Video: Summer Gear Guide 2023 Editor’s Choice Trip
A brisk journey to determine the top products in our Hike and Camp category
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We have hundreds of reviewers test thousands of products to select our Editor’s Choice nominees. Which, of course, warrants even more testing. For our Hike and Camp category, this means one last trip into the backcountry to help pick our winners. For this season’s expeditions Outside staff and some of our top writers took to the San Mateo Mountains in northern New Mexico with Rinconada Adventures.  Although it was supposed to be a summer testing trip, Mount Taylor, which the Navajo also sometimes refer to as Turquoise Mountain, threw us some curveballs, with snow, high winds, and well-below-freezing nights. Needless to say, conditions were ideal for separating the wheat from the chaff—if a little colder than desired.Â
Explore the the 2023 Summer Gear Guide.