Gear
ArchiveInspired by a Canadian officer’s World War II utility bag, Tilley's Intrepid Bag has a timeless vintage look that's hard to peg down. It has a certain safari feel to it, a messenger bag aesthetic, albeit one made from leather and waxed canvas. It's pared down functionality…
Bryan Papé believes that a bike is more than just a frame, two wheels, and a bunch of components. He sees the bicycle as an instrument of social change. “After clean water and sanitation, one of the biggest impediments to economic development in Africa is transportation,” Papé…
The pool bores me. But I swim a few days a week during the winter to stay fit. Is there any waterproof gear that can make it more interesting?
The only thing ski season is harder on than your knees is your face.
Haven’t done your holiday shopping yet? (Shame on you.) Picky cyclist in your life whom you’re never sure what to get? (Aren’t we all?) Relax. You still have some time, and we’ve got you covered. Presenting 11 gifts that any reasonable cyclist would love to receive, from inexpensive stocking-stuffers to big-ticket…
The Moonlander's bulbous doughnuts soak up bumps like suspension and blast over sand dunes and through mud with monster-truck ease.
One of the hardest parts of leaving the mountain is stowing a pair of soggy boots for the airplane. What’s the best option?
Thule makes great roof racks, bike and ski and boat mounts, rooftop boxes, and snow chains. It makes laptop and table bags that Apple likes so much that they're sold in the company's stores around the world. Thule's luggage is…
Pro riders Mike Clark, Brandon Dosch and Chad Kerley show the tremendous difference in protection between certified and non-certified helmets.
Photo: 350.org Your aunt, the environmental lawyer who sued British Petroleum. Your Fulbright scholar cousin who recently returned from India, where he's developed a highly efficient solar cookstove. Your old roommate, the vegan who went undercover to expose cruelty on a chicken farm. What, in…
Here in the Southwest, autumn has been mostly warm and choking dry, turning the trails to rubbly moondust and me into a total whiner about even the faintest whiff of cold. I've braved a few icy mornings and misjudged the light a few times to end up out in the…
Do you wish you could take your dog for a spin, but aren’t sure how to manage the mechanics? Love to take your Lab for a lap on the local singletrack, but don’t have a way to roll with him safely to the trailhead? Biking with a dog can be…
According to Mountain Hardwear, the Ghost Whisperer (hooded) is the world's lightest down jacket—seven ounces, 850-fill down, two pockets, and a ripstop shell that's down- and wind-proof and water repellant
“One must always go back to the fundamentals. And get your face out of the computer.” So said Alex Moulton, an engineer and the designer of a handmade, small-wheeled steel bike with rubber suspension, who died this past Sunday. He was 92. The Brit…
Last year, my snowboard pants didn’t work out so well—I was sweaty and wet most days. This season, how do I keep my lower half from becoming a hot mess?
The Arc'teryx Keibo is a moderately insulated, synthetic-fill snowsports hard shell with a relaxed fit
I do a lot of ice and mixed climbing in rocky areas of New England. What are the best crampons for me?
Holiday gift guides abound this time of year. But they're mostly filled with gifts that you hope you'll get, not gifts you'll give. Stumped as to what to buy your lady this season? This guide is for you. 1. NAU DOWN LOOPNER SCARFShe'll wear it as a scarf, and…
I have a marathon coming up in a few months. How can I get online coaching tailored to my ability? Oh, and how can I get it for free?
In the 1990s, Dan Coyle started making wooden helmets for himself and his buddies for whitewater kayaking, as well as wooden eyeglass frames and paddles. It was a hobby, a use for Coyle’s chainsaw and grinder. Coyle noticed that, structurally, wood is similar to rigid, closed-cell…
Jon Kennedy shows off his Diamondback at White Mesa. Photo: @portermtb. Review season is upon us here in Santa Fe, with stacks of bikes arriving on the UPS truck each day, daily rides underway, and Outside's annual Tucson…
Last week, on a safari in South Africa’s Kgalagadi (Kalahari) Transfrontier Park, I picked up my SLR with the long lens to photograph a lioness and her kill at a watering hole, and the strap simply fell off the camera. I got lucky—my $2,000-worth of electronics…
When it comes to holiday giving, you should never have to choose. This year, our editors have pulled together 68 perfect ideas—priced from $4 to $50,000—guaranteed to make anyone on your list feel like a million bucks.
Finally put an end to searching for wall outlets, or carrying a bouquet of charging cables and converters for all the electronics in your bag. World travelers, itinerant wanderers, and absent-minded electronics users: with Timbuk2’s Power Q Laptop Backpack…
I can’t seem to find a warm hat I like. They get sweaty when I’m playing hard, then freeze my noggin when I’m standing still.
If you're looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the person who has everything, consider giving an IOU note with HX-1 written on it. That's the name of toymaker Hirobo's one-person, single-seat, remote control electric helicopter, which won't be ready until at least next year. The wait is a…
Lots of surfers take pride in spending as little as possible on a wetsuit. What do you get if you spend more? In the best cases, exactly what you pay for.
“Working at the Cheat Suite.” Photo: Janis LeMieux Roughly a month ago, on the evening of October 25, master woodworker and paddlemaker Keith Backlund took his last breath in the Stalker, Pennsylvania, home where he grew up. Since then, a stream of remembrances and…
How breakable are the new glass water bottles? Can you take them outdoors, or are they only for the office?
In recent years, GT Bicycles has been the Rodney Dangerfield of bike brands—they don’t get enough respect. The company continues to roll out hard-working, high-value bikes that are too often overshadowed by marquee brands. Case in point: the Zaskar 100 9r Carbon…
I’m no Apolo Ohno, but I have been curious about speed skating ever since I saw people doing it on a local river last winter. I have never seen speed skating equipment in stores. Do the skates cost an arm and a leg?
When world renowned alpinist/speed climber Ueli Steck has a new gear idea, his sponsors hit the drawing board to turn that idea into product. So when Steck told Scarpa he wanted the lightest insulated boot…
Bicycling is the best way to see a city. If you agree with that statement, you'll want to sign up with liquid.com. It's a new worldwide network of bike owners and would-be bike renters that seeks to connect the two groups with an ease never before…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=AZRwlcz0pxU Like much of New York City, the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook, best known in cycling communites as the host to an eccentric, annual urban criterium in October, is still reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. In light of the damage, Red…
I’d like to do more biking on dirt roads in the countryside, but my road bike just can’t hack it. I’ve been hearing about new “gravel” bikes. What’s the deal?
If you feel like merely filming yourself when you’re going big isn’t enough, or maybe that you'd like to be the star of your very own Truman Show, check out Memoto’s 007-style camera, which constantly records your life with…
Ski more powder, score cheap lift tickets, and avoid avalanches
There’s a clever new LED safety light for night running/biking. Is it any good? And who invents this stuff?
Great gear will only get you so far. Be kind to what you put in it. Here are some tips for taking care of your feet on the slopes.
344 *** Local Caption *** 62201 Professional fishermen have always known how to be ready for a storm. They dress for constant soaking by choppy seas, unanticipated and often torrential rains, pummeling winds, and mishaps that can range from stalled engines to tangled nets. Now you can…
While Nemo’s Hunker won't stand up against the toughest conditions, after you’ve been out hiking or skiing all day, it can be rejuvenating to duck out of the wind or weather. Nemo’s Hunker let’s you sidestep the elements quickly and easily so that you can rest,…
It would be neat to have something that would allow me to communicate with the guys I ride with and track my speed.
In many cultures, your life depends on your knife. A knife is the tool you use to prepare food, hunt and dress animals, work skins, cut firewood, clear brush and vegetation. In southern cultures that knife is a often a machete. In northern Europe, the indigenous…
This year our two new categories of winter gear, air-bag-equipped packs and fat-tired mountain bikes, also proved to be the most popular around Outside's headquarters. The packs didn't surprise me, as we have a pretty good crew of backcountry skiers here. And after an avalanche killed three people in…
Not sure which snowboard is right for you? Match your terrain of choice with one of our tester-approved boards.
The Scarpa Maestrale RS is an upgraded four-buckle Alpine Touring Boot with a self-proclaimed 120 flex for all things backcountry
Duffel bags have no shape. Packs are meant to carry, not serve as suitcases. And wheelie bags have their limitations on stairs and over cobblestones, not to mention that they’re awkward in the overhead compartment. After over 1,000 flights dissatisfied with his suitcases, Nathan Kukathas joined…
Tundra buggies resemble a kind of double-wide, offroad school bus, with plush suspension, a massive 460 International Diesel engine, and tires that run at 12psi to float over mud and snow. They’re jacked up about 10 feet, partly for clearance, but mostly to prevent any curious polar bears from climbing…
One pair of thin-to-midweight ski-specific socks is all you need. We’re fans of Wigwam’s Xenon Pro.
Choosing the right bindings is just as important to your snowboard experience as your board and boots. We've selected three of our favorite bindings to help you find what's right for you.
We put 70 jackets through the wringer—running, skinning, skiing, and hiking. After nitpicking over pocket placement, breathability, and ever other detail under the sun, we settled on these six.
Frigid temperatures, biting wind, blowing snow—if you’re well outfitted, it doesn’t really matter.
Got Gaiters? Our favorites are still Outdoor Research's light, packable, breathable Verglas.
After months of torture-testing the latest crop of outdoor gear, we've compiled a list of our eight favorite items, from the Never Summer Proto CT/CTX snowboard to the Atlas Race snowshoes
From minimalist speedsters to winter-ready mountain scramblers, we’ve got you covered.
Scaling rock and ice in the winter is serious business. Bring the right stuff.
Let’s start with nature’s wünderfabric. Not only is merino wool (sourced mostly from sheep in New Zealand’s Southern Alps) a sustainable, bio-degradable fabric, but gear makers have figured out how to make it softer and thin enough to wear on a hot summer day.
If you ski mostly in wet snow, like the stuff in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, then you need something waterproof. In drier climes, like the Central Rockies, a water-resistant soft-shell glove should suffice. The more leather it has, the more waterproof it’s going to be.
While the minimalism trend has shifted the center of the running universe toward lighter, more neutral designs with lower heels, shoe buyers are still faced with one crucial question: Performance or comfort?
Rather sort your sock drawer than run on a treadmill? Us too. Here’s the gear you’ll need to keep running outdoors all winter long.
Whether you’re at the resort or deep in the backcountry, if your boots don’t fit properly you’re miserable. Not sure about size or which brand fit you best? Consult a fitter. To narrow your choices, match the boot to the binding you’re pairing it with.
You now have two choices when it comes to telemark bindings: 75mm (traditional duckbill) and the newer NTN. The former is favored for its simplicity, lower cost, and greater variety of boot choices, but NTN is vastly more powerful and releasable, and it’s better-suited to driving today’s fattest skis.
It’s all about fit. Too loose and your head is a yolk inside an eggshell. Too tight and you’ll get migraines from all the pressure points. Most of today’s helmets have features that allow you to maximize fit.
Most goggles feature fog-resistant double lenses, but the cheap ones are built flat and bent into the frame, creating distortion, which can cause headaches. Invest in optically correct spherical lenses. Polarization? It cuts reflected light, but it can mask ice, too.
We tested out the best backcountry and alpine boots to help you find the best fit for your ski experience.
Dynafit-style tech bindings, like the Radical and the La Sportiva RT, are the only ones that offer a true free pivot, meaning there’s no hardware attached to your boot heel or sole. They have fewer moving parts, ice up less, and require 15 percent less energy from you than other bindings.
For a secure, three-closure fit, try the Infuse snowboard boots.
As backcountry skiing has boomed, so has splitboarding. In the past five years, participation has quadrupled, and companies from Black Diamond to Burton to K2 have tossed their hats into the ring with split-specific gear.
If it’s been a while since you bought telemark or alpine touring gear, you’ll notice that the game has changed quite a bit. Skis that used to be fat are now narrow, almost every new model has some degree of rocker, and Dynafit and Dynafit-style bindings are becoming increasing common at the resort.
The nimble, lightweight Velvet Guru stands head and shoulders above the competition in a park setting.
Traction, bindings, and weight—these are the biggest differentiators. Let’s start with traction. For steep, icy, or rocky terrain, go aggressive with as many underfoot claws in as many locations as you can get, as well as a heel lifter to save your calves on steep climbs.
Like riding in slippers, the Boa Coiler is one comfy boot.
If it’s time for an upgrade, start by answering this question: Do you ski almost exclusively at resorts? The defining characteristic of the ones reviewed here is that they’re built for comfort, not aerobic speed.
Our testers raved about the great energy transfer that the DVa delivers.
When the results were tallied after our on-mountain evaluations, these were our female testers’ favorite planks.
Our Vermont-based test crew started with a field of more than 30 snowshoes and narrowed them down to these three favorites.
Go deeper with our favorite telemark and alpine touring bindings of the year.