Gear Reviews

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 …

Good To-Go has two new dehydrated backpacking and camping meals that are sure to warm you up on cool night: New England Corn Chowder Kale and White Bean Stew Both of these are dehydrated meals that cook in the bag. They both require about one and a half cups of …

The KEEN Durand Polar is a waterproof winter hiking boot with 400 grams on insulation that’s rated for temperatures down to -40F below zero. If you’re new to winter hiking, you’re going to want to wear a waterproof and insulated boot like the Durand Polar instead of an uninsulated or leather …

The Mystery Ranch 3-Zip Terraframe 50 is an external frame backpack with a load sling that’s good for hauling awkwardly shaped and heavy loads that won’t fit into a normal top loader or roll top pack. Load sling packs (also called breakaway packs), like the Terraframe 50 and its big brother …

Food for the Sole is a new Backpacking Meal Company out of Bend, Oregon that specializes in dehydrated Vegan and Gluten-Free meals. Founded by Julie and Henry Mosier, this mother and son team has created a dazzling array of tasty meals that are delicious and easy to prepare, including nutritious …

KEEN Summit County Winter Hiking Boots are waterproof and insulated winter boots that are good for snowshoeing, winter hiking, and peakbagging. They have KEEN’s signature oversized toe box with body-mapped insulation to keep the parts of your feet that need extra insulation warm. Large non-marking lugged rubber soles provide a good …

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 Big Sky Chinook 1Plus is a freestanding, four-season tent that weighs 3 lbs 7 oz. It’s a double-wall, dome-shaped tent with three exoskeleton poles that can be pitched in a variety of different configurations. For example, you can set it up with three poles for maximum strength or two …

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 …

The Osprey Mutant 52 is a top-loading alpine style backpack made for winter backpacking, climbing, and backcountry ski tours. Like many winter-specific packs, it is highly modular and can be stripped down to save weight, with a removable top lid,  hip belt, and frame. Reinforced ski loops, haul loops, hip …

Outdoor Research HighCamp Gloves are insulated waterproof winter gloves with soft goat leather palms and touchscreen compatible liner gloves rated down to -15 F / -26 C. They’re best used in cold and exposed mountain terrain when you need to balance the competing demands of insulation and dexterity. For example, if …

The NEMO Switchback is a accordion-style closed-cell foam sleeping pad that can be used as an ultralight pad by itself or to augment the warmth of a second sleeping pad, when sleeping outdoors in colder weather. It’s quite similar to the Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol sleeping pad, but made with …

The Outdoor Research Baja Down Pullover is a sweater-weight down pullover (with a hood) that’s ideal for wearing around camp or paired with a backpacking quilt when you want a little extra warmth. It’s insulated with 800 fill power untreated goose down, with a nylon 10d shell and 20d lining. While the …

Montbell’s Versalite Pants are 2-layer ultralight waterproof/breathable pants that weigh just 3.7 oz (in a men’s XL.) They can be used as rain pants or wind pants or when you want light layer to keep your legs warmer in camp. Montbell’s Versalite Pants have been available for many years, but the …