Winter Hiking Gear

There are three kinds of winter hiking boots: insulated winter hiking boots, mountaineering boots, and pac boots. Which kind of winter hiking boot is right for you? Here's a detailed guide that explains the differences between these so you can pick the right footwear for winter hiking, snowshoeing, winter backpacking, and winter mountaineering.

Atlas’ Serrate Snowshoes are teardrop-shaped, nylon-decked snowshoes with crampons and a heel lift designed for hiking and snowshoeing in mountainous terrain. They have a simple-to-use binding system that’s compatible with virtually any kind of winter boot or shoe but runs a little on the bulky side when strapped to a …

The Tubbs Flex VRT is a plastic decked snowshoe with an aggressive crampon setup that’s ideal for snowshoeing in steep and mountainous terrain. It has an easy to use Boa binding system that clamps down around your boots and won’t slip in use, along with a flip-up heel bar to reduce …

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 …

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 …

Dachstein Extreme Warm Wool Mittens are very warm boiled wool mittens popular with mountaineers. Made with very dense boiled wool (more on this below), they’re windproof and virtually waterproof. When the mercury drops near zero or below, these are the mittens you want to be wearing. They’re also ideal for …

Every season there is a lively discussion among those that hike and backpack in the winter about what the “right” pair of boots are. The problem is that the correct answer is “it depends” on what you are doing and where you are going. You will likely need different boots if …

Winter backpacking and mountaineering are great sports. But the cost of winter gear is very expensive, upward of $2500 or more. In my experience, it’s best to acquire winter backpacking gear over a period of 2-3 years, so you can spread out the capital expenditure required, while using some of …

No doubt many hikers and backpackers who take up backcountry skiing or snowboarding initially make do with packs already on hand. In my case, those were a 30-liter Gregory daypack and a 65-liter Osprey backpack. But size matters, and the Gregory was too small and the Osprey too big. Plus, …

Crescent Moon’s EVA All Foam Snowshoes are high flotation snowshoes that are made of foam without any metal crampons or heel lifts. Highly rockered, (curved like a banana), they’re good for walking and running on well packed trails and groomed cross-country tracks. They have a very simple velcro binding that’s …

The CAMP-USA Corsa Ice Axe is quite possibly the lightest weight ice axe in the world, weighing just 8.8 oz (250 grams) in a size 60 cm length. Despite its light weight, it is a fully functional UIAA-certified B ice axe capable of being used for self rescue, glissading, and …

The MSR Revo Ascent (MSRP $239) is a mountaineering-style snowshoe that has lightweight plastic decking, a saw-toothed crampon-style frame, televators, and MSR’s ski-strap style lay-flat binding. It shares many of the same features as the pricier MSR Lightning Ascent Snowshoe (MSRP $299), but has one less rear crampon, making it somewhat …

The Yaktrax Summit is a burly winter traction system that’s in the same league as Kahtoola’s Microspikes and Hillsound’s Trail Crampons. Compatible with soft-soled winter boots and hiking shoes, the Summits have 12 triangular spikes that attach to the underside of your footwear using a rubber harness, coupled with a Boa …

TSL’s Symbioz Elite Snowshoes are designed for use in mountainous terrain with aggressive crampons and a heel lift for climbing steep and icy slopes. They have a large horizontal front crampon, good for digging into slopes, with 8 stainless-steel cleats (rotated 90 degrees) down the sides to prevent side slipping. But …