Washing a single polyester jacket can send 1,900 tiny synthetic micro-fibers into waterways, where they can soak up toxins and get eaten by fish. So what is the outdoor industry doing about it?

How a humble wooden fishing craft became the quintessential Grand Canyon ride

Therm-a-Rest: The first mass-market inflatable sleeping pad.

Caves, tepees, wall tents, those green canvas triangles that caused hypothermia in so many Boy Scouts—in one form or another, ideas borrowed from these flawed shelters appear in their modern descendents.

Hummer: The civilian version of the military’s Humvee off-road vehicle, which was produced by AM General from 1992 to 2006.

Nike+: The original wearable technology for athletes.

And how it's going to change the way you see all of your stuff

Jogging Stroller: A stroller that allows parents to run and, theoretically, get their toddlers to nap.

Headphones: Any device used for playing music close to or within a wearer’s ears.

Jeep: A four-wheel-drive vehicle first produced for the U.S. Army during World War II.

Duluth pack: A heavy canvas rucksack, patented in 1882 by French Canadian Camille Poirier in Duluth, Minnesota, along the shores of Lake Superior.

Leatherman: A multitool invented by Tim Leatherman after wishing he had a pair of pliers while working on a rust-bucket Fiat with a pocket knife during a 1975 European road trip.

Blake Mycoskie: A 38-year-old philanthropist and entrepreneur who founded Toms Shoes (originally Shoes for a Better Tomorrow) in 2006.

Lumbersexual: A fashion-conscious male urbanite whose clothing and accessories project an aura of rugged manliness.

Thule: A company founded by Swedish outdoorsman Erik Thulin, originally to make fishing gear.

Jeremy Jones: A pioneering big-mountain snowboarder and snowboard designer.

Vasque Sundowner: A svelte hiking boot that serves as a testament to how well-made products can endure despite evolving design trends.

Pulaski: A wildland-firefighting tool that combines an ax and an adze and is used to clear brush and small trees.

Nalgene bottle: A durable, wide-mouthed vessel originally designed to hold chemicals.

Doug Tompkins: Businessman and crusading conservationist who cofounded the North Face and Esprit.

Heart-Rate Monitor: A device that measures a wearer’s heart rate; particularly useful for monitoring exertion in athletes.

A category of gear that came into being in the late 1960s as more and more skiers ventured beyond resort boundaries.

The world's leading design center for outdoor footwear—everything from featherweight climbing shoes to hard-shelled mountaineering stompers—is a small city in northern Italy where craftsmanship reigns.

Sick Footie: A visual recording worth replaying for others.

Double Vacuum: A technology dating back to 1892 that suspends one container inside another, leaving a small amount of air between the two to insulate the inner contents from external temperature changes.

Lifetime Warranty: A company’s promise to repair or replace an item that breaks.

USGS Topographical Map: A detailed representation of a landscape, created by the United States Geological Survey, and a rare example of something every bit as beautiful as it is useful.

A bindingless monoski invented in 1965.

A pioneering social-fitness app released in 2009.

Elk Skin Gloves: Hand protection made from the skin of the great wapiti.

Velcro: A two-piece fastening material that features hooks on one side and a swath of loops on the other.

Backcountry.com: Online retailer of a wide range of outdoor gear.

Helmet: An apparatus designed to protect the wearer against head injuries.

Fat Skis: Skis that are at least 115 millimeters underfoot.

Swiss Army Knife: The world’s first consumer multitool, designed by cutler Karl Elsener with two blades, a screwdriver, and a can opener.

Puffy: A lightweight jacket insulated with duck or goose down or synthetic fill.

Pack Raft: A small inflatable raft that can be rolled up to fit in a backpack.

Jack O’Neill: A former commercial fisherman widely credited with inventing the neoprene wetsuit.

Suunto Vector: The original smartwatch.

These innovators-in-chief changed the way we play

A rapid sequence of radical innovations, such as appeared in cycling between 1984 and 1987, the sport’s Age of Enlightenment.

Gone are the days of rangers in fire lookout towers. Now, mountain-top cameras are being used to spot smoke and flames.

Lululemon: A yoga-apparel brand founded by Canadian entrepreneur Chip Wilson in 1998.

Surfboard Fin: A structural element, usually made of wood or fiberglass, attached to the bottom of a surfboard to aid maneuverability.

Garmin Forerunner 201: The world’s first all-in-one GPS-enabled running watch, released in 2003 by Kansas navigation company Garmin.

The original American road-trip trailer, designed in 1931 by Wally Byam, was inspired by Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis.

The most valuable currency in gear marketing of the past 40 years.

Gary Fisher: A major figure in the development of mountain bikes.

An instrument of mass exhibitionism.

Fly rod: A skinny stick, usually 6 to 13 feet long, used in conjunction with a reel, a line, and hand-tied simulations of in-sects to catch fish.

Waffle: A repeating inverted cube shape adopted by sporting-goods manufacturers, beginning with Nike, which used the pattern on the sole of its iconic waffle trainer.

Founders of the Recreational Equipment Co-op (REI), which the couple started in their West Seattle home in 1938 as a way to help climber friends gain access to cheaper ice axes and harnesses by ordering bulk gear from Europe.

A cooler company whose two-inch-thick, double-walled products are so effective that its creation, in 2006, began a new era in rafting.

Blimp-tired bicycles were developed for one of the most grueling endurance races in the world. But then everyone else realized how much fun they were.

Polarization: A lens technology that cuts glare created when light reflects off materials like plastic and glass.

Wetsuit: An insulating garment that allows individuals to spend more time in cold water.

Fat shoes: Shoes with roughly 20 millimeters of foam underfoot

Phil Knight: Cofounder of athletic-shoe company Nike.

The brand of zipper that is likely keeping your britches up at this very moment. Headquartered in Tokyo, 81-year-old YKK (short for Yoshida Kogyo Kabu­shikikaisha, which translates as ­Yoshida Company Limited) was founded by Tadao ­Yoshida, who started making cus­tom zippers to take advantage of breaks and…

The Perfect Size Wheel: An elusive and controversial hoop that allows mountain bikers the ability to optimize progress over rocky terrain.

Odor Control: The relentless attempt by apparel makers to tame human stink.

A sturdy, purpose-made fishing boot that has become the gold standard of footwear in the 49th state.

P-cord: Parachute cord, also known as paracord, the world’s most versatile survival tool.

Recall: A request by a manufacturer, and usually the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), to return a product after the discovery of safety issues.

Telescoping front forks and articulating rear frame triangles that absorb bumps and shocks.

Filson, a Seattle-based maker of high-quality leather goods.

Sunglasses designed to protect a pilot’s eyes against high-altitude sun.

Commandment #1: Know thy options

Military-strong material with smart features for any civilian

Towable as hell but built with enough room to host dinner parties

Treat your feet right with bright art and classic comfort

Surfer Jamie O’Brien and his team made the fiery stunt look easy. But turns out, it took months of planning and some very specific gear to get right.

When you build the two millionth edition of an iconic 4x4, it deserves special treatment

Some our favorite images from this year's Tour de France stages in the French Alps.

Tenth Mountain Division: An Army outfit specializing in mountain warfare, devised during World War II around the idea that it was easier to make troops out of skiers than skiers out of troops.

A cool concept that does fisheries good

Glaciers! Trained grizzlies! $3.25-million dollar cameras! An inside look at the hottest bike flick of 2015.

The future has arrived, and because it’s built to fit you perfectly, it’s not going anywhere

Patagonia pulled on a thread and found migrant workers suffering under servitude in its supply chain. Will its disclosures prompt other brands to air their dirty laundry (or even look for it) as well?

A full-suspension 27.5+ built expressly for bikepacking? Who’da thunk?