Thanks to tough—and 100 percent recycled—fabric on the rear, knees, and ankle cuffs, these weather-resistant pants can handle everything from ice climbing to bushwhacking. patagonia.com…

This is what happens when you get one of the world’s toughest adventurers to help design a multitool. You can open the tool’s two knives with one gloved hand, and there’s a sturdy needle-nose pliers and even a reamer that can bore holes through wood. 8.8 oz;…

HARDCORE MEETS HIP Loud and proud, this oversize job does surprisingly well on sweaty runs, staying put and providing solid protection. Kaenon’s SR-91 lenses (copper polarized here) provide glass-like optics in a shatter-resistant material and rank up there with the elite when it comes to the prized trifecta of acuity,…

Named for the dude who coordinates launches on an aircraft carrier, the AirBoss series is all about multiple timing functions. The Mach 3’s main dial has a 60-minute hand in addition to the 60-second hand, and a rotating bezel for visual countdowns (good for sending skiers out of the…

If you pack a cell—and you know you do—Oakley’s Razrwire lightens the load and keeps you moving. No need to stop hiking or get off the bike to take a call; simply reach up and tap a button to connect to a Bluetooth-enabled phone. Got voice dialing? Tap and talk…

If you’re in training mode, try this low-profile, watch-style monitor, which can track up to nine runs. Moving on up to a triathlon? It’s water-resistant down to 50 meters. Plus the sleek interface is so intuitive that I wore it—and got it—right out of the box.

Why It’s CoolCloudveil rolls a surfeit of nice details into an eight-ounce full-zip jacket made of silky nylon. The fabric is Cloudveil’s own CirrusPlus—a wind- and water-resistant 40-denier ripstop interknit with a lighter 30-denier yarn to give it a soft hand. » It’s quiet. » The collar has a microfleece…

Not only does the ContourHD have some of the coolest features you can find in a helmet (or goggle or handlebar) cam—1080p high-def, a laser-pointing lens leveler, and GPS tagging—but its low-profile design won’t make you look like a robodude. TAGS: compact, mobile…

Get howitzer-like bang for your buck with the Logic. Its functional midweight fabric—a stretchy nylon water-repellent face woven to a soft fleece lining—works for almost any activity from early spring to late fall. The high versatility is married to clean detailing (such as laser-cut zipper openings) normally reserved for…

To cut about a half-pound out of their widest skins—they’re designed specifically for skis 110 millimeters or wider underfoot—Black Diamond has stitched a tough, waterproof nylon panel between strips of skin material. Other benefits we liked: It makes them easier to peel off and reduces a bit of drag…

An easy-to-use tab system makes swapping the Synergy’s four lenses—gray, amber, rose, and clear—a cinch in changing light, and the rubber temples eliminate slippage. www.nerveusa.com…

This high-performance tee fights odor, wicks sweat, and will outlast your passport. www.prana.com…

Why They’re CoolNo matter how hard the cold wind blows, your eyeballs won’t mind, sheltered by removable, round-the-eye foam pieces that close the gap between shades and face. The double-pane poly lenses allow the inner surface to rise to your temperature, so there’s no steaming up. » Wide-range photochromic tinting…

Why They’re CoolYou barely feel these rimless half-ounce wonders, which perform like big wraps. A springy stainless nosepiece and temples support poly lenses. The copper tint, enhanced by polarizing, reveals a splendidly sharp take on reality. » The rearward swoops at the lenses’ outside corners make for good protection from…

A contoured footbed and a soft, neoprene-lined upper make the V-Lite the most comfortable sandal here. And because it has a beefy midsole and snug, one-pull lacing, it also performed well hiking. hi-tec.com…

CROSSOVER ARTIST Don’t mistake these shades for snooky streetwear; the sports bona fides are all here in this elegant blend of style and performance tech. Cleverly concealed sticky pads at the nose and ears, combined with springy nylon frames and temples, kept the Serpent from migrating on sweaty faces. The…

BEST CROSS-COUNTRY RACER Pedaling this nimble featherweight, one tester reported soaring up steeps she normally inches up in granny gear. A freestyle rider doubted the full-carbon beauty could handle a beating, but after a punishing four-hour technical grind, she gave the four-inch-travel Contessa an unqualified thumbs-up—thanks to components like Deore…

We think it’s called the Flow Pant because it transitions easily from the mountain to the bar. Or maybe it’s because it hangs off your body with a loose fit and baggy cargo pockets. Either way, the hard-shell pants are a great choice. thenorthface.com…

The contrast stitching looks cool, but we picked this top because, thanks to its construction (lighter-weight merino on the back and sleeves), it breathes like a champ in the backcountry. smartwool.com…

The acrylic Roman, like all the clothing and accessories from this small, Seattle-based company, is hand-knit in small Balinese villages. spacecraftclothing.com…

Lightly lined with fleece and reinforced in all the right places, the synthetic/leather Exum won the all-purpose award. Supple but durable goatskin won’t crack like hardware store specials. marmot.com…

Wear these wool-and-suede boots with a skirt to show off the Scandinavian-influenced knit collars, which can be rolled down (as pictured) to create warmer-weather ankle boots. salomon-sports.com…

Perforated side panels let out steam nicely, while a hem drawstring, an extra-tall collar, and soft chin padding help seal out the chill. 5.9 oz; merrell.com Bonus: Low-key style is coffee-shop friendly.

Thanks to a double layer of material on the knee, these quick-drying and stretchy nylon pants are up for every-thing from canoeing to climbing. prana.com Bonus: Available in two inseam lengths.

Sperry partnered with the U.S. Sailing Team to create a per-formance racing bootie. Interior mesh panels allow the ankle-high neoprene to drain quickly, while a removable internal toe thong adds extra control on slick surfaces. sperrytopsider.com…

Three rechargeable lithium batteries in each glove power a heating system that relies on sensors to regulate temperature. In warm conditions, the heat stays off; bury your hands during a digger and it kicks in. mountainhardwear.com…

In a galaxy of mostly boring base layers, the 100 percent polyester Esse has a refreshingly cool look. Caveat: It’s the only piece here without any sort of no-stink properties. 686.com…

Cut extra long and packed with 800-fill down for extreme cold, this super-puffy kept us warm in near-zero temps and 30-mph winds on a 12,000-foot-high ridgeline. 2 lbs; 66north.com…

Visible channels woven into the chest and back are designed to wick sweat (check) and, in cooler temperatures, create an insulating air layer (harder to tell). We loved the close fit, but the cut is oddly long in the torso. x-bionic.com…

Old-school hiking sole meets simple, leather oxford style in this classic-looking shoe. The organic-cotton-lined insoles mold to your foot, and there’s enough shock absorption in the midsoles for your daily walk to work. timberland.com…

High Tech They make this classy jacket expensive, but the redesigned, built-in heating panels definitely work. On the high setting, you can get up to six 20-minute blasts of heat in the torso, sleeves, and collar. $800; rossignol.com…

Good for Trail With its offset zipper, textured pattern, and athletic cut, this soft, recycled-polyester puffer has big-city looks. It’s no slouch in the backcountry, though, thanks to 850-fill down, a serious hood, and a DWR coating. 1.2 lbs; nau.com…

Good for Resort Two words: Tricked. Out. The Glenn has everything from a removable powder skirt to a headphone port to pit zips. But here’s the deal: With the exception of the removable (and superfluous) “hiking suspenders,” testers approved of every add-on, especially the hand gaskets with…

There are dozens of leather, waterproof gloves on the market, but none fits as well as the Tangent. Credit the thinner fleece insulation on the palm and heavier, loftier filling on the back of the hand. outdoorresearch.com…

Don’t fret about shorts—a breezy fabric, supportive liner, and pocket, like those on Patagonia’sseven-inch-inseam Long Haul Runners shorts, and you’re out the door. patagonia.com…

City Slick Want a more formal look in a protective package? The Rockaway looks swell with khakis and sports a soft leather upper and gummy rubber sole, between which you’ll find a footbed built for easy all-day cruising. keenfootwear.com…

Layers are key when it comes to summiting peaks. You can drop 20 degrees and gain as much as 6,000 feet in elevation from trailhead to summit. This quick-dry, breathable, mostly nylon top wicks away sweat as you get moving but will also keep you warm when the mercury…

This three-pocket, mostly mesh jersey zips down for maximum cooling. Caution: Avoid wearing Velcro with this—it snags. sugoi.com…

Despite the name, these aren’t just for fishermen. The Brine is a world-class multisport unit with polarized copper lenses and well-placed, low-profile hydrophilic rubber. Costa’s new 580P lens is made of an ultralight poly with glasslike clarity, meaning you get superior optics but can charge hard and not sweat…

Hot Deal With top-shelf synthetic insulation (PrimaLoft Eco), a tough, waterproof outer fabric, and all the creature comforts you could want (including nine pockets, pit zips, a powder skirt, and a goggle chamois), the 4 Pines has all the ingredients of a high-performance, full-featured resort parka. Normally, all this adds…

BLACK DIAMOND‘s SPECIALIST GLOVES, have foam padding to protect the backs of your hands.

Navigate the sunrise in real life with the USB-chargeable LED lights on SAUCONY‘s windproof PROTECTION GLOVES.

For jackets, you can go for either a base layer and a thick, thermal soft shell—like SALOMON‘s STRETCHY SWIFT MIDLAYER HOODY with integrated mitts—or a lightweight shell.

USER-FRIENDLY RIPPER Top pros like Bruce Irons, Joel Parkinson, and Luke Egan all ride Aussie shaper Jason Stevenson’s designs; the 6’5″ 300KW thruster we tested is identical to the one Egan surfs on in competitions. The bottom features a speedy, single-concave shape that transitions into a double-concave section near the…

Though it’s more than a year old, the Jefe, like its Tsangpo-stomping predecessor the Gus, has no equal as a creek and expedition boat. The long waterline, medium chines, displacement hull, and heavily rockered bow allow the boat to accelerate, track through turns, climb out of holes, and get…

TWICE AS FUN, TWICE AS HARD How much do you really trust your paddling partner? How solid is your marriage? The Topo Duo may have the answers. It’s the only two-person whitewater boat in production. A strong paddler can right both the boat and an accompanying novice, but beware: There…

GET UP, STAND UP Last year saw stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) move from the wacky fringe to the pages of Us Weekly, as seemingly every celebrity picked it up. With the fad still on full burn, shapers are racing into the SUP market, which is what makes the C4 special. It…

Like the cushy longboards that initially bore the Bing name, the single-fin Lovebird is gorgeous, with a gloss coat, fabric-inlaid deck, and pigment-colored bottom and rail wrap. But this isn’t some artsy old-school replica. (The brand was relicensed in 2000.) We tested our 9’2″ model in a variety of…

Top Touring Boat Paddle the nearly 18-foot-long Infinity as a day boat and it's fun if a bit cumbersome. Load it and head out for a week or more and it really shines. Serious paddlers looking for a comfy boat will love the Infinity's large cockpit and raised foredeck, which…

When you start gearing up to cling to walls of ice in the dead of winter, it’s no time to skimp, and PETZL‘s versatile and redesigned QUARK ICE TOOLS are a good place to start.

A harness is more than just something to hang by. You’ll want it to be durable with plenty of gear loops for carabiners, like the featherweight (only 11.2-ounce) R-280. Sure, it might look paper-thin, but its strength-dispersing technology uniformly distributes your body weight for maximum comfort.

1. This is simply the most adapt-able winter-specific storm shell we tested. The key is Schoeller’s new waterproof-breathable fabric with c_change technology, a membrane with a polymer structure that opens up when you get hot and contracts when you cool down. Translation: Testers didn’t overheat when their buddies did…

Why It RulesThe Airjet’s two-minutes-flat pitching saved me when I was hustling to beat some sleet: Thread two cross poles and a brow pole through the sleeves, then stake out six points. Done. » The Airjet stood taut as a kettledrum—even under two inches of wet snow. » Thanks to…

Talk about kids in a candy store. Contemplating the 20-surfboard quiver we assembled for Buyer’s Guide testing this year, our wave riders felt as if they’d been given the keys to Wonka’s brand-new surf factory. We had longboards, guns, funboards, thrusters, and fish—yet there was one stick our testers…

Ready to go pro? Then you already know that tricks are for kids—and success hinges on huge air. Enter Dagger’s Crazy 88, our Gear of the Year selection. This boat is a masterly equation of length, width, weight, and volume distribution, all of which pull together when the time comes…

The slow but steady First Need uses a three-stage matrix to draw out and starve viruses. Forcing water through the unit takes time and elbow grease on the pump handle, but the end product is virus-free and ready to quaff, with no need for additional chemical treatment. And because the…

1. The Stratocruiser 25 is a chameleon. It’s stylish enough to wheel inconspicuously through swanky hotels, but still tough enough for epic-trip abuse. After 18,000 air miles and a half-dozen rattling safari drives in South Africa, it posted a perfect unscathed score: no tears, breaks, or blown zips. Credit…

Why It’s CoolCuddling up to the two-pound-two-ounce Sub Kilo definitely took the edge off a few damp, chilly nights in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Two curvy lines stitched down the length of the bag to prevent the 700-fill goose down from clumping worked as billed: No cold spots arose…

1. The Aura is downright spacious (35 square feet), with two doors and two big vestibules. It’s plenty sturdy, easily withstanding 50-mph winds without guylines. And light: The Aura flirts with the four-pound barrier, the two-person freestanding tent’s equivalent of the four-minute mile. 2. Talk about usable space:…

Why It’s CoolThe canister version of MSR’s liquid-fuel SimmerLite shares its twin’s huge burner head, with similar pot supports that rotate into place and double as the feet. The legs endow the WindPro with the second-largest pot platform of all the cookers we tested, and the steadiness of a cast-iron…

1. Remarkable for its smart blend of features, capacity, ergonomics, and durability, this 9.9-pound duffel hits the sweet spot for most travelers. Its shell—420- and 630-denier nylon, with 1,680-denier ballistic-nylon reinforcements at crucial wear points— is a suit of armor. Add a tough back panel, bumper, and wheel…

If you think even a three-pound tent is heavy, but snoozing sans roof seems iffy, the NightHaven is for you. More than a tarp, less than a tent, the shelter sets up with two trekking poles. Lack of ventilation meant the silicone-treated nylon walls got clammy when the NightHaven…

It used to be that sleeping bags’ degree ratings were determined in various ways, so conventional wisdom dictated that you buy a bag with a temperature rating at least 10 to 15 degrees lower than the lowest temperature you’d expect to be camping in. That’s starting to change. For…

LOVABLE ODDBALLWith a slide-in pad replacing ground-side stuffing, the Crystal is one strange bird. But it’s also hosted some of the deepest slumbers of my life. Coziness arrives courtesy of an insulation-layering scheme called Dualmax, which intersperses slabs of Primaloft with batts of 650-fill down. As I flipped in sleep…

We’ve tested plenty of snowshoes with serious bite, and others that are extraordinarily comfy, but what makes the Mountaineer so impressive is how well it performed in both those categories. Thanks in part to two independent toe straps, the binding perfectly cradled every boot we jammed in it, from…

BEST ALL-AROUNDER Pardon our bluntness, but testers were unanimous: This tent has its shit together. How? The weight-to-space ratio is outstanding, the design simple and effective, and the protection bomber. With a quick-pitching hubbed pole design, two doors, and a spacious 36-square-foot interior, the Mesa was the most sought-after tent…

ULTRALIGHT SUMMER BAG You tend to pay more to carry less in the rarefied class of one-pound, down summer sacks. That’s why the barely-over-a-pound Flash is such a surprise: For packability, weight, and warmth it rivals bags that cost much more. And there’s nothing cheap about its silky shell and…

Of all the headlamps we tested, the Lucido TX-1 sends light the farthest (a whopping 345 feet), and its beam never wavered, even over a weeklong back-packing trip, thanks to three AAs. 5.8 oz; mammut.ch…

ULTRALIGHT AND COMPRESSIBLE Testers liked Big Agnes’s almost entirely recycled synthetic sack (the Skinny Fish; $180) just fine but were blown away by the down-filled Zirkel’s warmth-to-packability ratio. Like all the company’s bags, the Zirkel integrates the pad right into the bag via a sleeve on the underside, which, in…

EFFICIENT MOUNTAINEER Our most organized testers especially liked this tough, sensible 1,850-cubic-inch pack. Internal pockets hold snow-safety gear, valuables, and a hydration bladder. Outside, five more: two on the side, one in the lid, one on the hip belt, and one shove-it pocket on the back panel. The ski and…

Nothing is worse than being rudely awakened by rain when sleeping out sans tent, which is why testers had high praise for the 15-degree Shield. For starters, the 800-fill down is wrapped in a proprietary waterproof-breathable fabric that’s nearly as tough as Mammut’s burliest shells. And if it starts…

Ultralight and Packable The Vapor 15 is the lightest 15-degree-rated bag on the market; it stuffs down to the size of a Nerf football—and isn’t much heavier. Unfurl it, though, and you’ll find the high-end, 850-fill insulates like a bag that weighs almost twice as much. Of course, to make…

Swift Sticks Three things we look for in trekking poles: light weight, comfy grip, and easy length adjustment. The new Aergons hit the trifecta. At 17 ounces, they’re respectably light. The mostly cork grip is ergonomic, and the newly designed locking levers are strong and simple to use—even with gloves…

Because it’s two inches wide and has grippy rubber strips for added traction, Gibbon’s Jibline is the perfect slackline for beginners and kids. gibbonslacklines.com…

Testers reached for the burly Vector when they knew they’d be in changing conditions—like atop Mount Elbert, a Colorado fourteener. Spiked rails and a bear claw of points underfoot bit into hard-packed snow and ice. “I never had to take my gloves off when adjusting my shoes,” one tester…

Got a small noggin or narrow face? The multilayer, face-conforming foam and small frame will fit you right. scottusa.com Bonus: Extra-wide outriggers on the strap ensure a snug fit with or without a helmet.

From ripping the steeps at Silverton to carving groomers at Loveland, these twin tips were the ultimate hero skis. Their wood core makes them feel indestructibly stiff while bombing descents, yet their lightweight construction means they climb easily too. 128/98/121, 8.4 lbs; rossignol.com   Bonus: Super stable in crud.  …

With an alpine-style toe piece, a DIN of 13, and a heel lock to prevent an inadvertent switch to touring mode, the Naxo is ideal for aggressive big-mountain skiers. In touring mode, a smartly designed pivoting mechanism saves you energy by mimicking your natural uphill stride. 4.9 lbs; bcaccess.com  …

This lightweight, composite-baseplated binding reacts instantly to commands. With the new Speed Zone strap technology, one pull and the ankle strap cinches tight. Custom-fit the Escapade with tool-free adjustments for strap length and forward lean. burton.com      …

BACKCOUNTRY CHOPS Good for Big Mountain Smooth, light, supple, and quick. Those were the most common words our testers used to describe the Coomba. The 22m sidecut and wood-core board is easy on your legs, and the ski is lightweight enough for hiking or touring. The…