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.
When you buy something using the retail links in our stories, we may earn a small commission. Outside does not accept money for editorial gear reviews. Read more about our policy.
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.”
The Ariel AG 55 won our women's backpacking test. “The Ariel is a feature-rich, versatile pack that presents a case study in how a sturdy, weight-bearing suspension design is often more comfortable than a design that shaves ounces by way of flimsier built-in support,” our testers wrote.
We featured this folio in our roundup of gear that gets better with age. It has room for a 13-inch laptop, smartphone, business cards, tablet, and notebook to boot. Our tester wrote that the environmentally certified leather "will make you feel like executive material."
Our 2019 Summer Buyer's Guide review sums up our thoughts on the Ignite: “It is everything you could want in a straightforward car-camping stove,” our tester wrote. “It has two 10,000-BTU burners, a piezo igniter that we used a hundred times without a hiccup, and space for two ten-inch pans as we cooked up pancakes and bacon.”
This trailblazer was one of our favorite shoes for long and steep runs. “The Caldera 3 serves up road-worthy comfort in a trail-ready package,” we wrote. We found the EVA midsole soft and springy, while a protective toe bumper and mesh upper gives it the mountain chops to flourish on the trail.