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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Our Gear Guy has yet to find a koozie that keeps beverages frosty for longer than the Colster. Its vacuum insulation traps cold air, and the stainless-steel wrap protects your brewski—to an extent—if you drop it. That’s why this insulator is our go-to drink accessory for campground kickbacks.
The Breeze III was our top choice hiker for the weekend warrior in our 2017 Summer Buyer’s Guide. This boot mixes between a light-duty shoe and a beefy backpacker, thanks to mid-ankle support, a Gore-Tex membrane, and perforated toe and heel vents.
One of Outside columnist Jakob Schiller's favorites, this jacket is made with burly, seven-ounce waxed sailcloth and lined with soft polyester. Like fine leather, it will develop a patina that looks better the more you wear it. “It will not only put up with years of chopping wood but will also look better afterward,” he writes.
The Boot is one of contributor Jakob Schiller’s top three favorite slippers. “If you love backcountry ski huts or car camping in the fall, you need a pair of these slippers,” he wrote. The rubber sole and thick wool upper keep your feet warm and dry on cold hut floors or light snow.
The Momentum is one of our top choice beginner shoes, but it also works just as well for long outdoor multipitch routes or as an intermediate indoor shoe. The relaxed fit is ideal for those who want more toe space, and the breathable knit upper helps keep your feet from overheating.
The Evergreen is the hooded version of the jacket we featured in our 2019 Winter Buyer’s Guide. The secret sauce is Burton’s Living Lining which expands and contracts to move moisture away from the body and regulate temperature. Plus, the 650-fill down insulation is lightweight and packs down small.
Our Gear Guy loves the Hydro Flask 32-ounce tumbler. With one of these suckers, he can “nurse a single pour for hours without having to worry about lukewarm beer.” The same goes for hot drinks—a freshly brewed cup of coffee will stay warm for up to six hours.
We like snuggling up in this organic cotton shirt on rainy days or relaxed evening hikes. The Fjord is one of our favorite fall flannels for women. “The pearl buttons add just the right amount of femininity and will catch the light on sunny days,” we wrote.
We named the Gaea the best aerobic layer in our 2019 Winter Buyer’s Guide. It’s “warm where you need it to be while remaining supremely breathable,” one tester wrote. It has insulation across the chest, at the shoulders, and in the collar, while the uninsulated mesh back panel keeps you from overheating on high output missions.
This is the midlayer that makes life easier on 20-degree high-alpine backcountry excursions. “The outer fabric on the Proton LT was more wind resistant than many of the other jackets,” we wrote in our review.
Keep your kid’s waterworks at bay on hikes or backpacking trips with this carrier. In our test of child carriers, the Poco AG Plus was “by far the sturdiest, most durable, and most stable of all the packs I’ve tried,” wrote our tester. At 7.6 pounds, the pack is heavier than some comparable models but also includes 26 liters of gear capacity.