keep it simple
Beginner Trail Running Kit
Introducing your quickest and most affordable route to singletrack bliss.
If you’re jumping on the trail-running bandwagon (trust us, it’s a fun place to be), you’ve come to the right place. Our Beginner Trail Running Kit is built for the entry-level trail runner who doesn’t want to spend an arm and a leg getting into the sport. After all, much of trail running’s beauty is in its simplicity and accessibility. Our budget-conscious, minimalism-loving staff team wrote this kit from the heart, so expect honest recommendations and real talk about what you need—and what you don’t.
The North Face Altamesa 500 V2 ($170)
Terignota Sendero Short ($29)
REI Co-op Swiftland Hybrid ($90)
Terignota Trail Tee ($22)
REI Co-op Swiftland Thermal Half-Zip ($90)
Any Old Hat ($0)
Injiji Run Lightweight Mini Crew ($15)
Terignota Valhalla Vest ($89)
Coros Pace 4 ($249)
The Feed Lab High-Carb Drink Mix ($20)
Designed as a daily trainer for The North Face’s trail running team, the Altamesa 500 punches way above its price and delivers excellent comfort and stability with generous foam and a broad base. It's the shoe we reach for nine times out of 10 for evrything from gravel roads, road-to-trail routes, and smooth singletrack.
Cushioning
Responsiveness
Stability
Traction
Durability
Sustainability
The Sendero will get you off your couch and on the trails for just $29. Not only is this short affordable, it’s also incredibly functional, with flowy, quick-drying fabric, a roomy, unrestrictive cut, and a 360-degree waist pocket that can carry a phone, snacks, a wind jacket, and more.
When the temps dip, many runners reach for a pair of tights or pants. The Swiftland Pants make adding a warmer bottom layer to your kit easy, with a relatively low price, a thin yet weather-resistant fabric, tapered legs that won’t get in the way of your stride, and pockets galore.
On the heels of its Sendero short, Terignota offers even more incredible value in its Trail Tee. A running shirt doesn’t need to be too fussy—lightweight and breathable is all most trail runners need—and the Trail Tee delivers in spades.
A base layer with outer-layer ambitions, the Swiftland Thermal merges a lightweight grid fleece body with a nylon front panel for running-ready warmth, breathability, and wind resistance. The feature set is ideal for traveling light and regulating body temperature in cool to cold conditions.
Any Old Hat ($0)
Because any old hat will do. Seriously. Save your $40 and take a friend out for lunch.
This might be a polarizing piece of gear, but you’ll be firmly on Team Toe Sock when your feet are blister-free 10 miles in. Injiji’s Run Lightweight Mini Crew also has full ankle coverage and balanced cushion that won’t have you wishing you sized up your shoes.
The Valhalla might be Terignota’s highest-value offering, and that’s saying something. It’s a premium-quality vest with features you can grow into, for about half the price of the competition (even including two soft flasks!).
The Pace 4 might be Coros’ entry-level watch, but it’s far from basic. With a battery life and GPS accuracy that rival models priced three times higher, a lightweight design, and a feature set that grows with you, this is an affordable watch you can take long into your career on the trails.
User Experience
Activity Tracking & Training
Health & Recovery
Mapping & Navigation
Quality & Durability
Battery Life
The Feed Lab’s High-Carb mix goes down as easily as water but has the calories to keep you going on longer trail runs. Dollar per carb, it’s one of the most affordable powders in the game.
How We Built the Beginner Trail Running Kit
The biggest disservice we could offer a new runner is making things more complicated than they need to be. At its core, running is beautifully simple—it’s just you, a comfortable pair of shoes, and the ground beneath your feet. So throw on something light, lace up your gym shoes, gulp some water, and go.
If that first run leaves you thinking you’ve found a new favorite hobby, this kit is for you. You might not have needed most of these items to get started, but they’ll be helpful additions to your arsenal as you progress. Swap that cotton tee for a lightweight tech top, give a high-carb drink mix a try (it might just change your game), and definitely invest in a solid pair of running shoes. Just remember—you don’t need to spend a fortune or fill a closet to call yourself a trail runner. Thanks to brands like Terignota, The Feed, and REI, we’ve kept this kit low in price and even lower on compromise, proving that great running gear doesn’t have to break the bank.
If you’re new to trail running, do yourself a favor—don’t overthink your first pair of trail running shoes (unless you genuinely love the research rabbit hole). That first pair will likely be a grand experiment in figuring out what you like and what you don’t. Those coming from road running might be preoccupied with matching their shoes to their gait, stability, and foot shape, but these factors matter a lot less on trails, where every stride is different (one of the many reasons we love trail running so much). In reality, most running shoes work for most people. Our advice? Start affordable, learn as you go, and upgrade once you know what you like.
That’s why we recommend The North Face Altamesa 500 V2. At $170, it’s one of the best-value trail running shoes out there, but it’s affordable without feeling cheap. The Altamesa line (which also includes the lower-stack 300) was designed as an approachable alternative to The North Face’s more technical models, and is the go-to daily trainer for many runners on The North Face's trail team. And it's our go-to trainer as well: Nine times out of 10, this is the shoe we reach for when we lace up, thanks to its comfortable ride and nicely cushioned isolation from the trail. Advanced foams and plated midsoles matter if you’re chasing PRs or tackling rocky alpine trails, but for everyday running, the Altamesa 500 hits the sweet spot: It’s cushioned, stable, and built to last, with a broad base that lets your toes splay naturally.
If we were to set the guardrails for running attire, they’d be simple: Choose tops and bottoms that are lightweight, unrestrictive, breathable, and make you feel good. That’s it. Like most things in running, it doesn’t need to be any more complicated.
Technical tees are a dime a dozen, but many are thicker than we’d like. Our pick: A lightweight polyester top like the Terignota Tech Tee. Not only is the Tech Tee a perfectly airy running shirt, but it's also impossible to price-match unless you score a deal at your local gear consignment shop. If you want to upgrade your fabrics, merino and lyocell blends resist odor buildup and feel buttery soft, though they’ll cost you quite a bit more (the $74 Janji Repeat Merino Tech Tee is a staff favorite).
Shorts deserve a little more attention, since fit is trickier to dial in and freedom of movement is vital. They also tend to have a few more features, including built-in briefs and integrated pockets. We’re firmly in the “no pockets, no thanks” camp, especially for short runs when we’re not wearing a vest—you can run with your phone in your hand if you want to, but after wearing the Terignota Sendero Shorts, there’s just no going back for us. These are one of our favorite pieces of gear in 2025, and the fact that they cost just $29 (while many running shorts top $100) is icing on the cake.
For cool weather, there are plenty of good options for layering over your running shirt. The same principles apply: Keep it lightweight, unrestrictive, and breathable. Most base layers or light fleece jackets will do. Windbreaker jackets like the Patagonia Houdini can be great for breezy conditions, but tend to trap more heat than we’d like; the Outdoor Research Deviator is a better choice thanks to its ventilated backpanel. Even a lightweight synthetic jacket like the Patagonia Nano-Air Ultralight fits the bill—though it doesn’t exactly match the low-investment vibe of this kit (unless you already own one). If you don’t already have one of the aforementioned pieces in your closet, the REI Co-op Swiftland Thermal is a fun addition. Its smart hybrid design offers an ideal balance of breathability, warmth, and wind protection, plus a few running-specific features to sweeten the deal.
We went with free-flowing shorts and pants for this kit, but many runners swear by tights and short-tights instead—and not just for style. Close-fitting designs minimize the chance of chafing by keeping fabric from shifting against your skin, and they also hold pockets snug against your body for true bounce-free storage. Word on the trail is that Terignota has a lineup of tights in the works, but for now, REI’s Swiftland series offers some of the best and most affordable options out there.
If you’re just starting out with running, chances are your early routes won’t take you far from the trailhead. Most runners heading out for an hour or less won’t need to bring water (unless it’s blazing hot); for one- to two-hour runs, we’ll often just carry a soft flask in our hand, or stuff it in the Sendero Shorts’ waistbelt pocket. But once you start stretching your mileage or running farther from resupply points, a running vest quickly becomes one of the most useful pieces of gear you can own.
The best running vests feel like an extension of your body. A good rule of thumb is to look for models that come in multiple size options—five is the norm—since “one-size-fits-all” vests rarely fit anyone well. Those are all too common in the budget space and something we strongly recommend against. Moving on, you’ll want to pick up a vest that can carry two soft flasks up front (and sometimes a third in back), has secure storage at the front for snacks and essentials, and breathes well even when you’re working hard. The Terignota Valhalla Vest has us scratching our heads in the best way possible: It’s among the best vests we’ve worn, yet costs about half as much as the competition. With five available sizes and a dialed fit, there’s little reason not to snag one.
You certainly don’t need a watch to run, but it can be fun to log your routes, track your mileage, and see your progress in real time. For some, it’s also fun to join Strava, an online community where you can share activities, join challenges, and cheer on other runners. Some folks love that side of the sport, others couldn’t care less—our hope is simply that you find whatever motivates you most and run with it (literally).
When it comes to running watches, Garmin, Suunto, and Coros lead the pack. Coros has gained serious traction in recent years and, in our opinion, offers the best entry-level running watch on the market. The Coros Pace 4 impresses with its outstanding battery life (you might forget where you put the charger), intuitive interface that combines a touchscreen with a digital crown, and a surprisingly full feature set for $249—including breadcrumb navigation, music storage, and a barometric altimeter for accurate elevation tracking. The Garmin Forerunner 170 is a solid alternative for $250, especially if you’re already in the Garmin ecosystem, but it can’t quite compete with the Pace 4’s battery life and breadth of features.
We initially hesitated to include nutrition here, as we don’t want to contradict our “keep it simple” mantra. For runs under an hour, you don’t need to overthink fueling—just eat well throughout the day, and you’ll have plenty in the tank once you hit the trail.
For longer efforts, things get a bit more nuanced. You could do what we did in our early days—raid the supermarket snack aisle, toss Sour Patch Kids and peanut butter pretzels into a few Ziplocs, and call it good. Or, you can take a slightly more structured approach with a high-carb drink mix from a place like The Feed (our favorite online marketplace for running fuel). Add a scoop or two of powder to your soft flask (depending on how strong you like it), mix with water, and sip your calories as you go. Brands like The Feed and Carbs Fuel keep costs low and quality high, and they also make gels if you prefer to mix and match your energy sources on longer runs (we do).
The kit above represents all you need (and more) to get started as a trail runner, but as you progress, you might find that you need some of the following items:
- Gaia or Strava (or similar) app and subscription for downloading maps offline.
- Small headlamp like the Black Diamond Deploy, Biolite Dash 450, or Petzl Iko Core.
- Windbreaker jacket (preferably with breathable material or vents for airflow).
- Handheld water bottle (we’ll often just run with a soft flask).
- For the true data nerds, a heart rate monitor (like this one from Coros).
Is the New to Trail Running Kit for You?
If you’ve been trail running-curious but haven’t known where to start, this kit is your green light. With gear that’s thoughtfully designed yet friendly on your budget, the New to Trail Running Kit exists to make getting outside easier—not more complicated. After all, running is a delightfully simple sport, and we’d like to keep it that way.
If you’re already deep into your running journey and want a glimpse at the premium gear our editors use, head to our Editors’ Picks Trail Running Kit.
If you need a little motivation to keep logging miles through the colder months, head to our Winter Running Kit.
