Eddie Bauer review and giveaway!

Recently, I was asked to write a sponsored post by Eddie Bauer about some running clothes. I don't do many sponsored posts (i.e. getting paid to write a post) for several reasons, but I'd never tried Eddie Bauer running clothes, so I was genuinely curious. I asked them if I could, instead, do a review and giveaway for my readers, and they generously agreed. They sent me an outfit to review, and in return, I get to give one lucky reader a $100 Eddie Bauer gift card! (So in full disclosure, I was given an outfit, but I am not being paid to review the items. My opinions are honest, as always.)

I've always been very thrifty when it comes to clothes, and my favorite place to shop is at garage sales (followed by Goodwill). BUT, running clothes (and shoes) are my one big splurge. I've learned that you just cannot beat the comfort and quality of GOOD (read: more expensive) running clothes.

I've mentioned way more times than I care to count that I'm a huge fan of Under Armour for my running clothes. I spent a small fortune on the pieces I have (at least compared to my garage sale prices, haha); but I still have the pieces that I bought in 2010 and they are in fantastic shape. I do occasionally buy cheap items from Wal-Mart, but they usually only last a season. I really think that spending the extra money to get good quality running clothes is worth it!

Eddie Bauer sent me the following:

Incendiary Long-Sleeve Crew Shirt
Sandstone Soft Shell Jacket
Women's Movement Leggings

I was super excited to try them out, so naturally, I wore them all at once ;)

My initial impression: I loved everything! The tights were the fit that I like with the Under Armour tights. The waist went up high enough to feel like everything was held in tight (something I always liked before I had skin surgery--the compression kept my loose skin from bouncing and hurting). The fabric felt different than my Under Armour tights--it was really cozy and softer, and I worried that may cause them to slip down or something while running. The crew shirt was super comfy as well--a moisture-wicking fabric, but not at all scratchy (something I hate with cheap clothes). And the jacket was really nice--roomy enough to have a full range of motion, but not baggy or uncomfortable at all.

The jacket has what Eddie Bauer calls a "Storm Repel DWR finish", which means that it beads water so it doesn't soak into the fabric. It just so happened to start raining as I started to run, so it was the perfect opportunity to see how well that worked! It turns out that I was very impressed with it--I didn't get soaked through at all. I even took a picture to show how it "beads" the water:

The crew shirt is now my favorite long-sleeved tech shirt. Again, I love the fit: it's long enough so I don't feel like I have to keep tugging it down, it's fitted but not uncomfortably so, the seams don't cause chafing, and it has thumb holes on the sleeves. The fabric is really soft, but moisture-wicking. The fabric is meant to keep you warm in colder weather, and it certainly does that job well.

The leggings are what surprised me the most. I've always raved about Under Armour Cold Gear tights, but I have to admit, I like the Eddie Bauer tights better. Because the fabric feels so soft, I worried it wouldn't wick moisture like the UA ones do, but they worked very well to keep me feeling dry. The seams are virtually unnoticeable, so I didn't have any problems with chafing. The biggest test was to see if I had to keep tugging on them to keep them pulled up. I went through the entire run without having to readjust or tug on the pants at all.

I liked the outfit so much that I actually decided to wear it for the Monroe Half Marathon I ran, and then I wore the leggings for the Turkey Trot on Thursday. So comfy! (By the way, I found the fit to be pretty true-to-size. My leggings are a small and the shirt and jacket are both size medium.) Normally, when I review a product, I try to write positives AND negatives--but I honestly couldn't think of any negatives about these clothes. Maybe just the price? They are expensive, but I think the quality is worth it.

As I mentioned, Eddie Bauer was kind enough to offer a $100 gift card to give away! To enter the giveaway, just fill out the form below. I'll close entries and randomly select a winner on Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at 2:00 PM EST. Good luck!

(I wanted to get this post up today, because EddieBauer.com is having a Black Friday sale until Monday--you get 30% off your entire purchase plus free shipping and returns if you use code FROSTY.)