As we mentioned several times during the course of this guide, CrossFit is not a sport to mess around with. Arguably, no sport is to be messed around with, but CrossFit is especially hazardous in that you’re taking on heavyweights, dealing with rough and equipment, and you’re almost constantly in a state of physical stress.

This is why protection is the first and most important element of best CrossFit gear and one which we ranked all our products by. The items we selected had to be protective in some way, whether it is through helping your legs recover more quickly after a workout or saving your hands from getting blisters and split skin from weight bars.

To make sure that you are properly protected every time you start your training, it would be useful to know what the trainer or you yourself have in store for that particular WOD. If it is simple strength training without additional weights, chances are you won’t need much more than perhaps a compression sock or a sleeve. (Maybe good protein shakes after, to feed your muscles with much-needed amino-acids and protect them from breaking down.)

However, if you are lifting or doing pull-ups, you may want to bring your wrist wraps and/or grips. Your palms and fingers are sensitive and prone to scrapes and tears. While taking a picture of your bloodied hands may seem cool for Instagram, no trainer will be proud of you essentially hurting yourself during the workout.

Special attention should be paid to those areas of your body that might not be in peak health. If you have a past injury of some kind, if you had surgery on a joint, if you know - or have just found out - that you suffer from an ailment, it is crucial to consult with a medical professional before you embark on your CrossFit journey.

You don’t necessarily have to abandon your idea of CrossFit, but this injured part of you might need additional support, which we will talk about more in-depth in our Support section.

Not all of the items on our list can or should be used in your every WOD. We ranked this CrossFit gear according to how frequently you will need to bring them with you whenever you want to train.

Some of the options you will need every time, such as the socks, the footwear, the towels, and the water bottle, perhaps even grips, depending on the exercises you do. These are meant to improve your performance and help you complete your WOD both safely and feeling satisfied with your personal progress.

It would be wise to stock up on more than one piece of this frequently-used gear, depending on how often you train. Socks and towels especially need regular washing and you have to have spares while your other set is in the washing machine. This doesn’t have to be the case with footwear, but if you’re dedicated to the sport, perhaps you will have to get a back-up pair of CrossFit shoes as well.

The gear that you may not use that often is the knee brace and the wrist wraps. How much you need these is determined by the health levels of your body. If you have knee problems, or if your wrists are not used to the strain of CrossFit exercises, then it would be best to provide them with additional support in the form of these braces and wraps.

However, not all of CrossFit athletes need these, and it would be best if you could consult with a medical professional or even your trainer beforehand, to see if you should invest in this type of gear or not.

Since CrossFit is so hard on the person, both physically and mentally, you could use any form of support possible. There is compression to aid your muscles as you work through your repetitions; there are wraps and sleeves to prevent your joints from breaking or suffering any significant damage. There is also footwear which helps your feet stay balanced and prevents them from feeling too tired at the end of a WOD.

One of the important criteria for CrossFit gear was that it should be supportive.

In our list, as we mentioned, there are several ways an item can provide you with the support you need to perform at your best.

Compression: Compression comes in the form of compression sleeves, socks and/or tights. This is specific clothing that is designed to put pressure on specific areas on your body. This pressure increases the blood flow through your muscles, as a result increasing the oxygen flow at the same time. All of this saves energy during your workout and helps your muscles recover faster after it.

You will be amazed at the effects compression can have on your performance. You may feel like this is not for you, but try it once and you will never look back.

Joint Support: While muscles can tear and rebuild themselves (in fact, these microtears are exactly what leads to muscle gain), joints are not as fast in regenerating. If you injure a joint, chances are you won’t be able to exercise again for a while. Perhaps you will never be at your best again.

Which is why supporting the joints is an important aspect here. Wraps for your wrists and sleeves for your knees are just two examples you can use to prevent any serious damage to your body. These reduce the stress put on the joints and allow you to lift more and perform better than you would if you didn’t have the support. Not to mention that your risk of injury would be greatly reduced at the same time.

Footwear: We can’t talk about support without talking about footwear. Your feet take most of the beating in any type of WOD, and you need to ensure they are safe and cushioned throughout. Support comes in the form of arch support, in the form of stability, lateral support, cushioning which provides shock absorption and much more.

The midsole should be made from EVA or memory foam for protection against the impact on your every heel strike or jump landing, while the footbed should be soft (but not too soft) and yet supporting your arches. This will prevent a host of foot-related ailments later on and will lessen the fatigue that comes after the training session.

As hard as CrossFit is on your body, it is just as hard on your CrossFit gear. Your clothing, footwear, and equipment withstand quite a lot of pulling, straining, pushing, pressing and similar, and thus it is natural that they can’t last for too long. Same as with running, you may have to change certain pieces of your gear every few months, depending on how often you train.

However, there are ways you can ensure that you are getting durable items! These are mostly centered around the quality of the materials and the methods used for their construction.

Materials: When it comes to clothing, synthetic materials are far more durable than natural ones. Look for polyester, polyamide, nylon, neoprene and similar. These add wear and tear resistance and ensure your apparel won’t let you down.

For footwear, genuine leather is more durable than faux leather. Similarly, leather, in general, is more durable than thin materials such as mesh and or woven uppers. Shoes that have rubber outsoles are quite long-lasting.

When we’re talking about other types of equipment, such as water bottles, towels, grips, knee sleeves, etc, the principles are not much different: pick a sturdy material that won’t break easily, and make sure to read the reviews of previous customers to gauge the durability of a particular product.

Construction: As much as materials are important, the design we’re looking at won’t be durable if there are any flaws in its construction. Make sure that there are no loose threads, that the seams don’t have holes in them, that the footwear doesn’t have any unusual bumps or things that are poking you. Velcro straps should be nice and tight and not unfastening at the slightest strain.

While there is no miraculous way to determine whether or not your gear will last through one or more seasons, these little things and details are what will help make a more lasting choice in the long run.

In this last criterion, we decided to sort all of those extra features and qualities your CrossFit may have that doesn’t fit any of the previous sections. These include but are not limited to moisture-wicking, odor-resistance, breathability and similar.

Let’s see what each of these has to offer.

Moisture-Wicking: This is the ability of a material to pull moisture away from your skin and towards the surface, where the moisture can evaporate. It is a good quality to have when you want to keep dry and sweat-free even during the toughest WODs. Moisture-wicking is mainly meant for clothing, tops, bottoms, socks, as these come in contact with your body the most.

Moisture-Absorbing: This particular trait is reserved for towels only. It is not a good idea to have clothing that absorbs moisture on yourself (such as designs made from pure cotton), as it quickly turns damp and stays damp throughout.

However, moisture absorption is what you want in towels, whose sole purpose is to draw moisture from your skin and into its material. So if you’re looking for good workout towels, go for moisture-absorbing!

Breathability: Together with moisture-wicking, breathability is a feature that allows the air to freely pass in and out of a design, keeping you cool and dry even more, and not letting you overheat. Footwear and apparel can both be breathable, and it is a bonus if you can find materials and technologies with this feature to keep you comfortable.

Odor-Resistance: Lastly, odor-resistance is not a must-have, but it does come in handy. Various brands have engineered different ways of ensuring that your body or the clothes or footwear that you’re wearing don’t develop unpleasant odors. It is always good to smell nice and fresh, even when you have just taken a trip to hell and back during your WOD.