2026 Outdoor Gear We Can't Wait to Try

Published November 12, 2025 02:16PM

What happens when you get a bunch of outdoor brands and journalists in the same room and then bring out a buzzer? Gear speed dating, which is how we got a first glimpse of new gear dropping in Spring 2026 at the annual Outdoor Media Summit, held in Durango, Colorado this year. After four hours of combing over dozens and dozens of new releases, here’s what we’re most excited about trying in the new year.

If your ideal camp day involves kicking back with the same comfort you’d get from your living-room recliner, the HEST Foamy Chair might just be your new outdoor throne. This chair was built for chilling at the campsite, enjoying riverside beers, or kicking back at a tailgate in total comfort. The classic Adirondack-style design is elevated with a removable memory foam cushion and an aluminum alloy frame, making it significantly more comfortable and durable than your average camp chair. Dual cupholders mean there’s plenty of room for your beverages of choice, and it packs up in a sleek carrying case for easy transport.

If you spend a lot of time outside during the winter, chances are you’ve snagged your down jacket—on a tree branch, with a ski edge, or on your car door. Patagonia aims to solve that problem with the Durable parka, which has a 75-denier, ripstop nylon/polyester face fabric that borrows technology from their Workwear line and is significantly less prone to tears than other parkas. The inner fabric is ultra soft and light; not only does it feel great, it also helps you to pack the jacket down to about the size of a small melon. Inside, 800-fill down makes it ultra-warm. The jacket is part of Patagonia’s new Free Wall kit that’s designed with climbers in mind, but we immediately glommed onto it as something we could also throw in a backcountry ski pack, wear on a really cold resort day, and use for winter camping, given its combination of durability, packability, and warmth.

This firepit in a backpack might be the most portable we’ve ever seen. Packfire rivals competitors like Solo Stove and Biolite with a sleek design that collapses flat to fit inside its included carrying case. Weighing 35 pounds when packed, you can easily carry this portable firepit to the beach, a dispersed campsite, or around your backyard. It takes less than a minute to assemble, and cleanup is as simple as dumping the ash tray at the base of the pit once the coals have cooled. The burn chamber is made of durable aluminum and stainless steel to make it adventure-ready. The backpack also includes a nifty kickstand to keep it from toppling over while setting up.

Consider your outdoor happy hour officially upgraded. Rtic recently launched its Happy Hour Collection with lowball, pint, and wine-glass-sized mugs to cater to your cocktail or mocktail of choice. The eight-ounce Happy Hour Lowball Tumbler became our go-to right away. It’s durable and light enough to bring with you while backpacking to enjoy a drink around the campfire. And added details like a non-slip base and soft-touch finish make this mug feel more elevated than most designed for camping. Even if you switch between cocktails and coffee, this cup won’t hold on to yesterday’s flavors: a ceramic lining prevents flavor transfer, plus eliminates that harsh, metallic aftertaste you get with metal-lined mugs.

Fresh air can ruin coffee beans, so Miir updated their coffee canister with a brand new rubber stopper to keep beans savory. You just push the rubber stopper down on the top of the beans to evacuate the air. To access the beans, you open the canister and pull the stopper. We love the clean and simple look of the stainless steel canister, which matches the aesthetic of a nice espresso machine, french press, or drip coffee maker. A twelve-ounce of bag of beans fits perfectly under the rubber stopper, and the canister is easy to wash.

This affordable four-season camping pad has a 6.2 R rating, so it won’t leave you frozen when you’re camping in sub-freezing temps. Yet the pad weighs a scant 17 ounces and packs down small enough to bring it along for long and fast summer trips where you’re trying to save space and weight. We only got to test the pad for a quick rest during the OMS event, but found it to be plenty plush thanks to four inches of cushioning and a soft-to-the-touch face fabric that’s quiet against a sleeping bag. The bottom of the pad uses a reinforced nylon fabric to guard against tears and the baffles are built to cradle your body so you don’t roll off in the middle of the night.

Adventure eBikes blur the line between city commuting and trail riding. They’re built to take on root and rock-covered terrain, smooth pavement, and everything in between. The new Aventon Adventure Mid Drive, or Aventon M, for short, caught our eye for its feature-packed build you don’t often see on an adventure eBike. For starters, it’s equipped with an electronic shifter with optional auto shifting: the bike will track your speed and pedaling data, and automatically shift gears for you—making for a smoother and more efficient ride. Its burly 250W mid-drive motor can power through varied terrain, its 80-millimeter suspension fork and 4-inch tires handle rough roads, and you’ll get up to 85 miles on a full charge. The Adventure M is a Class 1 eBike, but it can be converted to a Class 2 by installing a throttle (sold separately) and connecting to the bike’s built-in wiring.

Arguably our favorite new piece of gear we saw at the summit, this high-tech yet simple lantern is controlled with the sound of your voice. You can power the EAL35R on and off, control brightness, and switch modes with simple spoken commands like “Coast on” or “Coast red.” It’s USB-C rechargeable, lasts up to 16 hours on a charge, and doubles as a power bank for charging other electronics when you’re off-grid. Ideal for late-night arrivals at the campsite when you can’t remember where you set down your lantern, or moments at home when your hands are full in the nursery or at a backyard barbecue and you need to turn a light on or off.