all about it here, his name is Neo. Neo is now spending most of his days on the trainer. He is currently set up with a Cobb Max saddle which keeps my sit bones happy.

Specialized Sport MTB - very comfy biking shoes that I don't even feel on my feet. These were my first and pair and I didn't know better until I switched to road pedals and shoes.

SOAS Racing Tri Kit "Teal Plaid" - My first ever matching tri kit. Bought it after waiting forever to find my size, but eventually settled on a L even if it's a bit loose. Feels great, but I still had to double bag them boobs (the curse of the C cup).

Salomon TwinkSkin Whisper Tank - I found this top at my local bike shop and used it for my first triathlon. It fits my 135lb frame perfectly and has an impressive inner bra that is very supportive for my C cup. Hard to beat.

Sugoi Piston Tri Pkt Short - unisex tri shorts, they feel like a second skin and very comfortable on long rides. I wore them in my first triathlon and almost every one after it.

WrightSock Running double layer - the first socks I tried and that are perfectly fine runs all the way up to a half-marathon. Now the double layer feels a bit heavy.

UnderArmour Women's Endure C-Cup Sports Bra - at some point in time, it was the only bra that passed the long run test with no chaffing marks (body glide needed though). No longer the case once it became a little too big.

Adidas Supernova Glide 2 - My current running shoes and the best I've had so far even though they came out in 2010 and cost much less than other shoes that I own. I bought those in the clearance section at Sport Check for about $35 CAD and they have been treating me well (few  blisters, no toenail impact at all). I bought two more pairs on eBay because it's hard to find another shoe that fits me so well.

Adidas adiSTAR Ride 3 - The most expensive pair of shoes that I bought, but I started having pain in the arches of my feet after running in them for about 400 miles. I am now using them as walking shoes.

Asics Gel-Pulse - they are giving me blisters after 1km, so I use them for short walks and bike workouts.

Moving Comfort Juno Sports Bra - comfortable on short runs with excellent support for C/D cups, but awful chaffing marks during a marathon, especially in the back and under arms.