- Section 10.1 of the official Season 26/27 HYROX Singles rulebook permits exactly seven items during the race: knee sleeves, gloves (not grips), a weightlifting belt, wristbands, hydration packs, prescribed asthma inhalers, and respiratory devices.
- The HYROX permitted list is closed rather than illustrative, because the official Season 26/27 Singles rulebook ends it with the line that any item not explicitly listed as permitted is, by default, prohibited.
- Closed-toe shoes are the only item the official Season 26/27 HYROX Singles rulebook requires a racer to wear, at all times during the race, with the wall ball station as the single named exception.
- Gloves are permitted in HYROX and grips are not, because the official Season 26/27 Singles rulebook writes the permitted entry as "Gloves [not grips]" and excludes grips inside the line that allows gloves.
- Two HYROX stations land on the hands: a 50 m rope pull, and a 200 m farmers carry at 2 x 53 lb (24 kg) for Open men and 2 x 35 lb (16 kg) for Open women.
- A HYROX racer may remove their shoes only at the wall ball station and must place them under the rig, and the official Season 26/27 Singles rulebook requires the shoes to travel with the racer to the Finisher Stage after all 100 wall balls.
- At a HYROX race, according to the official Season 26/27 rulebook, only event-provided chalk is permitted, and using your own or carrying chalk away from a station is a 2-minute penalty per infringement.
- HYROX is eight rounds, each a 1 km run followed by one functional workout station, so one outfit, one pair of shoes and one set of accessories carry a racer through 8 km of running and 8 stations.
Most HYROX gear guides are shopping lists. The official Singles rulebook is not, and it disagrees with several of them. Read it properly and the gear question stops being about what is worth buying, and becomes about what you are allowed to carry across the start line.
Is your gear legal? Match your situation to the list
Almost every gear argument in HYROX is settled by one mechanism rather than by opinion. According to the official Season 26/27 HYROX Singles rulebook, section 10.1 names the items that may be used or worn during the race, and then closes with the sentence that any item not explicitly listed as permitted is, by default, prohibited. So the useful question is not whether a piece of kit is good. It is whether it appears on a seven-item list.
Find the row that describes you. The middle column is where your item sits against that list, and the last column is what it costs you on race morning.
| If this is you | What you want to bring | Where it sits on the section 10.1 list | What that means on race day |
|---|---|---|---|
| You already squat and pull in a belt in training | Weightlifting belt | Permitted, named on the list | Legal. Most of the race is 8 km of running, so wear the belt you have already run in, or leave it. |
| You want your palms protected on the sled pull rope | Gloves | Permitted, named on the list | Legal. The entry reads "Gloves [not grips]", so the permission stops at the glove. |
| You were going to wear gymnastics grips instead | Grips | Excluded inside the gloves entry | Not permitted. Bring gloves or race bare-handed, and decide that in training rather than at the venue. |
| Your knees complain in the lunges | Knee sleeves | Permitted, named on the list | Legal. Test them over 100 m of loaded lunges first, because you keep them on for the whole race. |
| You would rather carry your own fluid than wait for the ROXZONE | Hydration pack | Permitted, named on the list | Legal, and it is a commitment: a pack you have never run 8 km in is a race-day experiment. |
| You use a prescribed inhaler | Asthma inhaler or similar prescribed medication | Permitted, named on the list | Legal to have with you. Tell your judge where it is before you start. |
| You want your splits on your wrist | GPS watch or smartwatch | Not on the permitted list, therefore prohibited by default | Watches are visibly common at races, so the floor and the strict reading of the clause disagree. Ask your event rather than a guide. |
| You want your own music or noise blocked out | Headphones or ear plugs | Not on the permitted list, therefore prohibited by default | Plan for arena noise. Nothing on the list covers audio of any kind. |
| You race in calf or arm compression | Compression sleeves | Not on the permitted list, therefore prohibited by default | The list names knee sleeves and wristbands and stops there. Full-length compression is not the same item. |
| You want footage of your own race | Body camera or camera-equipped eyewear | Not on the permitted list, therefore prohibited by default | No self-filmed race footage. Leave it in the bag rather than at the equipment check. |
| Your hands sweat and you want grip insurance | Your own chalk | Not on the permitted list, therefore prohibited by default | According to the official Season 26/27 rulebook, only event-provided chalk is permitted, and using your own or carrying chalk away from a station is a 2-minute penalty per infringement. |
Read strictly, that closing clause covers everything the list does not name, which is why the honest answer for a watch or a compression sleeve is "not on the list" rather than a confident yes. The clause is written to catch accessories, not the shorts and tee you race in, but a guide cannot grant you an exception. Your event can.
What HYROX gear you actually need
Three tiers cover everything in the standard divisions: one item required by rule, a short list of permitted extras, and everything else, which is either skippable or not allowed through the door.
The load your kit has to survive is fixed. The race is eight rounds, each a 1 km run followed by one functional workout station, which means one outfit, one pair of shoes and one set of accessories carry you through 8 km of running and 8 stations without a single change. Nothing you wear gets swapped mid-race, and nothing gets handed to you.
The only thing HYROX requires you to wear
The official Season 26/27 HYROX Singles rulebook is blunt about it: "All racers are required to wear closed-toe shoes at all times during the race, except at the Wall Ball workout station where racers may remove their shoes to complete the Wall Balls." That is the whole footwear rule. No model, no brand, no sole spec, no stack height. The wall-ball exception is real and has its own conditions, covered further down.
The section opens by putting the rest on you: "It is the responsibility of the racer to ensure that they are appropriately dressed when preparing for the activities to be undertaken, in relation to the environmental factors and any cultural sensitivities that should be observed." In practice that means arena temperature, your own comfort and a garment you have already trained in.
The three tiers, and why most gear guides skip the middle one
The default-prohibited clause above is the reason the middle tier exists at all. An attention note goes further and says anything outside the list needs written permission from the Race Director before the race starts, and that prohibited items are confiscated and returned at the customer service desk after you finish.
That flips the usual question. You are not deciding whether a piece of kit is worth the money. You are checking whether it appears on a seven-item list, and if it does not, you are either leaving it behind or asking your event in writing.
What the HYROX rulebook permits
Section 10.1 of the official Season 26/27 HYROX Singles rulebook lists the items that may be used or worn during the race, and the whole list is short: knee sleeves, gloves (not grips), a weightlifting belt, wristbands, hydration packs, asthma inhalers or similar prescribed medication, and respiratory devices, which carry a note of their own in the rulebook. Four of those matter enough to unpack.
The kit above is the permitted list made physical: gloves, a belt, a sleeve, a tee, nutrition and something to carry fluid in. Nothing in that frame needs a rules check.
Gloves yes, grips no
Gloves are permitted. Grips are not. According to the official Season 26/27 rulebook, the permitted entry reads "Gloves [not grips]", which excludes them inside the same line that allows the gloves. A glove covers the palm and wraps the hand. A grip is the gymnastics-style leather or synthetic strap that hangs from the wrist and folds over the fingers to sit between hand and bar. If your kit has finger holes and a wrist strap, it is a grip, and it does not travel with you onto the floor.
Hands are a genuine problem in this race, which is why the confusion exists. A 50 m rope pull chews palms early, and later the farmers carry asks for 200 m under 2 x 53 lb (24 kg) in the men's Open division and 2 x 35 lb (16 kg) in the women's. Grips are the obvious answer, and the rulebook excludes them in the same breath as it permits gloves.
Weightlifting belts, knee sleeves and wristbands
Belts are permitted. That is item three on the list, which is worth stating plainly because the opposite gets repeated often enough to be believed. Whether you want one is a separate question, because most of a HYROX race is running and a belt you only wear for heavy squats will be an irritant across 8 km. If you race in a belt, train in it first.
Knee sleeves earn their place at the sandbag lunges, where the trailing knee touches the floor on every rep across 100 m. Wristbands are permitted too, and one disambiguation is worth making: the official FAQ says you also receive a race wristband at check-in, worn so judges can assign you the correct weights. That is event-issued identification, not a sweatband.
Hydration packs and carrying your own nutrition
Hydration packs are on the permitted list. Whether you need one depends on where water actually appears. The ROXZONE is the central transition zone athletes run through between every run and station, and the event provides water at least once during, before or after each pass through it, sometimes alongside a sports drink.
Nutrition is different, and the official FAQ is specific: you can only take water or energy gels with you if they are on your person from the start of the race, and you cannot accept anything from spectators or anyone else outside the aid stations. That turns a fuelling decision into a gear decision, because a gel you want at station six has to be in a pocket at the start line. The race-day sequence and packing guide covers the timing side.
The rule that catches people out
The first attention note under the permitted list is the one that changes behaviour: if you choose to use, wear or carry any permitted item, you must do so from the start to the finish of your race, and it may not be handed to or received from anyone else at any point. Doing so counts as outside assistance and can end in disqualification.
So a belt is not something you put on for the sled and drop afterwards. Gloves you peel off at the rig do not get passed over the barrier to a friend. Every permitted item you bring is a decision you live with for the whole race, which is a good reason to make fewer of them.
What HYROX forbids on the race floor
Section 10.2 is a hard list. The following items are strictly forbidden at all times: headphones, cell phones, VR headsets, GoPro or any other type or brand of body cameras, helmets, breathing apparatus, compressed air cylinders, ear plugs, and smart glasses, AI glasses, or any eyewear incorporating cameras, audio recording, live streaming, data transmission or augmented reality functionality.
Two footnotes qualify it. A medical device that needs to stay near a racer's phone requires prior approval from the Race Director. And the safety footnote covering helmets and breathing apparatus exists because anything that could put other racers at risk is off the floor, while uniforms and weight vests remain permitted provided they do not interfere with anyone else.
Headphones and phones
Headphones are the first entry on the forbidden list, and the official HYROX FAQ answers the same question separately and just as flatly: no, you cannot wear headphones while competing. Ear plugs are banned too, so noise cancellation is not a workaround. Phones fall under the same section, with the medical-device footnote as the only route around it, and that route runs through the Race Director before the race starts rather than through a judge on the floor.
Cameras, GoPros and smart glasses
Body cameras are banned by name. The newer clause is broader and easy to trip over: any eyewear incorporating cameras, audio recording, live streaming, data transmission or augmented reality functionality. Written that way it captures consumer AI glasses whether or not you intend to film anything, because the capability is what the rule names.
What about a GPS watch?
Honestly, the rulebook does not settle this one. A sports watch is not named on the permitted list and it is not named on the forbidden list, and the permitted list closes by prohibiting anything it does not name. At the same time, GPS watches are visibly everywhere at HYROX races. What is explicit is the other side of the line: headphones, phones, body cameras and any eyewear with cameras, audio, streaming or augmented reality are all out. If you plan to race with anything beyond a plain watch, confirm it with your event rather than with a guide, this one included.
Chalk is not your chalk
Chalk has its own rule and its own penalty. According to the official Season 26/27 rulebook, chalk may be used only at the sled pull and the farmers carry, and using it anywhere else is a 2-minute penalty. On top of that, only event-provided chalk is permitted, and using your own or carrying chalk away from a station is a 2-minute penalty per infringement.
There is a third clause, and it is station-specific: the rulebook sets a 2-minute penalty for using powdered chalk at the wall ball station. The full penalty structure and movement standards sits in its own guide.
Shoes, and the one moment you take them off
One pair does everything, which is why footwear is always a compromise. The same shoe covers 8 km of running and all 8 stations, including a sled push loaded to 335 lb (152 kg) in the men's Open division and run as 4 x 12.5 m, which means four hard direction changes with your whole body angled into the handles. Outsole grip matters there in a way it never does on a treadmill, and cushioning matters across the runs. No rule requires a specific model, and no rule requires a brand.
The wall balls are the exception. According to the official Season 26/27 rulebook: "Racers are permitted to remove their shoes once they arrive at their designated target. The racer must place the shoes under the rig. After completing 100 valid wall balls the racer is required to take their shoes with them to the Finisher Stage, racers are not permitted to return to the wall ball area after completing their race."
The reason anyone bothers is squat depth. The target sits at 3.00 m for men and 2.70 m for women, so every one of the 100 reps is a full squat into a throw above overhead reach, and a flatter foot helps some athletes hold depth. Remember the second half of the clause: the shoes travel with you to the Finisher Stage.
This page deliberately names no models. For the demand profile and the shoes that answer it, read what the race actually demands of a shoe. PUMA states in its own newsroom that it is the global HYROX partner, covering footwear and apparel, and we cover that line separately in the official footwear partner breakdown. No rule requires any brand, and RoxTribe has tested none of this gear.
The HYROX gear you leave behind, and what to skip
Bag drop is one bag per athlete, no larger than a cabin-size bag, everything inside it because loose items are not accepted. It is a one-way door: once it is dropped you are not going back to it, so anything you need mid-race is on you from the start. Sizing, packing order and what actually fits live in the race bag guide.
The skip list saves money rather than scolding. Anything new on race day is a bad bet, because a race is the worst possible first wear. Grips are not permitted in the standard divisions, and kit you have never trained in, including a belt you bought for the sled, belongs at home with them. Every gadget on the forbidden list buys you a confiscation queue rather than a faster time.
The gear picture does not change much with format. Singles, Doubles and Team Relay race under identical clothing and accessory rules, so the only thing that shifts is the load on the equipment. Adaptive shares that list but adds a regime of its own: prosthetics, wheelchairs, visual and hearing aids and specialised grip aids are permitted where they compensate for an eligible permanent impairment, and they have to be declared at registration. Visually impaired racers also run tethered, and the tether must be non-elastic. If you race Adaptive, read the Adaptive rulebook rather than this page. Check what your own division will hand you with the weight standards tool before you decide whether gloves or a belt earn their place.
Watching a real race-day kit list
Rules tell you what is allowed, not what experienced racers actually pack. Treat this walkthrough as colour rather than as a rules source: it was published in 2022 and predates the Season 26/27 rulebook by several seasons, and every permitted or forbidden item on this page comes from the rulebook itself.
Frequently asked questions
What gear do you need for HYROX?
The rulebook requires only closed-toe shoes. Everything else is optional. Gloves, a weightlifting belt, knee sleeves, wristbands and a hydration pack are all permitted, and most racers carry gels. Because HYROX is eight rounds, each a 1 km run followed by one functional workout station, your kit has to survive the whole race without a change.
Are gloves allowed in HYROX?
Yes. The official Singles rulebook lists gloves on its permitted clothing and accessories list. The same line explicitly excludes grips, so the permission covers gloves only. Many racers wear them for the sled pull and the farmers carry, where a 200 m walk under load punishes bare hands.
Are grips allowed in HYROX?
Not in the standard divisions. The rulebook's permitted list names "Gloves [not grips]", excluding them in the same line that allows gloves, and the list closes by stating that anything not explicitly permitted is prohibited by default. Adaptive racing is the one exception: specialised grip aids are permitted there as declared adaptive equipment where they compensate for an eligible permanent impairment.
Can you wear a weightlifting belt in HYROX?
Yes. A weightlifting belt sits on the rulebook's permitted list alongside knee sleeves, wristbands and hydration packs. Whether you want one is a separate question, since most of a HYROX race is running. If you race in a belt, train in it, because you carry it start to finish.
Can you wear headphones during a HYROX race?
No. Headphones are the first item on the rulebook's forbidden list and the official HYROX FAQ confirms it separately. Ear plugs are forbidden too. The ban applies for the whole race, so plan on arena noise rather than a playlist through all 8 stations.
Can you wear a GPS watch or smartwatch in HYROX?
The rulebook does not name sports watches on either list, so this is genuinely unclear on paper, though watches are common at races. What is explicit is the ban on headphones, phones, body cameras and any eyewear with cameras, audio, streaming or augmented reality. Confirm anything unusual with your event.
Do you need special shoes for HYROX?
No specific shoe is required. The rulebook only requires closed-toe shoes throughout the race. In practice one pair covers 8 km of running plus 8 stations, so outsole grip for the sled matters as much as cushioning. No rule requires any brand.
Can you use chalk in HYROX?
According to the official Season 26/27 rulebook, chalk may be used only at the sled pull and the farmers carry, and using it anywhere else is a 2-minute penalty. Separately, only event-provided chalk is permitted, and using your own or carrying chalk away from a station is a 2-minute penalty per infringement. Powdered chalk at the wall ball station draws a further penalty on top of both.
Can you take your shoes off at the wall balls?
Yes, and it is the only exception to the closed-toe rule. You may remove them once you reach your target, and they must go under the rig. After your 100 reps you must take them with you to the Finisher Stage, with no returning afterwards.
Can you carry water or gels during a HYROX race?
Yes, but only if they are on your person from the start. You cannot accept anything from spectators or anyone else outside the aid stations, which counts as outside assistance. Water is available around each pass through the ROXZONE, the central transition zone athletes run through between every run and station.
What size bag can you bring to HYROX?
The official FAQ states one bag per athlete, no larger than a cabin-size bag, and everything must fit inside it because loose items are not accepted. Bag drop is a one-way door, so keep your timing chip, gels and anything else you need on you.
References
- HYROX Adaptive Rulebook (official), for the declared adaptive-equipment regime, including specialised grip aids and mandatory tethers for visually impaired racers.
- HYROX Singles Rulebook (official) , section 10 on clothing, accessories, hydration and nutrition, plus the penalty table. The source for every permitted, forbidden and required item on this page.
- HYROX US official FAQ , for bag drop sizing, the timing chip and race wristband, headphones, and carrying water or gels.
- HYROX official site , for race format and general athlete-facing information.
- PUMA newsroom: global partnership with HYROX , cited only to attribute the partnership claim to PUMA itself.
- BarBend HYROX guide , an independent fitness outlet, used for general race context.