From the counter
The advice a good sports shop gives across the counter: what to buy at your level, how it should fit and what lasts. Buying guides for running, racket sports, team sports, golf, cycling, home gym and kids’ gear.
Buy for the player you are this season, not the pro on the box.
What to buy for your sport, at the level you play
The advice a good sports shop gives across the counter, written down: what you need when you start, what to add once you play every week, and what earns its price when you get serious.
Newest first. Each guide says who a piece of gear is for, who can skip it, and how it should fit before you pay for it.
All 10 guidesAisle 4 · GolfNewest
Eight clubs or so, not fourteen: the starter checklist, what each club is for, box set or half set or used, and the shaft and forgiveness to get right.
A beginner needs seven to nine clubs
Most running shoes last 300 to 500 miles. Why some pairs wear out sooner, five two-minute checks at home, and how to track the miles you run in each pair.
Most running shoes are done somewhere between 300 and 500 miles
The break-in method glove makers advise, step by step: catch, a light coat of oil, a ball in the pocket, and why ovens and soaking shorten a glove’s life.
Work the stiff hinges with your hands
Weight, core, face, shape and grip size explained plainly, what to buy when starting, as a regular and when serious, and when a paddle must be approved.
Most players should start with a midweight paddle with a polymer core
Head size, weight, balance, strings and grip size by level, how to measure your grip, whether to buy strung and why a demo week beats any spec sheet.
Choose for the level you play now
Match the soleplate to the field you play on most, then fit the cleat snug with a locked heel. FG, SG, AG, turf and indoor compared, plus shin guards.
Buy the soleplate made for the surface you play on most
Measure both feet, try running shoes on late in the day and check length, width, heel and laces, so the pair that fits in the store still fits at mile five.
Measure both feet in your running socks
Start with your sport, or with your kid’s. Care & Repair is for the gear you already own.
Walk the aislesA piece earns its place by fitting as it should, lasting a season of real use, costing a fair price for its level and coming from a maker that stands behind it.
All 36 on the Gear pageRunning
$145
Visit SauconyRacket sports
$200
Visit SelkirkTeam sports
$99.95
Visit WilsonGolf
$24.99
Visit SrixonCycling
$94.99
Visit LezyneHome gym
$990
Visit Concept2Care and repair
$12.95
Visit Park Tool