Gear
ArchiveI looking for an internal fre pack that will handle solo weekends, and group week-long outings, but most importantly, comfortably fit my petite (105-pound), feminine fre without breaking the bank. What do you suggest? y Walsh Tallahassee, Florida
Recently a couple friends and I attempted a 14-mile backpacking trip alongside a Class II-III river, with 90 percent of our time spent boulder-hopping, the remaining 10 percent waterborne. Unfortunately, we only managed to go three miles before the small recreational rafts we had to transport our packs got ripped up by the rocks and all the bushwhacking. In light of this, do you know of any companies who sell floating backpacks? Or is there some kind of easy-to-pack inflatable for transporting gear through water. We'd like to complete the se trek next year, but need a better way to float our backpacks. Travis Roseville, California
I'm looking for a recommendation for hydration packs as Christmas gifts for my brother and his girlfriend. They live in the Bay Area and do a lot of outdoor activities such as trail biking, hiking, and climbing. Would you recommend the se model for each of them, or different ones? Verna Washington, DC
I have a bit of a problem. I must have put my pack away a little wet after a spring backcountry ski trip and now all the waterproof coating is coming off the inside of the pack. I have a siliconized nylon pack cover that I will probably use for an upcoming Sierra trip and sprayed the outside of the pack with Nikwax. I also always use a garbage bag inside of the pack to protect my gear. Do you think the pack is done and I need to bite the bullet and buy another? Or do you have any suggestions of ways to fix it? Tim Newport Beach, California
Yes, as an overpronate runner weighing in at 210 pounds, I probably should take up a less impact-prone sport. But I'm still running, so I need some shoes with torsional stability and impact-absorbing capability. For the past year, I have been running in a pair of Brooks Beasts, which have worked pretty well, but not perfectly (Spenco insoles helped some). Can you recommend several running shoes that are suited for a runner of my build? Charles New York City
Your Gearness, I planning to drive cross-country this summer, hiking and camping wherever the road takes me. For the driving portion, I was thinking of investing in a GPS system to help with the "figuring-out-where-the-heck-I-am" moments. Do you have any advice as to the value of GPS for this? (I will not need it for hiking, using the old-fashioned technique of map, compass, and trail blazes) Realistically, I'd like to stay under $300, but will go higher for an exceptional device—one that does the navigating, driving, AND laundry. Charles New York City, New York
On extended backpacking trips, does it make sense to pack both a soft shell and a waterproof jacket? Or just take along the rain jacket? Also, since I come from Europe, I'm a little bit confused about what exactly cross-country skiing is. I know what telemarking is (those graceful people on the piste) and also langlauf (with the thin skis), but what is cross-country? Karl Cottenie Leuven, Belgium
With the right armor—either built in or as a high-tech housing—the new digital cameras can take the hits and keep your vision alive
Drift off under the stars in a featherweight sleeper designed for balmy summertime escapes
The latest road runners fit better, feel faster, and work almost as hard as you do
Paddling a Norwegian river may be a walk in the park for explorer Børge Ousland, but it's a major triumph for his son
We know at least one sponsored paddler who was so smitten with the new RIOT AIR 45 that he defected to the company. And why not? The six-foot Air uses its surfboard-like bow and two removable inch-long fins along its hull to generate more speed on waves and, therefore, more…
Expedition: Kayaking Nepal ONLINE SLIDESHOW For more photos and an audio interview with Sean Glaccum, CLICK HERE The Bhote Kosi Team: Sean Glaccum, Joe Carberry, Andy Sommer Location: The Khumbu Region of Northeast Nepal Objective: Kayak the Bhote Kosi and Imja Khola Duration:…
The dream is a brand-new river route through a vast, primordial, wildlife-rich wonderland on the verge of environmental salvation. The reality is what happens when a small band of marginally prepared adventurers attempts the 400-mile first descent of Mozambique's mighty Lugenda—a journey past kayak-eating crocs, out-of-nowhere waterfalls, and a multitude
Long overshadowed by poly-based pile, a more athlete-friendly, itch-free wool is back-and everywhere
Drawn to the backcountry? With the new wave of alpine touring gear, freedom is just beyond the ropes
The next wave of night-vision and sports-lighting systems equips you to explore more—and sleep less
Ever since Chanel models toted ice axes down the Paris runways last year, fashionistas have been looking to the REI racks for inspiration. And while this latest crop of haute outerwear may not suffice on a Chugach Range overnighter, it'll certainly keep you sleek and toasty for a brisk stroll this fall—while giving your fleece a well-deserved rest.
DOWN TO EARTH MUSIC: IT'S A HIGH, LONESOME WORLD COMPILED FOR the International Year of the Mountains, the ROUGH GUIDE TO THE MUSIC OF THE ALPS, together with companion CDs from the Himalayas and the Appalachians (World Music Network, each), are the first to finally unite Krishna Das…
Kayaking, biking, hiking and gawking along the wild west's farthest shores
Thanks to smart design and engineering, today's tents deliver high-altitude performance at a low-elevation price
Dispatched to the annual Gearapalooza on the banks of the Great Salt Lake, our man returns with a vision of next year's swag.
230 Miles, 28 days, countless castles, and a giant snag—one family's transformative journey by kayak down the Guadalquivir River
The tumultuous, rolling waters off british columbia's haida gwaii lead to eerie totems of the past
To sort through this season's trail-runner bounty, mix equal parts rugged design and motivational psychology
Most families plan one big blowout vacation each summer—which still leaves a lot of summer left to enjoy. Our advice: Think weekends. Our seven getaways are active enough to keep older kids entertained, yet won’t be daunting for the younger ones. And they’re close to major cities, so you won’t…
REMEMBER WHEN SUNGLASSES served only to dial back the squint? Today’s featherweight specs perform a veritable OSHA list of functions: they reduce eyestrain; protect against ultraviolet, infrared, and wind; fend off dust, debris, and bugs; and block out glare. Alas, no single pair of shades will save you from all…
Up a creek? Find the right trip—raft, sea kayak, or canoe—and the right adventure level for your family.
THE LAST AMERICAN MAN BY ELIZABETH GILBERT (Viking, $25) TO MEET EUSTACE CONWAY is to be dazzled. Here’s a man who stalked, killed, and dressed the deer whose skin he wears as pants; who rode a horse clear across America; who dines on roadkill and sleeps…
Love, War, and Circuses The Age-Old Relationship Between Elephants and Humans BY ERIC SCIGLIANO (Houghton Mifflin, $24) THERE ARE LOTS of elephant books out there, ranging from the cute to the clinical, but Eric Scigliano’s is the first to take a careful look at the human-elephant…
Spread brilliant images of your adventures across the wide-open spaces on your walls with the latest generation of photography's technological wonders
The Cadence of Grass by Thomas McGuane (Knopf, $24) A HEARTY WELCOME-HOME: After a decadelong foray into nonfiction, Thomas McGuane returns to Storyville with a tale of familial strife and kidney theft played out against Montana’s sweetgrass valleys. The Cadence of Grass, McGuane’s first…
Camp overnight or camp all week. We've got the gear to let you go fast and light under blue skies or gray.
Hop on (HUH?), rev up (WHAT?!), and take a trip (I can't HEAR YOU!) deep into the hillbilly heart of West Virginia, where gas-huffin' ATV motorheads churn through the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area—a private preserve devoted to the joys and sorrows of four-wheeling. (ARRRRGHHH!)
CHERRY Poets on the Peaks: Gary Snyder, Phillip Whalen and Jack Kerouac in the Cascades, by Jon Suiter (Counterpoint Press, ) illuminates these beats’ little-documented time tending fire lookouts in the north Cascades—summer pockets of productive A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard BY SARA WHEELER (Random…
In our lifetime, the outdoors has been reinvented by visionaries who opened new worlds for explorers, athletes, travelers, and dreamers. And the adventure is just getting under way—so take a closer look at the bright minds creating the next frontier. Jake Burton, son Timmy, and Ruby the retriever at…
ONCE THERE WAS A WORLD WITHOUT SNOWBOARDING. A world where mountain biking was a strange and obscure cult, kayaking fiendishly inaccessible. A world without fleece vests, single-walled mountaineering tents, down sleeping bags, or GPS. In fact, until the late seventies—around the time this magazine was born—the universe of outdoor recreation…
To film Valhalla, the cinemaniacs at Teton Gravity research went to great lengths—of rope, that is
When outfitting yourself for desert or tropics, you no longer need to choose between protecting your epidermis and sweltering or going skimpy and inviting melanoma. New togs of tightly woven, highly sun-protective fabrics combined with built-in screen doors now reconcile coverage and comfort. RailRider’s Eco-Mesh Shirt Pants, and…
THE SNOW GEESE Art Brewer (The Surfer’s Journal, ), The second volume in the Masters of Surf Photography series, collects more than 30 years of this camera Kahuna’s Ultrasoulful Work—from action shots like this one of Dennis Pang, Marvin Foster, and the late Mar A Story…
Innovations in synthetic insulation and a glut of high-quality down are making bags lighter and warmer than ever. We burrow into six of the best.
Twenty-seven specks of coral, lost in the Indian Ocean, 1,620 miles from Perth. And you thought Australia's interior was remote.
A paddle-perfect day on the Maine coast Q: I’m planning a kayaking trip to the Maine islands for a group of seven people. We would like to camp on one of the public islands for one night and paddle back the next day. Some of us have…
Bergelicious: ice soup off Chile’s Patagonian coast Q: Where are the best places to sea kayak in Chilean Patagonia? Also, do you know of any outfitters in Punta Arenas that provide good equipment without international prices? Thanks, — Patrick, Lima, Peru Adventure Advisor:…
IT WASN’T AS BIG as, say, finding a Lost Ark made of Jolly Ranchers, but the discovery last January of a vintage Hershey’s chocolate bar entombed in polar ice rocked the world of snack archaeology. Now, a year later, the company wants to know: How did the sweet get to…
Somewhere at the bottom of the deepest canyon on earth flows the Cotahuasi—a long, roiling ribbon of whitewater, a river so old and dangerous that you never master it, you just surrender to it. And pay respect to its ghosts.
Who needs Santa? We've got 65 of the choicest gifts for all the good little adventurers in your life—right here.
Just be sure to share the load with one of this year's best backpacks
SUVS have been domesticated for Mom and Mr. Fixit, but the fact remains—these beasts are built for the boondocks, and their natural habitat is the rough, open road
Wildlife Wars: My Fight to Save Africa’s Natural Treasures, by Richard Leakey and Virginia Morell (St. Martin’s Press, $26). “Wildlife wars” is not an exaggeration. In 1989, when Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi named 45-year-old Richard Leakey the country’s wildlife director, Leakey launched a bloody guerrilla war…
The Proving Ground: The Inside Story of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race, by G. Bruce Knecht (Little, Brown, $25). From Our Pages My Story as Told by Water: Confessions, Druidic Rants, Reflections, Bird-Watchings, Fish-Stalkings, Visions, Songs and Prayers, Refracting Light, From…
They're fast, they're feathery, they're superfly. The year's best lightweight hikers.
Vancouver Island is just a short ferry ride away. It only feels like you've died and gone to heaven.
Any time now, the world's last Communist stronghold will be open for adventure. But for an overzealous kayaker, that's way too long to wait.
Where do you want to go? Whether you're planning a weekend getaway or a full-blown vacation, Outside Online's Adventure Advisor is here to show you the way.
Terror put a chill on global tourism, but adventure travelers—used to a little uncertainty—seem determined to stay on the road
North of Havana is a fantasy world of mangrove-lined cays and green water flashing with tropical fish—perfect sea-kayaking country. But the line between what's permissible and what's not in Castro's kingdom falls in a gray area, and comings and goings by water always mean trouble.