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Don’t let the faux-fur detailing fool you. The winter-specific sole held well on snow and ice, and the suede is 100 percent waterproof. www.hi-tec.com…
YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL Even at a wider 95 mm underfoot, the Sentinel was one of the more dynamic skis in the category. The front of the ski is playful and floats nicely in resort powder, but the Sentinel is all business in the back, where the sidecut and…
This pack is like the diet that promises all the ice cream you want—lose weight with no compromises!—except the Ki works. At slightly more than two pounds, it’s as light as legit packs get, yet the padded hipbelt and rigid polyethylene frame, combined with excellent compression and stability, let…
The Sensor3 is easy to like. It has a slightly wider fit that almost every tester (except those with really narrow feet) raved about. But it’s no slouchy cruiser; despite its comfy fit, it’s one of the stiffest boots in Rossi’s line. TAGS: easygoing, big mountain…
Why They’re CoolDefying their given name, the two-pound-12-ounce Alpine Trails are great warm-weather boots, with breathable all-leather construction and no waterproof lining. » The high-topped uppers fended off whistling-thorn acacia in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve, while protecting my ankles from rocks and (I hoped) mamba bites. Support was excellent for…
Testers dug the Geos for their roomy toe box, flexible and responsive upper, and easy-to-lace liner. Grippy fabric—it feels like a cat’s tongue—in the heel helps keep your foot in place. Be forewarned: These run about a size too big. TAGS: stylish, runs big…
Take the collective experience of a century of Italian bootmakers, add Gore-Tex, and subtract most of the leather and you get this Old World/New World mash-up. It’s a hiking boot with the support to carry a heavy load, and it feels much lighter than its weight suggests. Our feet…
Lightweight Response And for those of you who ride Burton’s EST boards, the company has updated its EST-only CO2 binding. Testers agreed that the new soft-rubber cushions in the highback soak up even more chatter, but they had mixed feelings about the redesigned ankle straps. They’re lighter but also…
NEED FOR SPEEDAt slightly less than two pounds, this no-frills climbing bag doubles as an elegant overnighter. Handy compression straps cinched my sleeping pad and poles to the outside without a lopsided feel—but the Speed holds just over 1,800 cubic inches, so you’ll want to leave the frying pan behind.
RACE READY The brand of choice for over half of the top World Cup ski racers proves it can make planks that arc for weekend warriors, too. The B5i’s capped construction allows for easy turn initiation and release, which is why one tester felt “like an Austrian in a one-piece,…
BEST EVERYDAY PACK Consider the RPM a showcase pack from the less-is-more school of design. Climbers who loathe extraneous doodads will love the lean construction, but so will anyone looking for a simple, lightweight, do-anything hauler. On hikes and even long runs, the padded (but frameless) back panel and well-cushioned…
BASIC BAG If you could turn an old metal lunchbox into a ski pack, it would look like this—a utilitarian, bargain-priced hauler. The 1,647-cubic-inch pack held all the tools we needed for a daylong ski-mountaineering trip, stayed out of the way when we spent a morning making laps at Vail,…
PREFERS TECHNICAL TRAILS The mashed-up name says it all: smear + edge = “smedge.” True to the equation, the Smedge is a serious approach shoe that won’t let you down when the trail gets vertical. Plastic overlays fortify the shoe’s mesh, so it won’t tear. And like a rock shoe,…
Organizers will appreciate the many pockets in this petite daypack. There’s also a hydration sleeve and a bottom pocket for the stow-away rain cover. Despite all these features, it’s (relatively) light and streamlined: The harness system and removable waist belt are supportive but not bulky. 2.7 lbs, 1,500 cu…
Marmot knows how to mold a harness to a woman’s body. The Diva’s hipbelt and shoulder straps conformed to multiple testers’ torsos, and we loved this pared-down pack for long but still fast-and-light hikes. 3.1 lbs, 2,150 cu in; marmot.com…
Why It’s CoolNot everyone can reach a rooftop storage box, and even those who can might not be in the mood to clean-and-jerk gear into place after an epic outing. Enter this hard-shell hatchback add-on. » Mounting is easy—the Terrapin connects with your trailer hitch and has its own taillights.
The quick-cinch laces and trademark toe bumpers are a given for Keen. But what impressed testers most was the warmth-to-weight ratio: The waterproof-breathable Growler is every bit as warm as the Lynx but weighs just a bit more than Columbia’s Omni-Tech. 2.6 lbs; keenfootwear.com…
Urban Hiker Half messenger bag, half backpack: That’s the easiest way to describe this 1,500-cubic-inch urban hauler. With a well-cushioned 15.4-inch laptop pocket and a DWR-coated, splash-resistant flap closure, it’s the perfect pack for biking to work or walking to the coffee shop. Thanks to the same breathable mesh padding…
Like the Sorels and Patagonias, these boots have a metallic lining—aluminum in this case—that reflects heat back to your foot and boosts warmth by about 20 percent. Its lower cut and sneaker-like comfort make it great for day hikes, but you’ll need gaiters if you’re going snowshoeing in powder.
Size, Price: 64 oz, $21Flow Rate: 3*Funk Fighter? NoFilter-Compatible?: YesValve Shutoff?: NoGotta Love: Hang loop for easy dryingBummer: Fills from bottom; bite valve requires big biteSplat Test: Survived *Ratings: 1=Average, 3=Excellent…
Why They’re CoolIf you’ve had double ACL repairs or are minus some meniscus, you could be a candidate for the ultrasupportive 3D Grid Hurricanes. » On a day when my knees verged on mutiny and I detected squawking from strange little muscles that had never made their presence known, I…
LONG-HAUL COMFORT Most runners will either love or hate these flashy kicks on looks alone. But please, don’t be so superficial; there’s grit beneath the glam. Testers loved this shoe’s shock-absorbing heel pad, snug fit, and even flow through toe-off. The Triumph excelled on long, slow, base-building runs; several testers…
SMOOTH OPERATORS Testers loved this shoe’s comfort and smooth heel-to-toe transition. Credit a combination of silicone-based cushioning pads, a stable heel, and a springy midsole compound called MoGo, which we found responsive and highly shock-absorbing. Best for neutral runners to mild pronators. 9.1 oz; brooksrunning.com Bonus: The eco-friendly…
SPEED AND SOUND The Pegasus is like your favorite pair of jeans—soft, comfortable, and versatile enough to wear just about anywhere. And by anywhere, we mean both pavement and slushy trails. Like a true road shoe, its narrow shape and flexy construction inspire speed, especially on flat trails, dirt roads,…
FASTER THAN IT LOOKS “Much livelier than I was expecting” is how one tester described the Manifesto Beater. Sure, this beast features a firm, no-roll heel and rocks-be-damned protection, but it also boasts relatively soft forefoot flexibility, a generously padded tongue, and a responsive fit. “It feels very light given…
If you already have a hydration reservoir and just need a more versatile pack to put it in, go for the Razor and its interchangeable hipbelts. Use the minimalist strap for running with a light load; swap in the padded belt when you cram the pack full for a day…
DIRTMONGER The Wildwoods are designed to work equally well on dirt as on pavement. And while we found the Wildwood isn’t fluid enough for the road, it shined in hilly, rugged terrain. The outsole feels secure in the steeps, while an underfoot protection plate defends against sharp jabs. Ultra freaks,…
Technical Terrain Cross a race flat with a pair of crampons and the resulting mash-up might resemble the X-Talon. Tipping the scale at less than eight ounces, it’s like a slipper with cleats, with a snug fit and low-to-the-ground heel. Although its widely spaced, sticky rubber lugs…
Good for the Road If you’re like the vast majority of runners, you’re looking for a shoe that offers a touch of stability and ample cushioning but don’t want to pay the price in extra weight. Voilà: We give you the Ravenna. Its lean construction (10.1 ounces)…
Flat and Fast If you’re running dry, flat dirt trails, you might as well enjoy road-shoe-like comfort. Here the SyncroFuel XC delivers with a seamless upper and even cushioning—pillowy enough for long, slow miles but light enough to feel fluid at a lung-busting pace. The upper’s secure midfoot wrap held…
Shock Therapy While many shoes are exploring new territory, this one seems to be tending the home fires—an unapologetically traditional, cushy stability shoe that sits high off the ground. But among its megacushioned kind, the Adapt was our favorite. The standard dual-density midsole posting offers overpronators tried-and-true support, and an…
Arguably the most anticipated bike of 2009 (it was kept behind glass at bike industry trade shows last fall), the triathlon/time-trial-specific P4 hosts several radical advancements. To hide the rear brake from the wind, engineers tucked it inside the frame, behind a removable panel. They also designed a wing-shaped bottle…
Mountain Benefit from trickle-down technology with the Hex. It has chunky mountain styling, a removable visor, and the same superior fit (courtesy of the Roc Loc 4 system) featured on Giro’s top-end lids. www.giro.com…
Why It’s CoolThe R2000 is built with Optimo, a proprietary aluminum alloy that Cannondale says is 15 percent stronger than conventional blends. The result: a very durable bike built with less material—this one checks in at 17.5 pounds. It felt pert and spunky as I jammed around my favorite no-mercy…
This lid ups the ante on air conditioning, squeezing in 29 vents with the help of an exoskeleton that protects your skull with minimum bulk. louisgarneau.com…
A SHOT OF ESPRESSO This twitchy Italian racer just misses out on being the lightest bike here, but the weight is well spent. Bianchi added extra material along the drivetrain of this full-carbon frame to produce an all-arounder that excels under the heavy loads of climbs and sprints. Handling is…
Trust us: It’ll make you a better photographer. The simple, intuitive M8.2 demands that you actually turn the aperture ring and shutter-speed dial manually, not just fondle screens. Luddite madness? Or a call for patience and thoughtfulness? The latter, no question. After days of shooting in Vancouver,…
Beyond the bling, the Limited is one serious shoe. The stiff carbon-fiber outsole wraps the heel to stabilize the foot, and a complete pair weighs about as much as the magazine in your hands. scottusa.com…
The price of our favorite tide watch drops by nearly half, putting it within reach of the dirtbag surfers who want it. www.ripcurl.com…
It's nice to see carbon-frame bikes in this price range. But although the cost is a bit de-tuned, the performance certainly isn't. This is the same stiff frame used in Raleigh's top race bikes, and our testers found it surprisingly zippy on the flats and punchy on the climbs. And…
Four two-inch speakers—a pair of twist-off satellites, on three-foot tethers, and a subwooferlike bass unit—make this 40-watt aluminum system bump like a P-Funk track. www.thinkoutside.com…
Utility Single Player If you’re just looking for one generalist and well-priced helmet, the Align’s your lid. It’s not as light, ventilated, or loaded with cool little features as helmets three or more times the price, but it’s easy to adjust, comes with a removable visor, and fit every…
With an anodized-titanium handle swaddled in carbon fiber, XIKAR’s XI 158 EXCURSION knife is a techie’s dream cutter. (888-266-1193, www.xikar.com)…
Ultimate City Bike Lance himself sells these at Mellow Johnny’s, his Austin bike shop. No surprise. This chromoly rig, our top pick here, uses a tried-and-true midcentury French “porteur” design, used to deliver heavy loads swiftly and agilely across Paris for decades. Our 100-mile test (transporting goods all over Portland,…
Lose the chest strap. With a touch of the finger, the 10M takes accurate readings in four to five seconds, twice as fast as other strapless monitors. Don’t look for lap features or data storage, but you do get the usual zone alarms, a stopwatch, and a calorie counter.
Meet your new cross-country training partner. With its integrated GPS receiver, the FORERUNNER 201 ($161) from GARMIN spits out continuous pace data on its widescreen LCD. Input your time and distance goals, and a little animated sprinter lets you know whether you’re really whupping it, or falling behind.
Beneath the waves, this scuba bad boy—an air, nitrox, and gauge computer with electronic compass, four-button operation, and giant matrix display—is king. suunto.com…
How’s this for a pendant? String it around your neck and—no matter the disaster—you’ll always have a half-ounce, 1.8-inch talon handy. buckknives.com…
Named for the speedsters who wear it on the track, TAG HEUER’S FORMULA 1 ($600) is an all-around performer, even away from the asphalt. This rugged Swiss Miss serves up easy-to-grasp ridges on the crown, a unidirectional bezel, and a 200-meter depth rating for fumble-proof visibility on land and sea.
If you’re heading way off the grid (think Nunavut) and need real-time weather data, invest in BRUNTON’S ATMOSPHERIC DATA CENTER PRO ($249). The handheld instrument pulls in 24-hour trend graphs for temperature, barometric pressure, and altitude. Beam the data to your PC via an optional infrared receiver ($49).
ALL-WEATHER BADASS Digicam designers must not get out much; the 790 SW is one of only two made to scoff at the elements. (The other is Olympus’s even tougher, fancier, pricier 1030 SW.) Rubber gaskets seal out dust and render the camera waterproof to ten feet down—a feature we tested…
Ideal for backcountry scoping, the Infinity features rugged, powerful optics. With a durable yet light-weight chassis, it’s primed for all conditions. 8.5×45; bushnell.com…
Big. And burly. With its roomy grip, double-pointed aluminum blade, and virtually unbendable shaft, this was our favorite shovel. 40 in extended, 29 in collapsed, 1.8 lbs; life-link.com…
Super-zoom digicams have come into their own. Check out the ten-meg 565’s specs: RAW shooting, exposure lock, built-in image stabilization to reduce image blur, a 20x zoom that stretches from 26mm to a ridiculous 520mm, to name just a few of its SLR-like capabilities. Over a week in Mexico,…
An upgrade to Minox’s proven, staff-favorite HG line, the powerful APOs deliver great edge-to-edge color quality in a tough but lightweight magnesium package. But that don’t come cheap! 8.5×43; minox.com…
Disproving conventional wisdom that gray lenses make for a flat, blah view, Maui Jim’s high-tech PolarizedPlus2 lenses add contrast and depth to reveal colors in all their throbbing glory. The optically ground glass yields superb clarity and detail, with a dark tint for searing brightness. And the oversize frames provide…
Why It’s CoolThe Z1’s silver plastic body oozes style—and garners envious looks on the trail. That said, the beauty is beyond skin-deep. » At its highest resolution, the 3.2-megapixel Z1 will reel off five frames in less than five seconds. And when I took lower-res shots of a friend mountain-biking,…
VERSATILE, AFFORDABLE Lose your glasses every other month? Don’t be embarrassed. Just buy these bargain shades and stop losing your money too. You get pink/red photochromic lenses that are good to go all day, and detailing like an adjustable metal nosepiece, sticky rubber where you need it, and antifog vents…
Slap Happy This watch’s fumble-free solution to recording your splits: Smack it! The slap-sensitive face works great (and is especially useful when wearing the watch under long sleeves). Plus, the enormous display is very easy to read. Note: Accidental bumps can trigger the timer, and the wrist strap is not…
Sample the fun, colorful prints—think hula girls and wine bottles—of PATAGONIA’s fast-drying CAPILENE SILKWEIGHT BOXERS. (800-638-6464, www.patagonia.com)…
Straight to Video Annoyed by menus, toggles, and buttons with inscrutable little symbols? You won’t find them here. Swing the lens arm up and this deceptively high-powered camera is ready for action. Separate buttons allowed us to take video and stills without changing modes, and by swiveling the lens unit…
This no-nonsense Canadian company specializes in “practical high performance”—a quality exemplified by the generically named but brilliantly engineered Rain Jacket. I stayed comfortably dry while cross-country skiing in a wet snowstorm, thanks to highly breathable eVent fabric and spare but effective features, like a huge chest pocket and a…
The iPad adds 3G connectivity to the debut version’s wi-fi so you can Web-browse, watch movies, or read the new issue of your favorite outdoor magazine from your car or a park bench. No, it won’t replace your laptop just yet, but in our go-everywhere testing, it lived up to…
Meet one of this summer’s best road shoes: The mostly mesh upper keeps your dogs cool and dry, even when the rest of you is melting. 11 oz; www.pearlizumi.com…
Get superior optics in a pocket-friendly package with this super-sleek palm-size model, updated this year for improved light transmission at dawn and at dusk. 8×20; www.zeiss.com…
Despite the name, there’s nothing feminine about this hard-riding, go-anywhere rig—except the women’s fit, of course. The racers among us loved the aggressive position, which made for fast handling on tight trails but still provided plenty of hookup in back on loose, sketchy climbs. On one log-riddled trail, a…
Why They’re CoolNative freshens the familiar in both substance and style. Trip on the two-tone nylon frame: It’s dark on top and fades to a see-through pale-ale color you almost want to drink. » The design stretches the slender temples, with a beguiling little S-curve at the end. The temples…
VIKING-TESTEDThis is virtually the national label of Iceland—and for good reason. When it’s raining daggers in Reykjavík, this two-layer piece keeps you bone-dry, thanks to an eVENT waterproof-breathable membrane that bars rain and wicks away perspiration. Soft fleece lines the collar and pockets, and a zip-off hood moves with you…
In spite of the daunting name (note to Garneau: Don’t let the lab guys name things), these shorts work quite simply. The stout carbon-infused Lycra provides plenty of support but still wicks moisture on the hottest days. louisgarneau.com…
HIGH-PERFORMANCE HIPSTER Our guarantee: With this jacket you’ll either be the best-dressed guy in camp or the driest sidewalk cruiser in town. The Sray is unabashedly unlike any storm shell we’ve seen before, and that’s why we love it. With a slim cut and head-turning plaid pattern borrowed from Helly…
When is cotton not cotton? When it’s treated with Schoeller 3XDry, like the fabric used in this shirt and others in Woolrich’s new 3XDry collection, making it water-resistant, odor-resistant, and quick to dry. woolrich.com…
Shades in this price range are usually ill-fitting or outfitted with crappy lenses. Not so with the Alpe. The ear pads are adjustable and the polycarbonate lenses are surprisingly crisp. tifosioptics.com…
ALL-WEATHER PERFORMER Unlike most soft shells, which will keep you dry and comfy 90 percent of the time, the ultra-stretchy Tremor won’t wilt when conditions get sloppy. While OR won’t officially call the Tremor waterproof, our testers will. Thanks to a Gore Windstopper membrane and taped seams, the Tremor bested…
MOST VERSATILE New Gore-Tex Pro Shell fabric, which is lighter, more comfortable, and more durable than the company’s former top-of-the-line stuff (XCR), is one of the season’s standout innovations. The key is a softer inner fabric that works great when worn over a base layer. In the La Grave, Marmot…
The ubiquitous brimmed hat, done right: The Yukon’s understated style, chunky wool knit, and a band of fleece lining make this best in class. coalheadwear.com…
Wherever you roam—on the sea under a blazing sun or in the forest on an overcast day—these polarized green-gray lenses, with a gradient that’s darker up top, let your eyes relax and enjoy the scenery. revo.com…
With duck down inside and houndstooth graphics outside, this puffy fared well during cold days on the slopes and in town. roxy.com…
ONE FOR THE ROAD The worst highway glare disappears with these polarized, photochromic lenses. The reddish tint is even called Driver. And comfort is king here. With ultraslim nylon temples and barely-there frames, the Maestrale is so lightweight you forget you’re wearing it. It sorta disappears, too: You don’t notice…
ROCKET LAUNCHER This lively, full-carbon ride has about as much zip and stiffness as anyone could hope for, thanks to a true monocoque build and high-grade carbon fiber throughout. By mixing Shimano’s top-shelf Dura-Ace and midrange Ultegra components, Felt delivers true race-worthy performance while keeping the price down. The cutout…
BIG PROTECTION The anorak is back (also see the Triumph, below)—and we like it. When a group of testers got stuck in a downpour on a mountain-bike tour in Utah’s Abajo Mountains, the only guy who stayed bone-dry was the one in the Alpha SL anorak. Credit the material, Gore’s…