Gear
ArchiveOutside magazine, March 1995 Beginning Climbing Equipment By Greg Child Like many proud mothers, mine saved the mementos of her son’s teenage years. She kept my report cards, my class photos, even my first collection of climbing gear. Vintage 1970, it’s a primitive rack…
A mile beneath the churning Atlantic lay the Central America and in its rotting hold a cache of wealth unimaginable: thousands of priceless gold coins, bags of gold dust, bars of solid gold. A fortune for the taking, as Tommy Thompson saw it. His taking.
Cycling Special, March 1997 The Best New Mountain Bikes By Reid Flemming When it comes to buying a mountain bike, an old aphorism gets turned on its ear. He who hesitates gains. With innovation focused exclusively on the high end, last year’s…
Outside magazine, January 1998 Review The Other Stuff Leedom Limit Snowboard Helmet THE STREAMLINED HOME GYM | ESSENTIALS | THE OTHER STUFF | BOOKS Leedom…
Family Vacations, Summer 1997 The Tenderfoot’s Almanac Tents and trails, guides and grub, and everything else you need to put one foot in front of the other by Peter Shelton Walk This Way Backpack…
Outside magazine, February 1996 Buying Right: Something Extra for the Road By Bob Howells Once you’ve got your travel bag, you’re just a few gizmotchies away from becoming a well-honed traveling machine. Start with something to hold your shampoo et al. in style.
Outside magazine, May 1996 Backpacking: McHale Inex By Mike Randolph An expedition backpack is the thing for hauling gear to and from base camp, but what about the day hikes you want to take from there? The big pack is overkill, and an extra…
Outside Magazine, 1999 Annual Travel Guide Gear to Go Skiing Essentials Barriers against the chill and sticks to make you fly By Stuart Craig HATS AND HELMETS ———————— Skiing is the ultimate head game, and how…
Review, August 1997 Buying Right: The Maximum Surfer Surfing may seem the most minimalist of sports, but a few extras are worth considering, if only to ensure you do it safely — and stylishly. By John Stein Surfboard…
Outside magazine, February 1998 Review: Getting Your Feet Wet Scuba essentials to serve aquatic novices and deep-sea experts alike By John L. Stein SCUBA ESSENTIALS | BUYING RIGHT | THE OTHER…
Outside magazine, April 1996 Essentials: Boot Gear Basics By Douglas Gantenbein Leather, alone or combined with synthetic fabric, remains the best footwear material known–durable, breathable, and comfortable. But it absorbs water, and water dries leather out and leaves damaging salt and grit behind. So…
Outside magazine, October 1996 Equipage: Lead Us Not Into Titanium Grant Petersen, messiah to cycling Luddites, unveils his latest low-tech creation By Weston Kosova In May 1995, Grant Petersen scrawled three words in his diary: “Time to panic.” For six months,…
Outside magazine, March 1996 Prescriptions: Sniffing Out Nose Strips By Sara Corbett When a handful of NFL players started sporting adhesive strips across their noses a couple of years ago, it seemed like little more than a football-field fad. Today Breathe Right nasal…
Outside’s Annual Travel Guide, 1999/2000 GEAR TO GO PACK IT UP, MOVE IT OUT CONVERTIBLES There’s really just one reason to get a convertible—a bag that morphs from suitcase to backpack: to save your body on long-haul carries.
Cycling Special, March 1997 The Best New City Bikes By Alan Coté You could use your mountain bike to ride to work, but then why take a local bus when you can hop the express? Frankly, a fat-tire machine just isn’t designed,…
Outside Magazine, November 1994 Buying Right: Alpine Extremity-Warmers By Bob Woodward Check in with any eight-person ski-school class: Two students’ extremities are warm and limber, those of two others are stiff with cold, and four pupils are wiggling their fingers and toes thanks to…
Wet as You Wanna Be Gear: All the Right Stuff for Rafting By Steve Shimek Waterproof bags Everyone and everything gets totally drenched on any self-respecting whitewater trip. If you want to keep the snacks and the wallet dry, a waterproof bag…
Outside magazine, March 1998 Review: Bicycles Built for One Amid the infinity of selections, eight very particular breeds for very particular cyclists By Alan Coté BICYCLES BUILT FOR ONE | AND WHILE YOU’RE…
Outside magazine, May 1996 The $800 Ride of Your Life By Gordon Black As you move up from your entry-level mountain bike, your investment can bring tangible returns. The more money you spend, the lighter and more responsive the frame, the smoother and more…
Outside Magazine, 1999 Annual Travel Guide Gear to Go Trekking Gadgets Life on the trail just got a bit easier By Robert Earle Howells CLEAN UP ———— Bringing along your own sanitation department minimizes the risks…
Review, August 1997 Surf Tools Eight great ways to catch a summer wave By John Stein A Kayak That’s at Home on Any Surfer’s Turf Surf kayaking is the ugly stepsister of wave riding: How can you…
Dispatches, February 1998 ENTREPRENEURSHIP Finally, a No-Flip Lid Introducing the guaranteed-to-stay-put SpeedVisor By Shane Dubow Five years ago, Scott Oxman had a problem. He had fair skin, you see, and whenever he indulged his favorite outdoor passions, his baseball…
Outside magazine, April 1996 Camping: Guardian Plus Purifier By Glen Randall Sometimes you just need a water filter; sometimes you need a full-blown purification system. Now, SweetWater’s Guardian Plus lets you decide on the fly. The Guardian Plus comes in two parts: the Guardian…
Outside magazine, September 1995 Books: Our Just Deserts By Miles Harvey Our Just Deserts Blood Orchid: An Unnatural History of America, by Charles Bowden (Random House, $23). “We may be the real endangered species,” declares Bowden, the megavolt social critic and…
Outside magazine, May 1994 Buying Right: Road-Bike-Worthy Accessories By John Lehrer Don’t swing a leg over the top tube of your new road bike just yet–there are some accessories you shouldn’t be without. Browse the aisles of the shop while your bike gets…
Outside’s Annual Travel Guide, 1999/2000 GEAR TO GO GEARING UP FOR THE SLIPPERY SLOPE The state of the alpine art continues to bring once-exotic concepts to the fore: Witness short trick skis, racy boots and bindings, and smart…
Outside Magazine, November 1994 Telemark Skiing: The Mountain Noodle By Ted Dean Telemark skis have evolved from vermicelli-narrow to lasagna-broad, giving telly skiers access to the arena of powder and crud that used to sink skinny skis in their tracks. The downside: On wide…
Outside magazine, May 1996 Sense and Sensibility Those who know the thrill of a food chase wouldn’t dare call this flyover country By Randy Wayne White On a night when much interaction with dogs and raccoons was anticipated, Shane Groves and…
Outside magazine, Travel Guide 1997-1998 Bored? Board! The time has come to ride wide By Rob Story BORED? BOARD! | DETAILS, DETAILS | GEARING UP | ESSENTIAL GEAR…
The Magnificent Seven Gear: Optics By Douglas Gantenbein When you’re standing atop Glacier Point looking out over Yosemite Valley, you’re going to wish you had the best optics to enjoy and take home the view. Canon’s new ES6000 ($1,699) is…
Review, May 1997 Seaworthy Kayaks The best craft for cruising, from intimate inlets to wide-open seas By Jonathan Hanson Eddyline Merlin XT Exploration just isn’t what it used to be, what with the continents having been mapped and the…
Outside magazine, May 1996 Buying Right: Function, Fashion, and the Fat Tire By Gordon Black Mountain bikers, you’ve probably noticed, are different from road cyclists in just about every respect except the number of wheels under them. This is especially true in matters…
Outside’s Annual Travel Guide, 1999/2000 GEAR TO GO STYLIN’ STUFF FOR BOARDHEADS Snowboarding’s gone legit, with a participation growth curve rising steeper than Corbet’s Couloir. And while the wheres and whens of your first powder turn of the…
Outside magazine, October 1995 Essentials: Protect That Shell By Bob Howells A durable water-repellent finish on your shell is like a wax job on your car: It’ll bead water when new, and when it wears out what’s underneath will suffer. That means your jacket’s…
Outside magazine, February 1998 Review: From Heaven to Hell Whether swamping through the jungle or easing into St. Moritz, here’s the only baggage you need By Robert Earle Howells BAGGAGE…
Outside magazine, April 1996 Cycling: BikeE By Bob Howells That the BikeE semirecumbent bike looks something like a chopper with pedals is not entirely ironic. Sure, one is about staid utilitarianism, the other mostly about outlaw showiness. But chopper riders, beneath their bearded-and-tattooed…
Outside magazine, December 1995 Gearing Up: Extra Sidecut, Hold the Stiffness Equipment for the entry-level rider By Susanna Levin To warp an old axiom, good snowboards come to those who wait. If you’ve held out until this season to take up the…
Review, July 1997 Running Shoes for the Happy Median Do-it-all trainers that don’t skimp on performance By Roseann Hanson Aside from a few delusional moments, perhaps, the average runner isn’t training for the Eco-Challenge or intending to…
Outside’s Annual Travel Guide, 1999/2000 GEAR TO GO BACKCOUNTRY WARES For the snowy yonder APPAREL Learn this name: Schoeller. This fabric company’s blends are water-repellent, quick-drying, breathable, wind-resistant, and amazingly durable. Built from Schoeller’s Dryskin Extreme, a…
Review: Hardware and Software, January 1997 Buying Right: Wraparound Ski Shades By Andrew Tilin No ski sunglasses will liberate you from wearing goggles, but wraparounds get close. Now it really has to be dumping before I exchange a pair of cool specs for…
Gear Up: All the right stuff for watersports Some things are meant to be taken littorally: Part of putting together the perfect aquatic adventure is keeping the family safe, dry, and happily occupied. Here are our…
Home Bases, Summer 1998 Why Own When You Can Rent? Your own front porch, space to spread out — everything you need except for room service Nantucket, Massachusetts Nantucket, with its rose-covered saltbox cottages and cobblestone streets,…
Are We There Yet? Gear: All the Right Stuff for Car-Camping By Douglas Gantenbein Cots and sleeping bags Forget sleeping on the ground: set up a couple of L.L. Bean’s Allagash folding cots ($42), made by Byer of Maine. These have…
Review, May 1997 Buying Right: A Few Essentials for the Well-Prepared Paddler By Jonathan Hanson Since sea kayak accessories don’t change fashion with the seasons, you’ll be owning your gear for a good long time. Choose wisely. Paddles The paddle…
Outside magazine, May 1996 Fishing: Vagabond Travel Fly Rod By Jerry Gibbs It’s inevitable: you’re biking beside a mountain stream or visiting the in-laws on Flathead Lake when a monstrous trout–the Hulk Hogan of salmonids–ghosts to the surface right in front of you.
Outside magazine, February 1996 Travel Luggage That Can Take It–All Rugged duffels, gear bags, and convertible packs that hold everything you think you might need By Bob Howells No one is more obnoxious than the travel geek who shows up for a…
Outside magazine, October 1995 Buying Right: World Bands on the Run By Manrico Delcore (with Mary Beth Debicki) If the one top 40 station your AM radio will pick up in the middle of nowhere has soured you on audio entertainment in the hinterlands,…
Outside magazine, February 1999 Review: Camcorder? What Camcorder? Palm-size digital video cameras let you play tourista without looking the part By Brent Hurtig BAGGAGE | BUYING RIGHT |…
Outside magazine, April 1996 Buying Right: Satellite Navigation for Civilian Budgets By Jerry Gibbs Even when your hiking trips don’t call for serious orienteering, it can be comforting to have a guide with area-specific savvy. But then, a handheld global positioning system (GPS)…
Outside magazine, December 1995 Stocking Stuffers By Amy Goldwasser and Andrew Tilin Grivel G10 Finally, a crampon that won’t complicate your climb. The Grivel G10 is as friendly to gloved fingers as they get. Fully adjustable without tools, the ten-point G10 attaches…
Outside magazine, September 1996 Accessories: Mental Training Wheels Michael Kessler Too busy or too shy to narrate your own visualization tape? Try a prerecorded version from the Monroe Institute in Faber, Virginia. The nonprofit company offers nine Fitness and Sports tapes ($13, 800-541-2488) that…
Outside magazine, June 1994 Technology: It’s a Bike and You Row It. RowBike. Get it? By Laura Billings “You can see the countryside on a regular bike, but you can’t get a total-body workout,” shouts inventor Scott Olson, 35, as he loads…
Outside Magazine, November 1994 The Shape of Ski Gear to Come High-performance skis, boots, and bindings that set a new precedent By Seth Masia Skiers seem to buy their gear in some sort of time warp. Consider what can happen in five…
Gear Up: All the right stuff for tots To learn what it’s like to travel with a toddler, try fiddling first with a time bomb. It’s thrilling. Then…boom! “Will.” “Won’t.” “Yes.” “No.” “Take me!” “Go away!”…
Family Vacations, Summer 1996 Plug In and Turn On Electronics that will add some serious voltage to your summer vacation By Lisa Twyman Bessone You’ve packed the sportsgear. Sunscreen and bug goo? Check. So what’s missing? Well, cameras that capture those…
Camp Outs, Family Vacations 1998 Backpacks To Grow On By Jonathan Hanson 1. Little hikers from three to six can walk farther if they feel they’re part of the team. Give them an L.L. Bear rucksack…
Family Vacations, Summer 1996 Staying Safe: Eye Protection Fat-tire trails teem with pebbles, dirt, and low-hanging tree branches-all of which can wind up in your eyes. Invest in a good pair of sport sunglasses to protect you and yours from these trail hazards, and specify…
Destinations, May 1997 The Truth About Hats and Togs Where to get great deals on misnamed chapeaux By Bob Payne Keep this one under your hat: panama hats aren’t made in Panama. They acquired that name because most are exported…
Hardware and Software, February 1997 Buying Right: Saltwater Fly-Fishing Tackle By Donovan Webster As I gear up for prime saltwater fly-fishing season–when tarpon begin rustling from murky depths and migrate inland, making themselves all too available–I’m reminded of my grandfather. He was among…
Outside magazine, August 2000 Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 NEXT STOP, MURDER LAKE Beating…
Outside magazine, September 1994 Paddling: NE14 Kayaks? By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and John Alderman) The Bankoh Kayak Challenge, the 32-mile open-water paddle from Molokai to Oahu, can’t be called a kayak race. Of the 81 entrants last May, all but four chose surf skis,…
Review, April 1997 Solo Shelters: Tents for the Compulsive Weight-Watcher By Doug Gantenbein Despite its dramaturgic lonely-guy feel, there are a few advantages to camping solo. First, you don’t have to bathe as often. And you can travel much more lightly; solo…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Extras: Battery of Choices Michael Kessler Disposable or rechargeable, no battery is particularly nurturing to the environment. For stereos and shortwave radios, you’ll need typical cylindrical cells. Disposable alkalines are most cost efficient, and since they no longer contain hazardous…
Outside magazine, October 1996 Simply Sophisticated Cameras Single-lens reflex cameras give photograhers of all abilities the power to choose By Glenn Randall In this age of drive-thru espresso stands and the world news minute on local TV, it’s no surprise that…
Outside magazine, November 1995 Skis That Take a Turn for the Better Between hourglass, fat, and all-mountain boards, there’s an easy way down every run By Glenn Randall I’m not sure whether you can peg it to a dip on the growth…
Outside magazine, June 1999 THE OTHER STUFF Garmin NavTalk From all-in-one survival tools to in-line skates that turn into around-town boots, combination devices are the over-burdened outdoorsman’s newest friend. One of the most clever…
Outside magazine, Travel Guide 1997-1998 Sea Kayaking LONG CAYE, BELIZE There’s a certain queasy feeling that comes from bobbing up and down in three-foot swells while ensconced in a slightly wobbly sea kayak. It’s not quite seasickness, but it’s close enough to…
Camp Outs, Family Vacations 1998 These Boots Were Made For Mileage By Jonathan Hanson CAMP OUTS Happy Trails From an all-day jaunt to a weeklong…
Family Vacations, Summer 1996 Essential Gear: Dry Bags There’s nothing quite like shimmying into your sleeping bag after a hard day of paddling, only to find (yech!) that it’s damp. Whether the vessel is a raft, canoe, or kayak, whatever you pack-clothes, cameras, food, tent…
Outside magazine, July 1994 Buying Right: No-Hands Hydrators By John Lehrer Drinking plenty of fluids during prolonged exercise is essential to performance and safety, but toting a sufficient supply can be inconvenient: Scout canteens or a couple of water bottles just don’t carry well on an…
Hardware and Software, February 1997 Essentials: Piscine Temptations By Donovan Webster Ah, the allure of saltwater fly-fishing: Whether you’re hitting a reedy inland tide pool or throwing shooting taper lines into the deep blue, you can cast all day without a bite, content…
Outside Magazine, 1999 Annual Travel Guide Gear to Go Travel Clothes Pack only fabrics that wick, dry fast, and refuse to wrinkle By Robert Earle Howells SHIRTS ——— Three great and distinct achievements in polyester coolness:…
Outside magazine, December 1995 Boots That Fight Cool-Guy Conformity A new pair of Sorels is for clomping and surviving and kicking stupid people, says our man from Minnesota By Garrison Keillor In my youth in Minnesota, it was definitely not cool to…
Camping Special, April 1997 The Right Duff Are you sure you know what it takes to pick the perfect campsite? By Brad Wetzler In Plato’s realm of ideals, you’d find the perfect campsite floating in the ether, next to a…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Pack Up, Head Out, Zoom In Camcorders, CD players, even boom boxes built for the wilds By Andrew Tilin Forgive me, o Thoreau, Abbey, fellow hikers and campers, for I have navigated the wilderness with Walkman and camcorder…
Outside magazine, October 1996 Technology: Advanced Photo System By Glenn Randall If you want to avoid the mystery in the trip to pick up your prints, consider a completely new photographic format: the Advanced Photo System. Developed by the Big Five–Canon, Fuji, Kodak,…
Outside magazine, March 1996 Buying Right: Pavement Protection By Andrew Tilin The potential for skin to mix with pavement when you’re skating is worth a few ounces of prevention. And nowadays, we really are talking ounces: Wrist guards no longer…