Clothing Reviews

If you’re a hiker and you work outdoors, even if it’s just around the house, you know that you can buy perfectly good winter hats and gloves at Home Depot, Lowes, or Amazon that cost a fraction of the gloves you can buy at REI. For example, these insulated Firm …

You don’t need to buy an expensive rain jacket for hiking and backpacking because an inexpensive one will work just as well as one costing an arm and a leg. In fact, most backpackers use rain jackets that cost $100 or less for just this reason. While outdoor clothing manufacturers …

The North Face Tech Glacier 1/4 Zip Fleece Sweater is one of the most popular fleece garments ever made. It’s been one of the North Face’s most popular items for years, but it’s also a very respectable fleece pullover than can be used year-round for serious hiking and backpacking. Fleece 101 …

Finding a good pair of winter hiking pants that will keep you warm while venting excess sweat is one of the more challenging pieces of clothing for winter hikers to acquire. While beginner winter hikers can get by with layering a pair of synthetic long johns under a pair of …

The Seirus Combo Clava is fleece balaclava with an integrated face mask to protect your nose and face from frostbite. I use the Combo Clava for above-treeline winter hiking in the mountains, where frostbite is a real concern on windy days. As a hiker, it’s important to completely cover your eyes, …

The Montbell Mirage Parka is an ultralight 900 fill power hooded down jacket, perfect for winter hiking or backpacking trips when you want to get warm fast and stay warm. Weighing just 14.4 oz in a size men’s XL, this jacket is loaded with features from box baffles to a …

I buy a lot of cold-weather hiking clothes through REI because they sell high quality clothing that’s just as good as what you can buy from Smartwool or Patagucci, but for less money. REI doesn’t have to advertise their products, so they can pass the savings to consumers and members. …

The North Face Apex Bionic 2 Soft Shell Jacket is a hoodless, windproof fleece jacket that you’d normally wear as an outer layer. The jacket’s exterior has a smooth, almost suede-like, exterior fabric that has some stretch to it. Called WindWall, the jacket’s exterior fabric has a low level of …