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. Whenever possible, we 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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The TC Pro is the best shoe for big walls and cracks, hands down. “The toe box is pointier than a lot of trad shoes, so it not only fits into small splitters but also holds onto some overhung features, making it uniquely versatile,” wrote our testers.
We featured this 3.4-ounce headlamp in our 2020 Summer Buyer’s Guide for its plethora of features. “[Its] spot- and floodlight modes can work in tandem,” wrote tester Will Palmer. “The resulting 1,400 lumens are like turning on your car’s high beams.”
We featured the Shakedry in our 2019 Summer Buyer’s Guide. “Sparse but effective, the Shakedry Trail is essentially a waterproof membrane without any additional laminating fabric,” wrote tester Fritz Huber. “That’s why it might be the lightest water- and windproof jacket on the market—a size large weighs just over six ounces.”
The Flexsteps are a Goldilocks option for winter foot traction. Its spikes aren’t too small, nor too deep, so they provide grip on most icy surfaces. They kept our reviews editor sturdy on frozen streets in Iceland, which is why we featured them in our 2020 Winter Buyer’s Guide.
Patagonia’s R1 line of fleece layers are well-loved and versatile, and the crew top version is no exception. Its raised grid-style insulation keeps you warm while you’re moving in cold weather.
If you’re looking for a reliable running and backpacking headlamp on a budget, the FL1R is a solid choice. It weighs just 1.1 ounces and has a 2.5-hour run time on its highest setting. “It sheds mellow rain, has a red-light setting, and feels secure (but barely there) as you bound up and down hills,” wrote our tester.
The Flight Futurelight is one of our favorite shells for trail runs in any type of weather. “The Futurelight membrane acts like a nano-sieve: it’s permeable to air but not water, so it’s fully weatherproof and remarkably breathable,” wrote tester Martin Fritz Huber in our 2020 Summer Buyer’s Guide.
Wild Rye makes some of our favorite women's MTB apparel. “Wild Rye nailed the stretchy-durable balance here: the Freel moves just right in the saddle, but the fabric isn’t so thin that an errant piñon will shred it,” our tester wrote in our 2019 Summer Buyer's Guide.
This 21-liter pack is the epitome of clean, functional design. A unique three-zip closure on the front allows you to easily see the contents of your bag without having to dump it all out. The face fabric is a super-durable 500-denier Cordura, which you’ll be hard-pressed to tear. Read our tester’s full review here.
Columnist Jakob Schiller loves the Vista for running: “They’re fully waterproof, so I don’t have to worry about ruining them with sweat or in the rain; and they never slip out of my ears or need adjustment as I bound along on trails or pavement,” he wrote. Read his full roundup of winter workout gear here.
This practical, sturdy headlamp pumps out 250 lumens and weighs 2.9 ounces. The Cosmo is surprisingly feature-rich considering its affordable price tag: it has three different output settings, a red light mode, and can be dimmed or brightened with the touch of a button. It’s one of our Gear Guy’s favorite gifts.