Disclaimer: As a lululemon ambassador, I go for regular fit sessions to try on their stuff. I get an ambassador credit to buy stuff for myself and they will also sometimes give things to me for free. All opinions are my own!

Now that winter is almost here, it’s so important to have the right gear! Someone wiser than me once said: There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing choices! In case you are interested, I wrote a blog post waaaaaaay back about how to dress for winter running. Everyone’s body heats up differently but if this is your first winter running, hope it gives you a guide on how to dress and then you can experiment with different fabrics and layers that work for you!

So I thought I would put together a review of the lululemon winter running stuff that I have tried on to help you navigate the plethora of choices they have!

Long Sleeve Tops

• Swiftly Tech Long Sleeve 2.0: This one is really great as a base layer. It really wicks away sweat! If you want a looser fit, try the Swiftly Relaxed Long Sleeve 2.0.
• Runderful Long Sleeve: This is a fleece lined top. Haven’t run in this one yet but the fabric feels great. I think this would be great as a top layer when it’s 0-5C and as a mid-layer when it’s colder. The round collar leaves your neck exposed though so I’d wear a buff to keep my neck warm (at least at the beginning of the run). They also have thumbholes and the cuffs that turn over so you can get away without gloves if its not too cold.
• Close to Crossing Long Sleeve Rulu: This fabric is really soft and is a great top/mid-layer for 0-5C… BUT I don’t love that there’s this criss-cross thing at the front and, again, the round collar leaves my neck exposed.
• Engineered Warmth 1/2 zip: I like the half/quarter zip stuff for top layer so I can have it zipped at the beginning of the run and unzip it when I heat up. BUT when I tried this one, I didn’t like how the fabric felt. It might be ok if I had a base layer on underneath but that would be for at least -10C weather. Note: everyone should just enter the virtual Chilly Half to get their NB 1/2 zip race shirt – it’s the best (sorry lululemon)!
• Run Briskly 1/2 zip RULU: Here’s another 1/2 zip that I didn’t like. The material is too thick, the fit was too tight, there were too many seams, and the colours are awful. LOL.

Bottoms

• Fast and Free Tight 28″ Non-Reflective: Fast and Free tights are available in 4 different lengths. The shorter lengths are really great for spring/summer/fall running but when it gets cold outside, the fabric makes it feel like 5C colder! I would NOT recommend them for winter running.
• Invigorate High-Rise Tight 25″: These are slightly thicker than the regular Fast and Free tights. I went for a run today (0C) and they were perfect! Good for fall/spring running.
• Fast and Free High-Rise Tight 28″ Non-Reflective Brushed Nulux: While I would not recommend regular Fast and Free tights for winter running, I just found out that Fast and Free offers a “brushed” version which is very lightly lined with a warmer material. I just got these so haven’t tried it yet but I think they would be great for 0 to -5C weather. It probably won’t be thick enough for real winter running or maybe use them as a base layer when you need to wear 2 pairs of tights for when it’s -20C! They would be a good base layer because the bottom hem doesn’t have a seam so less bulky.
• Chase the Chill: I haven’t tried these yet because it hasn’t been cold enough but I have something similar that I wore last year when it was -10C or colder. Lined tights are a must have for winter runners! 🙂

Gloves

My fingers are always cold, even in the spring/fall. I have no circulation in my fingers. I wasn’t able to find the gloves that I have on their website anymore but YOU NEED GLOVES for winter running. The lululemon ones I have are gloves with a cover so you can turn them into mitts – very convenient. However, before I got these ones, I was just using a pair of dollar store stretchy gloves for -5C or warmer and I also had a pair of running gloves from Costco for anything colder. That worked great!

Jacket

Cross Chill Jacket: This jacket is fleece lined and would make a great top layer for those really cold, wet, windy wintry runs. Maybe go up 1 size though because it fits tight and you’re probably going to have 1-2 layers underneath.

So there you have it! I’ll update this post if I try on any more winter stuff from lululemon!