The Editors

P-cord: Parachute cord, also known as paracord, the world’s most versatile survival tool.

Greg Lowe: Inventor of the internal-frame backpack.

An instrument of mass exhibitionism.

To raise money for charity

Filson, a Seattle-based maker of high-quality leather goods.

Jogging Stroller: A stroller that allows parents to run and, theoretically, get their toddlers to nap.

Repurposing: Taking a product and adapting it for a different use.

A cooler company whose two-inch-thick, double-walled products are so effective that its creation, in 2006, began a new era in rafting.

Westfalia: A breed of Volkswagen camper van prone to expensive repairs, yet beloved by those who own them and coveted by road-trip dreamers everywhere.

Sick Footie: A visual recording worth replaying for others.

Fat Skis: Skis that are at least 115 millimeters underfoot.

The brand of zipper that is likely keeping your britches up at this very moment. Headquartered in Tokyo, 81-year-old YKK (short for Yoshida Kogyo Kabu­shikikaisha, which translates as ­Yoshida Company Limited) was founded by Tadao ­Yoshida, who started making cus­tom zippers to take advantage of breaks and…

Howard Head: The founder of ski brand Head.

Lumbersexual: A fashion-conscious male urbanite whose clothing and accessories project an aura of rugged manliness.

PowerBar: The first portable energy bar.

Population dwindles to four

Duluth pack: A heavy canvas rucksack, patented in 1882 by French Canadian Camille Poirier in Duluth, Minnesota, along the shores of Lake Superior.

Portaledge: A collapsible sleeping platform for climbers.

Lululemon: A yoga-apparel brand founded by Canadian entrepreneur Chip Wilson in 1998.

Catalog: A magazine-like print presentation of a company’s or retailer’s products.

Following disappointing Tour de France

Blake Mycoskie: A 38-year-old philanthropist and entrepreneur who founded Toms Shoes (originally Shoes for a Better Tomorrow) in 2006.

Dutch Oven: A large cast-iron pot and the campfire cooking vessel of choice for pioneers, cowboys, and river guides.

Jeremy Jones: A pioneering big-mountain snowboarder and snowboard designer.

Polarization: A lens technology that cuts glare created when light reflects off materials like plastic and glass.

Race returned to Death Valley

Nalgene bottle: A durable, wide-mouthed vessel originally designed to hold chemicals.

Pour-Over Coffee: A method of brewing coffee by passing near boiling water through grounds held in a paper filter.

Lifetime Warranty: A company’s promise to repair or replace an item that breaks.

Odor Control: The relentless attempt by apparel makers to tame human stink.

Near Annapurna trekking route

Nike+: The original wearable technology for athletes.

Surfboard Fin: A structural element, usually made of wood or fiberglass, attached to the bottom of a surfboard to aid maneuverability.

Wetsuit: An insulating garment that allows individuals to spend more time in cold water.

Mountain House: Maker of 33 varieties of tasty freeze-dried meals packaged in polyester, aluminum, and nylon pouches.

Two towns bonded over their Best Towns rivalry

Gatorade: A sports drink formulated in 1965 for the University of Florida Gators football team and currently produced by PepsiCo.

Leatherman: A multitool invented by Tim Leatherman after wishing he had a pair of pliers while working on a rust-bucket Fiat with a pocket knife during a 1975 European road trip.

Backcountry.com: Online retailer of a wide range of outdoor gear.

Kite: A lightweight aircraft—often erroneously considered a toy—propelled by the wind and controlled by a user on the ground via a line or set of lines.

Jack O’Neill: A former commercial fisherman widely credited with inventing the neoprene wetsuit.

Hummer: The civilian version of the military’s Humvee off-road vehicle, which was produced by AM General from 1992 to 2006.

The original American road-trip trailer, designed in 1931 by Wally Byam, was inspired by Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis.

Swiss Army Knife: The world’s first consumer multitool, designed by cutler Karl Elsener with two blades, a screwdriver, and a can opener.

Garmin Forerunner 201: The world’s first all-in-one GPS-enabled running watch, released in 2003 by Kansas navigation company Garmin.

Gary Fisher: A major figure in the development of mountain bikes.

Founders of the Recreational Equipment Co-op (REI), which the couple started in their West Seattle home in 1938 as a way to help climber friends gain access to cheaper ice axes and harnesses by ordering bulk gear from Europe.

Headphones: Any device used for playing music close to or within a wearer’s ears.

Gel: A sugary fuel used during races and serious training, typically packed into sealed foil pouches.

Jeep: A four-wheel-drive vehicle first produced for the U.S. Army during World War II.

Phil Knight: Cofounder of athletic-shoe company Nike.

Heart-Rate Monitor: A device that measures a wearer’s heart rate; particularly useful for monitoring exertion in athletes.

Pack Raft: A small inflatable raft that can be rolled up to fit in a backpack.

Puffy: A lightweight jacket insulated with duck or goose down or synthetic fill.

Recall: A request by a manufacturer, and usually the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), to return a product after the discovery of safety issues.

The Perfect Size Wheel: An elusive and controversial hoop that allows mountain bikers the ability to optimize progress over rocky terrain.

Waffle: A repeating inverted cube shape adopted by sporting-goods manufacturers, beginning with Nike, which used the pattern on the sole of its iconic waffle trainer.

Little Things: Those items that mark the difference between a miserable experience and a joyous one—pit zips on jackets being a prime example.

Sunglasses designed to protect a pilot’s eyes against high-altitude sun.

Helmet: An apparatus designed to protect the wearer against head injuries.

Fat shoes: Shoes with roughly 20 millimeters of foam underfoot

Fly rod: A skinny stick, usually 6 to 13 feet long, used in conjunction with a reel, a line, and hand-tied simulations of in-sects to catch fish.

A category of gear that came into being in the late 1960s as more and more skiers ventured beyond resort boundaries.

The most valuable currency in gear marketing of the past 40 years.

Elk Skin Gloves: Hand protection made from the skin of the great wapiti.

Pulaski: A wildland-firefighting tool that combines an ax and an adze and is used to clear brush and small trees.

The surprising tendency for technical products and trends from the outdoor world to find their way into mass culture.

A sturdy, purpose-made fishing boot that has become the gold standard of footwear in the 49th state.

Opening in September

Blankets northern Rockies

Researchers show health, visibility effects

Safety assessment finds little damage

“I got annihilated,” says Porcella

Offering partial refund

Himex decides against Broad Peak

From Teton Gravity Research

Active opposition, budget doubts compel city to withdraw

Some our favorite images from this year's Tour de France stages in the French Alps.

Citing avalanche risk, summit climbers turn back

Second title for the Brit