Gear Picks is a curated selection of products we’ve tested and heartily recommend. We stand by this gear—and the brands that sell it—and many of our editors and writers use this stuff weekly. We often feature gear we’ve included in our bi-annual Buyer’s Guides and online roundups, presented here in an easy-to-scroll format. We only feature deals on gear we’ve tested ourselves and, whenever possible, provide a link to a past review so you can make sure it’s something that suits your lifestyle—ideally at a steeply discounted price. Happy shopping—and gear-picking.
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We gave this lightweight rain jacket a Gear of the Year award in our 2019 Summer Buyer’s Guide. The Bantamweight strikes a perfect balance between being waterproof and breathable, so you stay dry in summer showers and comfortable on strenuous hikes. “The Bantamweight feels like a windbreaker but performs like a hard shell,” one tester wrote.
These shorts stand out in a crowd, but you’ll barely notice them when they’re on. That's because they’re airy as hell and prevent skin-on-skin friction for a comfy fit. “Credit goes to the breathable mesh liner and a hammock-shaped pouch that keeps the boys in place,” one of our Buyer’s Guide testers wrote.
The Campo puts you on the ground, but we don’t mind. It has enough padding in its 350-denier Cordura package to shield your rear from small, poking rocks and roots, while adjustable side straps let you fine-tune how deeply you want to recline. We dig how the Campo rolls up easily for storage at the end of the day, not to mention that it can double as a stadium seat or festival chair.
Of all the coolers in Yeti’s line, the Roadie 20 is the smallest and most packed-car friendly. The 19-liter interior is just the right size to fit food and a few beers for two people for the weekend.
This jacket is perfect for sudden afternoon showers or for layering over a puffy in colder months. Our writer tested the Ozonic on a climbing trip in the Sierra and appreciated the jacket’s stretchiness. It’s also built with 40-denier nylon, so you don’t have to worry about scraping it against rock and ripping it.
The 20-liter Kompressor keeps Outside’s resident boulderer Jenny Earnest organized at the crag. "It's big enough to haul a day's worth of gear and the frameless design and lightweight ripstop nylon shell allows it to compress and jam into my pad," she wrote.
"Leatherman has completely rethought the category it invented," wrote columnist Wes Siler in his 2019 review of the new Free line. One-handed operation is this tool’s calling card: “It works just as well in your left hand as it does in your right. You can access all the in-handle tools, opening, closing, locking, and unlocking them with ease.”
We haven’t found a better bang-for-your-buck camping bundle than this one. With a four-person tent, two sleeping pads and sleeping bags, this package is ideal for the budget-conscious camper and backpacker. “You'll be hard-pressed to find a less expensive tent that’s worth bringing into the backcountry,” our Gear Guy wrote.
We're just as likely to sport this shirt at the campsite as we are at the office. That's because it's simultaneously smartly tailored and tough as nails, thanks to the fact it's made of burly, sustainably-grown hemp. During the summer, a couple of these polos is all we need.
We included these jeans in our roundup of retro-inspired men’s gear that we love. This pair is “not only ultra-durable but also insanely comfy due to its built-in stretch,” wrote columnist Jakob Schiller. “I’ve biked, hiked, and worked in these pants, and they look better with wear.”
This is the third iteration of one of our favorite trail-running shoes. “The Sense Ride raised the bar for every other trail shoe in the test,” our tester wrote. “Nothing came close to beating its combo of give-’em-hell speed and quick-stepping technical chops with an accommodating midsole.”