A little offtopic yes, but, keep in mind that I use some of these while cycling too.
I sometimes like to take a break from being a mediocre cyclist to be an even more mediocre runner, and I'm sure many of you also do. While definitely not as gear-reliant as cycling overall, running is also plagued by the parasite backbones of the western economy; useless middlemen, charalatan marketing, etc, and given my positive experience with chinese cycling stuff, I figured there had to be nobrainer deals for running too, and I couldn't really find any online space discussing those.
Accessories/clothes:Nitecore NU25 (old 2017 version) My first aliexpress purchase. A staple for ultralighters but I've mostly used it running. No need for my individual review, plenty out there. I sold it to upgrade to the updated USB-C version but they just pulled third party sellers on aliexpress. Bummed but now eyeing the cheaper headlamps from other brands. Any suggestion?
Tiny 12g flashlight marketed for EDC that you can use clipped to a hat brim: $2 in the pick 3 section, an absolute nobrainer. Enough for road running at dusk, but awesome overall, will definitely buy more to keep in backpack/car/bike
Socks: I have 7 pairs of these socks, sometimes marketed for cycling, sometimes for running. Sold under various branding, I have liteskin, GKRQ and "RAPHA" Best socks I've ever had, blows salomon and under armor out of the water. Between 1.50 (pick 3 section) and 2.50 a pair, nobrainer imo.
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005006741629823.htmlSynthetic buff: I think it doesn't substitute a merino buff, it has different applications. A lot more breathable but not as warm. Still 12 times cheaper than my OR merino buff. Great overall
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005007614935339.htmlWinter hat: Not the best for the price. Very warm, not breathable. Good for hiking at best or running only in VERY cold temps.
https://aliexpress.com/item/32906234584.htmlSun sleeves: Seem to have gone up a lot in price, mine were 4€ not on sale. Very good, I don't see how they could improve or how western brands have the audacity to sell theirs for 50. I've used them a lot cycling, both when it's a little chilly and when it's really hot and sunny. Adds a little warmth in autumn, keeps cool and avoids sunburns in summer. Dunk your arms in water at a fountain and you'll keep them cold for much longer than if you dipped just skin.
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005004180252738.htmlI haven't found proper clothing that seemed appealing (shirts, pants) on aliexpress. Would love to hear reviews but decathlon is cheap enough so I'm not sure I would bother. However I really really wish there was a proper technical running rain jacket. Something to rival the 300+ euro raidlight/rab/salomon bonatti jackets that are really breathable. Sadly I can't find anything like it.
As for the watch, while not aliexpress, coros is chinese and I'm very happy with the switch from garmin
Belts/backpacks/flasks:
My benchmark is the kiprun marathon belt (71g)(not the adjustable one).
Queshark running belt: Garbage copy of salomon pulse that isn't a very good belt to begin with. Made the mistake of trusting the sizing chart and reviewers who most likely don't run and just test fit in their kitchen and took L as the chart firmly placed me there. Horrible mistake as it's too big, but even then the belt is just trash. Fabric is like 90s spandex, stretchy but not firm or breathable. Zipper is average, pockets are unpractical and the "700ml kettle" claim is as fraudulent as it gets as I couldn't even fit a 500ml flask. Still tried it loaded as I usually do, phone in front, small items (in this case my usual belt) on the sides and flask in the back. The back flapped horribly and would sag to my knees in 10 meters. I was very glad I packed my spare belt and got home with it. Wrong size aside it's just shit, and no silicone grippers doesn't help. 67 grams
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005425887714.htmlNoname naked belt copy: only 2 runs so far (using the same load for benchmark) but quite happy. Trusted my gut and got my usual size (M) instead of looking at charts, wish it was juuuust a little tighter but fabric is excellent, load is secure, pole loops have silicone grippers, from what I can tell all it's missing from the real deal is the key clip. Luckily the queshark belt has one I can poach
Literally 10 times cheaper than the real deal, and probably my new main belt going forward. Not a fan of the pockets splitting in the middle, but it's a quirk naked chose and not the clone choice. 54 grams without the race pins which is another win
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005007328651255.htmlFlasks: The BPA/microplastic issue doesn't worry me any more than "western" branded flasks as 1. BPA is for hard plastic only so cycling bottles are a lot more likely to have it, 2. I believe they're made in the same factory, even the supposedly hydrapak ones 3. We're all doomed anyway and water bottles are far from the main source of microplastics. But I'm sure big brands will happily keep you worried so you buy their "safer" flasks for OVER TEN TIMES the price. rant and conspiracy over.
Newboler 500ml, but also found under many brands including aonijie, utobest thinkrider map brother etc: I'd say flow rate is 20% worse than salomon flasks. Same dimension as the recent narrow opening flasks they still sell, but wider/shorter than the 42mm openings sold with adv skin bags, which IMO is a good thing, I don't see the advantage of those taller flasks. 546g full 36g empty = 510ml measured
Widesea 600ml, Lots to say about this one. Flow rate comparable to salomon if not a little better, opening is 40mm. It is the SAME flask sold by intersport at 12chf a piece (seen in store but can't find online) and by raidlight (20 a piece) The raidlight mention is interesting because they also sell a water filter that goes with it for 30eur, which is one of the rare options that rival salomon/katadyn 42mm thread filters. "flask water filter" on aliexpress yields some results, some which look similar but I'm not 100% sure they are the same raidlight sells.The cap thread isn't perfect and you need to push on it to screw it in. This is the case on both of mine but also on intersport's I've handled in person. 680g full 51g empty = 629ml measured
Lixada 380ml, great for belts, in my opinion the best flow out of every flask I've had, chinese or salomon 451g full 32g empty = 419ml measured
I'm not linking any of these as they're all from the pick 3 section. I've personally paid 2.50/2.60/2.80 per pc respectively but I've seen them all for cheaper. In general I am very happy with all, the flask material feels the exact same as salomon and I don't think you can go wrong with either of these. They all have dust caps which I thought would annoy me but I don't mind them and have kept them all so far.
Backpacks, I've had a bunch over the years, 5 salomons from 5 to 25L, one 12L aonijie comfortskin that was not my size so I had to send back but can confirm it was well built. I tried ordering the 10L "speed" aonijie during the 11/11 sale but they lost it in the mail and I got a refund. Might turn up one day and receive it late for free as it happened before, but no review. I just picked up an active skin 8 locally for 35chf and it's my favorite salomon yet, so I don't plan on ordering another for now
The big one: shoes. Wall of text incoming but tldr in the end. For reference, I mostly run trail 8-20km in speedgoat 5s (on my 4th pair) but occasionally road on very cheap decathlon shoes when it's too muddy, just so that I don't wear out my hokas usually 4-5km. My max was 8, they're very minimalist and uncomfortable and I don't really enjoy road running anyway. These road shoes are what I was looking to replace as I'm decently happy with SG5 on trails I've been eyeing the brand "onemix" for a while but since shoes are serious and a bad pair once cost me 600chf in various medical fees I have been very hesitant. Reviews are sparse online but always positive, and I read they used to be OEM for nike before nike sued them. I bit the bullet, my decathlon shoes are uncomfortable anyway. I chose the "meeto" model expecting a road shoe with similar drop to the speedgoats I'm used to. An oversight as they have a strange tread pattern I'm not familiar with, not as smooth as road but not quite as spiky as trail shoes. Perhaps this is the runner's version of a 45mm gravel tire?
I've first tried them on my usual short road loops because I had a lot of runs on them to benchmark. I was 25 seconds faster per km than my PR. Same RPE as usual. Must have been a good day, so I tried my other road loops. PR, PR and PR again. And I'm definitely not at my peak fitness. The tread was intriguing, so I tried them on my shorter trail loops too. Similar story. I probably wouldn't trust them (yet?) on more technical terrains, but for loose gravel, forest and what americans call "fire roads" it does the job. The rubber is very weird to the touch, almost sticky. One issue is the insole it comes with. It has a very curved portion for the arch but it's not supported at all. It got a little uncomfortable so I first swapped them for the SG5 insoles which was a lot better, and then ordered cheap "nafoing" "orthopedic" insoles.The way I understand it many runners ditch stock insoles for their favorite anyway just like we get our favorite saddles on new bikes? Only 3 runs on the new insoles so I need more time to decide if they're better than the hoka insoles, but I would definitely recommend not sticking to the weird stock one.
As a bonus the shoes came with low cut socks. I hate low cut but they've been great. A little frustrated that they even beat my speedgoat 5s, but they've been great so far, ~80km trail ~15km road. No sign of wear yet, which is normal but bad shoes already show weaknesses at that point
TL;DR: Shockingly good
Weights of insoles:
Stock onemix : 33g
Hoka speedgoat 5: 17g
Nafoing orthopedic: 26
Weights of shoes, size 44:
Onemix 295 (with dried mud)
Hoka 282 (with dried mud)
Pics of the onemix and hoka insoles (nafoing not pictured) and tread patterns:
