Contributed by Tim Brugger, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

With the NFL season (finally) upon us, it somehow seems apropos to take some time to celebrate the weekend warrior.

Those men and women who take it upon themselves to keep the competitive fires, along with the life-altering aches that come along with them, burning.

So to you, our purveyor of all things just a wee bit eccentric, I dedicate the Best of Weekend Warrior Sports Gear.

Disc Golf

Different kind of links

There was absolutely no question which weekend warrior sports gear item would be first on our list. Forget the golf course, we’re talking disc golf with equipment from Lee’s Adventure Sports. Yeah, that’s Best of Weekend Warrior material, big time. You will be the envy of both your Frisbee and golf friends. What could be better.

Cushioning

The right bike

When Mom told you that once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget; she was right. It’s one of the oddities of nature. What she neglected to mention is even though you may still know how to ride it, jumping on board for an all day trek, weekend warrior style, is likely to leave you bed ridden until the kids have grown, moved out and started families of their own. If you’re heck-bent to ride all day, as any warrior must, make sure to get the right equipment, starting with your bike. The Scott Hardtail will help to ease your end-of-ride pain.

Footgear

Serious running shoes

From what I understand, running can be an enjoyable pastime, sort of like meandering but with purpose. Tearing it up on the weekend can put a real strain on the joints; again, from what I hear. So it stands to reason sliding on a good pair of running shoes just makes sense, and can possibly help avoid several trips to the hospital. A top notch sports shoe company knows all about the trials and tribulations you go through to push personal boundaries, and these Nike VXT Women’s running shoes will help you ease on down the road. But not too easy, that wouldn’t be very weekend warrior like.

Relief

Doctor your blisters

Just thinking about all this hard work gives me blisters; something weekend warriors are all too familiar with. As hard as you work on the weekends, you need to take care of your body. Ithaca Sports has a complete line of blister kits, ointments, wraps and other assorted pick-me-ups when you push it just a little too far.

The racquet

Face the competition

If you think tennis is child’s play, just ask your neighborhood weekend warrior. Tennis is an opportunity to run all over creation smashing the orb senseless while debasing, dehumanizing and ultimately defeating an over-matched opponent. Grunts, fist pumps and all-out rebel yells are not only tolerated, they’re expected. Now you can obliterate your antagonist in style with this Volkl racket.

Tough boots

Bring on the mountain

For the warrior, hiking isn’t about a lovely jaunt through flowered pastures and green meadows – oh no. It’s about staring down the face of what appears to be a sheer cliff and saying “bring it on!” Serious hiking requires serious boots, and you’ll be hard pressed to find any better. Backpacking boots make you want to do the Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor ape-like grunt, doesn’t it? Go ahead, it embodies everything that is the weekend warrior.