The Osprey Mutant 38 is a versatile alpine backpack that’s equally at home on winter hiking trails, ski mountaineering tours, or ice-climbing routes. It’s an internal frame pack that is loaded with external attachment points that make it easy to haul bulky …
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Kahtoola K10 Hiking Crampon Review
Kahtoola’s K10 Crampons are winter hiking crampons designed for shoes with flexible soles ranging from trail runners to soft-soled insulated hiking boots. Featuring a flexible leaf string and superlight Chromoly steel, the K10 Crampons weigh just 21 ounces per pair (23.6 ounces …
Read More »Oboz Bridger 10″ (400g) Winter Hiking Boots Review
The Oboz Bridger 10″ is a waterproof and insulated winter hiking boot with 400-gram Thinsulate insulation, making it suitable for extreme cold weather use. Oboz doesn’t publish a temperature rating for them but they’re comparable to other 400-gram insulated winter hiking boots …
Read More »The Snow Claw Backcounty Snow Shovel Review
I bought a 5 oz Snow Claw snow shovel as a weight saver to replace my 30 oz collapsible Voile Telepro avalanche shovel. But after some winter camping and a lot of snow shelter practice, I’ve concluded that the SnowClaw isn’t a …
Read More »Black Diamond Distance Spikes Traction Device Review
Black Diamond Distance Spikes are microspikes (lightweight winter traction devices) specifically designed for use with trail runners. They’re really quite ingenious and worth getting if you use low shoes with a soft mesh or textile-covered toe box for winter running and hiking. …
Read More »MSR Access 1 Tent Review
The MSR Access 1 is a freestanding, double-wall tent designed for ski touring and winter backpacking that only weighs 3 lbs. While it’s much warmer than a three-season tent and strong enough to handle moderate snow loads, it’s intended for use in …
Read More »Therm-a-Rest Parsec 0 Sleeping Bag Review
The Therm-a-Rest Parsec 0 is a VERY lightweight cold-weather sleeping bag suitable for year-round use. It’s a very warm bag with premium box baffling and 60% of the insulation positioned over the chest and 40% on the bottom in order to provide …
Read More »Outdoor Research Alti II Gore-Tex Mitts Review
Outdoor Research’s Alti II Gore-Tex Mittens are seriously warm double-layer mittens designed for extremely cold weather, well below 0 degrees (F). They have a waterproof and windproof Gore-Tex outer shell with a soft leather palm, polyester fleece lining, long wrist cuffs, an …
Read More »MSR Lightning Ascent Snowshoes Review
MSR’s Lightning Ascent Snowshoes are best-of-breed snowshoes that are ideal for winter hiking and backpacking in mountainous terrain. They’re designed with a unique 360-degree traction system that allows you to walk up slopes or laterally across them without losing your grip. The …
Read More »MSR Snowshoe Guide: How to Choose
MSR makes great snowshoes for winter hiking and backpacking that provide excellent traction and flotation over packed snow and ice in mountainous terrain and powder in higher elevations and drier climates. With an ironclad guarantee, MSR also has a great reputation for replacing …
Read More »REI’s Gauntlet GTX 2.0 Mittens Review
REI’s Gauntlet GTX 2.0 Mittens are very warm single-layer Gore-Tex mittens good for temperatures into to the single digits. They’re extremely comfortable with long gauntlets to keep your wrists and hands warm. But the best thing about these mitts is their reasonable …
Read More »Montbell Gore-Tex Light Long Gaiters Review
Montbell’s Light Long Gaiters are highly functional Gore-tex Gaiters with a simple design that overcomes many of the problems that you’re likely to experience with gaiters from other companies, including Outdoor Research’s Crocodile Gaiters, the most popular winter gaiters sold today. These …
Read More »The ULA Circuit as a Winter Backpack
The ULA Circuit is one of the most popular thru-hiking and backpacking packs available today. It’s a conventional ultralight style pack with an open front mesh pocket, a roll-top closure, a spacer mesh back panel behind the shoulder straps, and large side …
Read More »Grivel G1 Crampons Review
Grivel’s G1 Crampons are 10-point steel crampons with a universal binding and flexible center bar, called a leaf spring, that makes them compatible for use with all types of boots including ones with soft soles that flex (like most insulated winter hiking …
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