Columbus Startup Brings High-Tech Innovation to Running Gear

Noxgear is making your workout safer and more fun

For most people, running gear hasn’t changed in decades. All you need is a good pair of running shoes, some shorts and maybe a pair of headphones, right? At Noxgear, they’re helping runners think differently. The Ohio startup, headquartered in Columbus suburb Worthington, is developing a new generation of tech that’s bringing running into the 21st century.

“At Noxgear, we develop innovative products for people with an active lifestyle to keep them safe and help them enjoy doing what they love,” said co-founder and CEO Simon Curran. “Our flagship product is the Tracer360, a fiber-optic illuminated vest that’s eye-catching for a driver who may be distracted or looking up from their phone and needs to see somebody on the road. We also built a dog vest with the same technology. Our newest product is the , which just came out. It’s a durable, wearable Bluetooth speaker that gives runners — or anyone — a way to listen to music or podcasts and still have situational awareness and the safety of hearing what’s around you.”

Since launching in 2013, Noxgear has consistently grown in size and reach. The company now ships their products internationally and to every corner of the country. Curran and his co-founder Tom Walters are first-time entrepreneurs, and said their success isn’t about business acumen. Instead, they credit their extremely high-quality products for the following they’ve built.

“The response to Noxgear and our first few products has been beyond belief,” said Curran. “We have so much positive feedback, and we’ve created a whole community of people across the country. Once somebody gets the Noxgear Tracer360 in their running group, everybody has to have it. We have a huge following on social media and on Amazon, we’re one of the only five-star rated products with thousands of reviews. We started with a Kickstarter campaign and now we’re approaching $10 million in revenue.”

The quality of the Noxgear products comes from a genuine passion for what they build. Curran said the duo’s background working in the military and aerospace industries cultivated an emphasis on preventative safety. Combine that with their love of an active lifestyle and an ability to create a product that stands apart from the competition, and Noxgear has a recipe for success that’s been borne out in their sales.

“I think what sets us apart is our engineering background,” Curran said. “We obsess about every detail of the design of our products; I think people can appreciate that. They can tell there’s something special there. On a basic level, they work phenomenally well for what they were designed to do and they’re cool to look at. What we’re trying to do is identify problems with current products and see where they fall short. When you get rid of those stumbling blocks and say, ‘This is something you’re going to love,’ I think that’s the difference.”

As they’ve proven with their first batch of products, Noxgear has the keys to unlock the next level of running and workout tech. Curran said he can’t give away any secrets just yet, but you can expect Noxgear to keep innovating as they continue to grow.

“We have a lot of products that we want to get into manufacturing, whether in six months or five years from now,” he said. “We have designs that are in production right now and 39g, our wearable, Bluetooth speaker, has already started to shatter people’s expectations of what you can do when you’re out running with music. I think we’ll continually launch new products that solve problems for everybody with an active lifestyle.”