Gear I Back

This isn’t a review page in the traditional sense.

I’m not here to rank gear, split hairs over lug geometry, or pretend a spreadsheet can tell you what will feel right at hour 17 of a race. I’m not going to unpack foam density, waterproof-breathable membranes, stack heights, outsole compounds, or whether something deserves an 8.7/10 for “value”.

I’ve used a lot of gear. Some of it was excellent. Some of it was expensive. Some of it annoyed me so quickly that it never made it back into the rotation.

This list is simpler than that.

Gear I back. Gear I’ve actually used hard. Gear I’d happily buy again tomorrow.

No affiliate-ranking nonsense. No “best 10 trail shoes of 2026”. Just the stuff that has earned a permanent place in my kit because, when the weather turns, the trail gets ugly, or the day runs long, I still reach for it.

No ranking. No paid placements.
If something here was gifted, sponsored or supplied by a partner, I’ll say so clearly.

La Sportiva Prodigio 2 (Not the v1)

If you told me I had to run 100 km tomorrow but refused to tell me the terrain, this is the shoe I’d take.

That’s about the highest compliment I can give a trail shoe.

I wore the Prodigio 2 through 110 km and roughly 7,000 m of granite and mountain terrain at Ultra-Trail Corsica, then through 100 km and around 5,000 m in the heat and humidity of the Malaysian jungle.

Very different races. Same answer.

It has become my default shoe for ultras where I don’t know exactly what the day is going to throw at me. It is technical enough when things get rough, comfortable enough when things get very long, and — most importantly — predictable when I’m tired and my decision-making is starting to get a little questionable.

If you ask me for one trail shoe for an ultra:

Prodigio 2.

Mont Dragonfly

My go-to 4-season tent.

In 2021, before Hikezilla’s first proper snow hike/camp, I did the usual thing: spent way too long researching tents and eventually landed on the Mont Dragonfly.

Then the crew basically said: “Cool. We’ll get whatever you get.”

So suddenly I had six people trusting my gear choice and my reputation was on the line 😂 Thankfully, the Dragonfly delivered.

Mont accidentally acquired about six customers off one Hikezilla trip.

You’re welcome, Mont.

Since then it’s become the tent I reach for when I’m heading somewhere cold, exposed, windy or generally unpleasant enough that I don’t want to wonder whether my shelter is going to survive the night.

There are lighter tents. There are smaller tents.

But when the weather turns bad, I’m much more interested in sleeping than winning a spreadsheet competition over pack weight.

Hoka Speedgoat 5

This WAS my trail shoe.

I owned something like eight or nine pairs.

That probably tells you more than a review ever could.

The Speedgoat 5 was comfortable, predictable, and well-suited to the kind of long trail days I was doing. It did not ask for much attention. It just worked, which is exactly what I want from a shoe I’m going to spend hours and hours in.

Then Hoka discontinued it.

I never really got comfortable with the Speedgoat 6 or 7 in the same way.

Shame.

If Hoka brings the 5 back tomorrow, I’m back too.

NNormal Kjerag V1

Important: V1. Not V2.

This is my go-to shoe for short, steep mountain running.

Light, precise, and minimal enough that it feels good when you’re moving quickly through technical terrain.

I used these constantly through New Zealand and Taiwan, and somehow also decided they were a perfectly reasonable choice for a fastpack through the Western Arthurs.

That probably wasn’t the intended use case.

Still worked.

The Kjerag V1 is not the shoe I reach for when I want maximum forgiveness. It is the shoe I reach for when the day is steep, technical, and relatively short, and I want the shoe to disappear under me.

For that:

Kjerag V1.

Osprey Aether Plus

I am not an ultralight backpacker.

I like carrying enough gear that I can deal with things going wrong, and I’d rather have a pack that carries weight properly than spend three days convincing myself that shoulder pain is a personality trait.

For multiday hiking, the Aether Plus is my default.

Comfortable under load, carries properly, has plenty of space, and has survived enough trips that I don’t really think about it anymore. That last part matters. Good gear often fades into the background because it is doing its job.

I’ve personally recommended this pack to something like 9-10 people in Hikezilla who went on and bought this.

You’re welcome, Osprey.

Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z

I’ve been using these since 2019.

Trail running. Ultras. Multiday hiking. Steep climbing days. Long descents. Generally making my legs slightly less miserable.

They’re light, simple, fold down quickly, and I’ve never felt a strong reason to replace them.

Yes, Leki is everywhere in trail running now.

That’s nice.

I’m still using these.

That’s the list

This page will change when something earns its way onto it.

And that’s the important bit: earns.

I’m not interested in recommending something because I used it twice and liked the colour. If it’s here, it means I’ve used it enough that I’d trust it on a trip or race I actually care about.

And if it breaks, annoys me, gets ruined in a redesign, or something better genuinely replaces it?

I’ll say that too.