Gear Reviews

Thule, best known for their automobile luggage racks, makes overnight backpacks that are starting to appear in outdoor stores, side-by-side with packs from Osprey, Gregory, and Granite Gear. I’ve been tracking Thule’s packs for few years and decided it was time to take …

I keep several map books in my car for the different states that I hike and backpack in, called Gazetteers. They’re published by a company called Delorme (recently acquired by Garmin) and contain detailed maps of each state including all of the …

Outdoor Research’s Protector Sun Gloves ($20) are fingerless gloves designed to protect your hands from the sun. I originally bought them for fly fishing to reduce my sun exposure, but I’ve also started wearing them for all of my hikes as an …

British-made Pacerpoles are far superior to the trekking poles you can buy in the United States. I’ve been using them for 7 years and can’t imagine hiking without them.  They help me carry a backpack with better posture, prevent muscle soreness in …

I have a dresser drawer full of black synthetic Gold Toe Dress Socks that I never use. I got them back when I was a salary man and had to wear a suit to work everyday. But, I recently read that the …

The Outdoor Vitals StormLOFT Down MummyPod 0*F is a cold-weather sleeping bag that can be used either on the ground as a mummy bag or in a hammock as a peapod insulation system. Weighing under 3 pounds and filled with 800 fill …

The Ray-Way Tarp Kit is an excellent introduction to MYOG (make-your-own-gear) and for a reasonable price, makes a lightweight and highly-packable shelter which is flexible for many situations. I have used a Ray-Way Tarp as my primary solo and 2-person shelter since …

Frugal hiker that I am, really, I picked up a couple of pairs of REI Sahara Convertible Pants on sale. They’re quite thin nylon pants with color coded zip off legs and lots of pockets, including side cargo pockets. I’ve never been …

The Montane Featherlite Smock is a wind shirt that’s good for trail running, hiking, and backpacking in cool or windy weather. Wind shirts are versatile ultralight layering garment, usually weighing just a few ounces, that you can wear over a thin fleece …

The Tarptent Notch is a single person, double wall ultralight tent weighing 27 ounces with two doors and two vestibules. With a removable inner nest (including bathtub floor), the rain fly can be pitched as a standalone tarp or as a complete …

CAMP Aluminum Nanotech XLC Crampons are super-lightweight, 12 point, step-in crampons that reduce the level of effort required to hike in full crampons. Weighing 16.2 ounces per pair, including optional ABS plates, they weigh just a few more ounces than Kahtoola Microspikes …

The Montane Icarus Jacket is a warm hooded jacket that’s filled with PrimaLoft’s ThermoPlume fill, a synthetic insulation that’s been designed to mimic down, except for the fact that it will keep you warmer if it gets damp or wet. Like goose …

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 …

Ragged Mountain’s Intervale Gaiters are designed for winter hiking, snowshoeing or XC skiing. Made with soft Supplex nylon pack-cloth, they’re super breathable, water-resistant and lightweight, nothing like heavy mountaineering gaiters, Outdoor Research Crocodile Gaiters for instance, that you need to wear to protect …