Established in 1989 primarily as a skiing and climbing brand, Black Diamond Equipment has evolved over its lifetime to represent all types of athletes moving through the mountains. Runners have always gravitated to the company’s light and fast gear, but over the last three years, the brand has committed to creating a complete run collection under the newly-defined “Distance” category.
Trail running as a sport has grown in popularity at a rate of 15 percent every year since the mid 1990s, according to the International Trail Running Association, which estimates 20 million trail runners worldwide. The pandemic only fueled participants’ desire to run not only on pavement, but across ridgelines and through forests.
Christian Adam / Black Diamond Equipment“To be successful, you have to adapt to your users and your athletes to reflect the nature of what they’re doing and how they’re playing in the mountains,” says Paul Leonard, business unit director of mountain at Black Diamond. “More than ever before, we just feel like we have such historical and close alignment to the mountain running community as a whole.”
Currently available and with new additions rolling out over the next few seasons, the Distance line includes packs, poles, a headlamp, shorts, shirts, jackets, and a variety of gloves — all of which coordinate functionally and aesthetically in typical Black Diamond style. Moving forward, mountain running gear will be named under the Distance moniker, Leonard says.
“We really love playing in the mountains,” Leonard says. “That’s why we do what we do and we want to be in a position to help other people share that with us.”
This expansion of running equipment was set in motion in 2019 when the brand released the Distance Pack Series, a line of hybrid alpine running vests/packs in 4L, 8L, and 15L volumes. Black Diamond worked with its team of athletes, taking their feedback to heart; the result is a 22-liter pack made for ambitious overnighters, set to release in Spring 2023.
