Buying guides

    All Sports guides

    Every published guide linked to Sports. Read one, then follow its links back to the deals.

    Store guideSports

    Baseline Runners

    A straight look at Baseline Runners: gait analysis, the running shoe brands they stock, who the store suits, and when to check for live deals.

    Read guide 4 min read
    Store guideSports

    Anatomic Sportswear

    A straight look at Anatomic Sportswear: local cycling and running kit, custom club gear, what to buy first, who it suits, and where to find deals.

    Read guide 4 min read
    ExplainerSports

    Bike sizing: get the frame right before the deal

    The bike was 30 percent off. It was also one size too big, and your lower back has been sending complaints ever since. How to get your bike size right before you look at the price.

    Read guide 5 min read
    Buying guideSports

    Choosing a GPS running watch

    Your phone already knows how far you ran. A GPS watch is for everything else: pace on the wrist, heart rate, training load, and a battery that outlasts a marathon. Which tier you need, and what to pay.

    Read guide 6 min read
    Buying guideSports

    Choosing irons and a driver for your handicap

    Your four-ball partner just bought the driver the tour pros use. That's his business. Which driver and irons actually suit your handicap, where hybrids fit in, and what to pay.

    Read guide 6 min read
    Buying guideSports

    Choosing sports shoes by sport, not by brand

    Running shoes at gym, gym shoes on the netball court, and takkies for everything else. Why each sport needs its own shoe, what changes between them, and what to pay.

    Read guide 5 min read
    Buying guideSports

    Choosing your first padel racket

    You've played three times on a borrowed club racket and you're hooked. What to look for in your first padel racket, which shape to start with, and what to pay in South Africa.

    Read guide 5 min read
    ExplainerSports

    Golf balls: which one suits your game

    If you lose three balls a round on the 7th, the tour ball is a donation to the dam. Which golf ball suits your game, what the difference really is, and what a dozen costs.

    Read guide 5 min read
    ExplainerSports

    Groupsets explained: where the price jumps

    Same frame, same colour, and one costs more than double the other. The difference is mostly the groupset. What groupsets are, how the tiers line up, and where the money is worth it.

    Read guide 5 min read
    Buying guideSports

    How to choose running shoes

    Fifty shoes on the wall and one pair of feet. The four questions that narrow it to a handful, which kind of shoe you actually need, and what to pay for it.

    Read guide 7 min read
    Deal explainerSports

    How to tell a real sports deal from end-of-season clearance

    The shoes you wanted are half price and there's one size left. What that means, when to buy anyway, and the three checks that matter more than the percentage.

    Read guide 5 min read
    ExplainerSports

    Padel racket shapes compared: round, teardrop, diamond

    The guy at the next court smashes everything with a diamond racket. Most of it goes into the glass. Round, teardrop and diamond padel rackets compared, and who each one suits.

    Read guide 5 min read
    ExplainerSports

    Padel shoes or tennis shoes

    Your running shoes slid out from under you on the first lob. What actually changes between padel and tennis shoes, when tennis shoes are fine, and when it's worth buying padel ones.

    Read guide 5 min read
    ExplainerSports

    Road or trail running shoes

    Does the dirt path behind the office count? Mostly not. What actually changes between road and trail shoes, when a road shoe is fine on gravel, and who needs both.

    Read guide 5 min read
    Buying guideSports

    Road, gravel or mountain bike: which bike for how you ride

    You signed up for a fun ride with a mate, and now you're in a bike shop with three walls of bikes. Road, gravel or mountain: which bike suits how you'll actually ride, and what to pay.

    Read guide 5 min read
    PlaybookSports

    Shopping sports gear online: sizing, returns on worn items and club pricing

    The shoes arrived, you ran in them once, and now they're yours whether you like them or not. How to buy sports gear online without that happening, from sizing to club pricing.

    Read guide 5 min read
    Deal explainerSports

    When golf gear goes on sale in South Africa, and what holds its price

    The new driver lands, and last season's quietly drops in price. When golf gear really goes on sale in South Africa, which deals are real, and what barely moves.

    Read guide 5 min read
    Store guideSports

    Boardhub

    Most South African skate shops are either one-man operations or mail-order fronts with sketchy stock depth. Boardhub exists in the gap between those two extremes.

    Read guide 3 min read
    Store guideSports

    Bike Addict

    A straight look at Bike Addict in South Africa: the bikes, parts and cycling gear they sell, who the shop suits, and when to look for live deals.

    Read guide 4 min read
    Store guideSports

    Beach Bum

    Most South African beach shops force you to choose between mass-market basics and expensive imported brands — nothing in the middle that looks current and won't fall apart after a season. That's the g

    Read guide 3 min read
    Store guideSports

    Baseline Skate Shop

    When you need skateboard components and skate clothes that actually work, ordering from overseas and waiting six weeks beats most local options — until it doesn't. Baseline Skate Shop is built for exa

    Read guide 3 min read
    Store guideSports

    Avalanche Bikes

    Most cycling shops are either massive warehouses with no one who really rides, or one-man operations that stock whatever fits the owner's taste. Avalanche sits in the middle. Focused selection, a team

    Read guide 3 min read
    Store guideSports

    Africa Padel Shop

    Most padel rackets in South Africa land on chain-store shelves without much context, sorted by price rather than by who's actually going to play with them. Africa Padel Shop filters rackets by level —

    Read guide 3 min read
    Store guideSports

    Oakley

    You want eyewear that actually works during intense movement — something that stays put, protects your eyes and doesn't slip down when you're pushing hard — but most sports glasses either look ridicul

    Read guide 3 min read
    Store guideSports

    Sportsmans Warehouse

    You need shoes for running, basketball and everyday wear — but you don't want to hunt three different shops to find them all. That's what Sportsmans Warehouse has built: the largest sports retail netw

    Read guide 3 min read
    Store guideSports

    Totalsports

    You're kitting out a school rugby squad or a Saturday netball club and you don't want to bounce between three different suppliers to get boots, kit and balls all sorted.

    Read guide 3 min read
    Store guideSports

    Sportscene

    Buying global athletic brands in South Africa usually means waiting weeks for an import or paying a markup at a small specialty shop. Sportscene puts the same labels on a store wall you can actually w

    Read guide 4 min read
    Store guideSports

    Mr. Price Sport

    Sports retail in South Africa splits roughly two ways. There are the technical stores built around one or two big performance labels, and there are the broad value shops that kit out a whole family wi

    Read guide 4 min read
    Store guideSports

    New Balance

    Picture a running shoe where the cushioning is tuned to your arch, the toe box is actually wide enough, and the shoe doesn't force your foot into a mold borrowed from someone else's marketing brief. T

    Read guide 3 min read
    Store roundupSports

    Sneaker and Sports Gear Deals in South Africa: The Buyer's Guide

    No category carries more emotion per rand than sneakers. That is exactly why no category attracts more fake stores, more manufactured discounts and more impulse regret.

    Read guide 6 min read
    Store guideSports

    Puma

    Most sportswear brands treat performance and design as separate problems: they engineer gear for athletes, then bolt style on after. Puma works the other way around. The brand starts with design and b

    Read guide 3 min read
    Store guideSports

    Adidas

    If you've ever worn boots where the stud placement doesn't match your foot pressure or the collar digs wrong on a throw-in, you know why boot design matters. Adidas built its whole heritage on footbal

    Read guide 3 min read
    Store guideSports

    Nike

    It's Monday morning, you're lacing up before a run, and the shoe feels right from the first step: locked down, bouncy, honest. That's where Nike puts its R&D money: shoes that work the way elite runne

    Read guide 3 min read

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