10 Running Brands You Can Always Count On

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Quick Overview

A HUGE PERK of running is that it doesn’t require specialized equipment like shinguards or sticks to get you out there. But while you can technically go for a run in just about anything, there’s a huge difference in logging miles in any old clothes and gear that’s specifically designed for the sport.

Best for Lightweight Clothes: Hoka
Best for City Running: On

The best running brands offer gear with features to support your efforts, including sweat-wicking fabrics, cuts that won’t get in the way of your stride, and strategic air panels to keep you as cool and dry as possible. Go for a run in a plain cotton T-shirt and then later do the same workout in a running singlet—the feel and possibly even your performance will not be equal.

If you’re new to running, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the options for running shoes, running shorts, and running jackets out there, and some are admittedly better than others. But slipping into dedicated performance gear created for runners will go a long way toward helping you feel comfortable on the road or trail, ultimately allowing you to push yourself harder and faster.

As seasoned runners, we’ve logged plenty of miles in gear from a range of running brands. Based on our experience, these have proven themselves to be worth your time and money.

How We Chose

To find the best running brands, our fitness and commerce teams have spent years testing some of the most popular running brands. Men’s Health editors and writers have worn gear during intense training sessions, speed workouts, long runs, and race days to see how well they held up to regular use.

We tested shirts for breeziness and sweat-wicking capabilities, along with performance shorts for comfort. Because the right cold-weather gear is crucial during the winter months, we analyzed how well thermal tights and base layers blocked out frigid temperatures without leading to overheating.

After that, we narrowed the field down to the 10 best running brands based on quality, feel, fit, durability, and value. These are the brands that consistently make it to the top of our pile and show up to support everything from training to races.

1) lululemon Lululemon

Seen Above: Lululemon Pace Breaker Linerless Short

Lululemon was a pioneer in the athleisure market, largely thanks to its yoga gear and leggings. But the brand has grown since then, including a thoughtful expansion of its menswear. Lululemon isn’t the first place people think of when it comes to running gear, but there’s plenty in the mix worth considering—especially for daily training.

The brand’s Pace Breaker Linerless Short is a favorite. It ditches the built-in liner found in many running shorts to allow room for your preferred running underwear or compression gear, creating a custom feel. The short is also lightweight and stretchy for a barely-there feel. Lululemon’s Metal Vent Tech Short-Sleeve Shirt is another winner in our book, with its highly breathable construction and refusal to cling to your body, even when you’re dripping in sweat. These will earn a spot in your heavy running gear rotation.

Like other Lululemon gear, the brand’s running clothes can be worn while strolling down the street or to the gym without a second thought. It’s versatile and high-performance, giving you plenty to work with.

Read more: The Best Running Shoes, Tested by Editors

2) Hoka

Seen Above: Hoka EveryRun Short Sleeve

Hoka first grabbed the attention of runners with its footwear. Hoka shoes are max cushioned shock-absorbers with a serious fan base, but the brand has quietly built an arsenal of gear to support more than your feet on runs. Hoka offers a little of everything, including a heavy selection of lightweight gear.

The Race-Day Split Short has a classic semi-split leg and feather-light fabric for a breezy feel when you want to go fast. There’s also the SkyFlow Wind Jacket that’s water- and wind-resistant without weighing you down. But the Everyday Run line shines with its lightweight, breathable FlyLite material and smart side vents to dispel heat.

We’re partial to the EveryRun Short Sleeve, which comes in a slew of matchable shades and features bonded seams that won’t cause chafing, even with high mileage. This is the shirt to grab for treadmill runs, muggy days, or if you just happen to run hot.

Read more: The Best Walking Shoes, Tested by Editors

3) Brooks

Seen Above: Brooks Momentum Thermal Hoodie

In an industry of flashy players, Brooks is a solid workhorse. The brand focuses heavily on supportive footwear and gear that will last, only making subtle tweaks and changes to its core offerings over time. Like its shoes, Brooks’ running apparel isn’t showy—it’s comfortable, smartly designed, and matches nearly everything, providing a range that you can hold onto for years.

Take the brand’s Thermal Reflective Tight, with its four-way stretch, brief liner to hold you in, and hidden zip pocket in back with room for your phone and other essentials. The Dash 2-in-1 Short has an internal fitted, breathable liner with a hidden side pocket to keep your phone close to you and out of view.

This season, Brooks launched its Momentum line, including the cozy Momentum Thermal Hoodie. The top feels lightweight on, with a scuba hood and thumbholes for a secure, cold-weather-blocking fit. The built-in odor resistance is a perk you’ll appreciate over time and repeat use, too.

4) On

Seen Above: On Performance Long-T

Swiss brand On originally built a name for itself with its lightweight, springy, and highly cushioned footwear. But the company eventually expanded beyond shoes to create a robust selection of gear that’s a solid choice for pounding the pavement and grabbing coffee with your running buddy afterward.

On provides plenty of moisture-wicking fabrics that won’t leave you looking like a running puddle of sweat, along with high-visibility reflective elements for navigating high-traffic areas. On’s aesthetic also crosses over into streetwear, giving you more life out of your gear beyond just running.

Everyday performance shorts, highly breathable T-shirts, and lightweight, waterproof jackets provide plenty to work with. On uses a range of colorways, from basic black to can’t-miss neon, allowing you to choose your preferred aesthetic and visibility. We’re fans of the Performance Long-T, a versatile piece designed for cold weather running. It uses the brand’s proprietary DryTec fabric to pull sweat away from your body while still keeping you warm, with subtle reflective elements all over.

5) adidas Adidas

Seen Above: Adidas adi365 Iconic 1/2 Zip Top

You can blow some serious cash loading up on running gear, and the same is true at Adidas. But in addition to some wallet-busters, there’s plenty of inexpensive essentials you can load up on at a fraction of what you’ll spend elsewhere. This gear still offers much of the same high-tech, sweat-wicking fabrics as other brands, just with a lower price tag. The throwback, legacy vibe is nice, too.

A solid example is the adi365 Iconic 1/2 Zip Top, which uses Adidas’ Climacool fabric to wick away sweat while keeping you warm. Thumbholes help keep sleeves in place, and zippered pockets prevent your important stuff from spilling out mid-stride. If you prefer to run in shorts, the adi365 Iconic shorts have a loose, breezy fit with hidden zippered and stash pockets—and they’re just $35.

Running tights, sweat-wicking T-shirts, and more are significantly cheaper than many other well-known brands. If you’re willing to spend a little more, though, the Adizero Running Blaze Jacket has a reflective interior inspired by emergency blankets handed out at cold-weather marathons to retain heat without weighing you down.

6) Patagonia

Seen Above: Patagonia Houdini Jacket

Trail running is a completely different animal from road running, making it important to have the right gear. Patagonia answers the call with a slew of Fair Trade products designed to support and protect as you navigate nature and its unpredictability.

Patagonia focuses on minimizing weight while maximizing technical performance to help shield you from things like pop-up storms without weighing down runs. This gear is highly weather resistant to block out wind, rain, and snow—basically, whatever you might encounter on the trail.

The brand’s Houdini Jacket sets the standard for windbreakers, using tough micro-denier ripstop nylon to block out wind and light rain. Still, it only weighs 3.7 ounces and can be folded into its own pockets when it’s not in use. There’s also no shortage of cold-weather tights and technical vests to choose from. Worth noting for budget shoppers: Patagonia offers a “shop used” button on most of its gear to offer similar styles at a reduced price.

7) Nike Nike

Seen Above: Nike Dri-FIT 5″ Brief-Lined Running Shorts

Nike has carved out a name for itself in lots of different areas, but it still has no shortage of performance gear. The brand leans heavily into technical fabrics that support all areas of your race, from sprints to marathons.

Nike’s Dri-FIT fabric is specially designed to wick sweat away from your skin to the outer layer of your gear, where it dissipates to keep your clothes from soaking against your skin. But the newer AeroSwift line was specifically created for race day. This line features Dri-FIT ADV technology for ultra sweat-wicking, packaged in ultra-light fabrics with strategically placed mesh panels for extra airflow. Many clothes in the line also have drop-in pockets to hold things like gels and your phone.

There’s a lot to choose from, but we’re also partial to the AeroSwift Men’s Dri-FIT ADV Running 1/2-Length Tight as an alternative to looser running shorts. Its second-skin fit is supportive but breathable, with smart details most wouldn’t think of, like a non-reflective finish on logos to protect against race-day flash photography.

Read more: Our Multi-Editor Review Of The Nike Metcon 10

8) Under Armour

Seen Above: Under Armour UA Base 3.0 Leggings

Most running brands will offer some gear to keep you comfortable in cold weather. But Under Armour has built a cult following with its ColdGear line. These compressive tops and tights use dual-layer fabric to hold in heat without adding bulk. While the interior fabric is warm and brushed, it still wicks away sweat and dries quickly. As a result, you won’t end up freezing in the cold during your cool-down.

UnderArmor has a numbered ColdGear Base line that delivers increasing insulation and warmth as the numbers increase. So, the UA Base 4.0 ¼ zip is one of the brand’s warmest tops for freezing temperatures, while the ColdGear Compression Mock Long Sleeve is designed for the cold, but not the tundra.

We reach for the ultra-warm UA Base 3.0 leggings on below-freezing runs. It has four-way stretch and a secure fit for your comfort, with built-in odor control to keep your bottoms smelling fresh. Layer it under other pants or wear it as-is.

Read More: Best Running Jackets

9) Janji

Seen Above: Janji Run All Day Tee

Janji is a brand that’s big on sustainability and social consciousness, appealing to a certain group of runners. But Janji has a wide range of products to suggest you should support this brand for more than just its mission.

Janji is all about breathable materials, with the brand’s incredibly light and airy AFO (“airflatout”) fabric being a favorite. (You can find it in the Middle Running Short, along with plenty of others.) Janji also leans into naturally breathable fabrics, like merino. Case in point: The brand’s Rover Merino Half Zip harnesses merino wool’s natural properties like airiness, thermoregulation, and odor resistance, in a high-performance, versatile top.

Many Janji bottoms offer multi-pocket waistbands to house your phone, gels, and keys, without bouncing all over the place as you run. The brand also gets props for its five-year “run everywhere” guarantee, which promises to repair or replace your gear if anything gets ripped, torn, or broken within five years due to a defect in workmanship or material.

10) SATISFY Satisfy

Seen Above: Satisfy AmbientWarp 5″ Unlined Shorts

Most running gear provides a certain look and feel that’s immediately identifiable as running apparel. But Satisfy bucks the trend with a range of unique clothes you wouldn’t automatically think were for runners—or athletes at all.

Take the brand’s AmbientWarp 5″ Unlined Shorts. While they have a paint-splattered denim look, they’re actually made from Satisfy’s AmbientWarp fabric that’s lightweight, stretchy, and dries fast just like your favorite running shorts. There’s also the AmbientWarp River Shirt, which looks like something you’d wear to a Post Malone show but features the same high-performance fabric as the shorts we just mentioned. It also offers smart features like dual pockets in front to access essentials quickly, along with pockets in back for stuff you want to tote but can deal with later.

Satisfy gear admittedly isn’t cheap, but it offers a unique level of style you won’t see at your average 5K.

What to Consider

What Style Should I Look for in a Running Brand?

There is no set style you need to follow with running gear, but many brands will offer up gear with similar silhouettes: form-fitting tights, vented shorts, singlets and breathable tops, and windbreakers. Each brand has its own aesthetic and go-to colorways, giving you some variation to choose from. If you really want to buck convention, consider tossing in some unique pieces from Satisfy.

What Functional Features Should Running Clothes Have?

This is at the core of what the best running brands can provide. Look for features you can lean on mid-run like thumb holes in long sleeves, zippered pockets, and breathable fabrics. Lightweight fabrics are also a plus, even with cold-weather gear. Ultimately, your running gear shouldn’t cross your mind during training or races.

How Should Running Clothes Fit?

Fit can be a personal preference. Some people prefer loose-fitting, breezy shorts, while others would rather have second-skin options. However, running gear is often more tightly fitted than clothes designed for other sports for aerodynamics. In general, you may find that you prefer gear that’s tight or offers a weightless feel for your comfort.

How Much Should I Spend on Running Clothes?

It depends. You can get as much life out of a $35 pair of running shorts as you do from something significantly more expensive. Eventually, the elastic in the waistband will wear down or break, signaling that it’s time for a new pair. But while I still have inexpensive running tops I’ve consistently worn for more than a decade, the gear that gets the heaviest rotation tends to be the most expensive. These are the clothes that have thoughtful features like zippered pockets, flat seams that won’t cause chafing, and high-performance fabrics. You can generally expect to spend more ($75 and up) on running tights and cold-weather tops compared to running shorts. And, when you find inexpensive gear you like, stock up.

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