Gear
Archive
The monster off-road camper we've been waiting for
Sure, lasts, uppers, and midsoles all matter. But above all, get the ones that feel good.
Our Gear Guy, Joe Jackson, pushes gear to the limit on a regular basis; casual footwear included.
We torture-tested the new crop of MTB-specific packs. Here are the 3 that held up best to the abuse.
Perfect for shooting mind-bogglingly clear footage in hard-to-reach spots
This is America's version of the Tour de France. So why is it hemorrhaging cash?
Triple7Gear CORE Nano Adventure Wallet Looking for a wallet as tough as you are? (OK, maybe a little tougher?) Read more. Teva Original Universal National Forest Sandals Bright art (and classic comfort) for your trekkin' feet. Read more. Bright art (and classic comfort) for your…
Columbia Sportswear announces it will pay two people a full six-month salary, plus benefits, to test gear around the world
Outdoor kitchen, quilt-top mattress, hot water. Who says you have to forgo the niceties while camping?
Those who enjoy seeing nature on two wheels are increasingly conflicted about legislation that would protect it
Whispbar makes gorgeous, finely honed bike and gear carriers. But are they worth the premium price?
ARTCRANK, which sells limited-edition cycling posters from local artists, is hosting an event in Breckenridge this week to coincide with the USA Pro Challenge rolling through town
The best new next-to-skin layers for a ramblin’ man
Now that you can actually shoot decent photos on your phone, it's time for a best-of-the-best battle
When the founders of Litespeed decided to get back into the bike business in 2006, they chose to stay in the city they'd always called home. Now in their eighth year, Lynskey Performance Designs continues to create some of the coolest titanium bicycles you can buy. …
A lightweight companion for preppers and smart hikers alike
We want one of these on our wall. Stat.
Google's virtual climbing projects are getting most of the press, but Mammut beat them to the punch—by nearly a year
Our first impressions of the all-new 2016 Toyota Tacoma
The company's response was fast. And honest.
Electronic shifting comes to mountain bikes. Hallelujah?
Take the appropriate precautions so you can concentrate on your ride, not the pain coming from your inner thighs
Have a blast while keeping your bike tire side down
Pedaling to work is a lot more fun with the right setup
The best backpacks and organizers for your GoPro-centric life
We give the big outdoor brands a lot of love at OR—and for good reason. This year, however, we also wanted to highlight the little guys.
Lowepro just made the new go-to adventure photo pack that features four-season protection and enough storage for a pro camera setup
A resourceful, cozy escape overlooking Puget Sound
This may be the coolest set of bike tools we've ever seen
Sick of carrying a heavy cooler into rugged or hard-to-reach spots? Igloo has you covered.
A lush hideout just a few miles from the city
The coolest outdoor toys don't always cost a fortune
In Jay Blahnik's first extended interview since Apple hired him to help launch the Watch, the company’s director of fitness for health technologies insists activity tracking is overemphasized, elite athletes have a sitting problem, and the real breakthrough apps for the device will probably be created outside of Cupertino.
Gear companies from around the world released their brand-new summer 2016 products this week at Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City. We pored over all of it, and these five products—from a brilliant new water filter to a totally reinvented waterproof jacket—were our top picks for Gear…
If you want clean, safe water in the backcountry, this is the only purifier you should be buying
This may be the coolest car-camping stove we've ever seen
Columbia just reinvented the rain jacket, and it works great
Lighter, softer, and more stylish than we thought possible for a performance top
In a time when “enduro” has become a tired epithet, the Nomad virtually reclaims the genre with downhill manners equal to any big bike and a weight that rivals many trail machines
Don’t feel like making friends with bears and raccoons? Keep your campsite locked down with these simple tips.
SUP: Short for stand-up paddle-board, a stable floating platform that combines the cool of surfing with the practicality of a spin workout.
Chip timing: The practice of using a small wearable transmitter to track race participants’ times at regular checkpoints along a course.
Dropper Post: A mountain-bike component that can be raised or lowered with a button mounted on the handlebars.
Crowdfunding: A method of raising capital to launch commercial ventures in which small individual donations are made through an online platform.
Utility bike: A bicycle built for hauling children, gear, or grocery bags full of organic quinoa and local honey.
Base-Camp Duffel: A large, 155-liter bag often seen loaded on yaks in Nepal’s Khumbu region for a few simple reasons: it can take a beating, it has straps that convert it into a backpack, and mountaineers know that it can carry all their gear.
Direct to Consumer: A business model in which a company sells its products via its own website, catalog, or store, reducing retail markup and passing the savings along to the consumer.
You can now use clipless pedals with sneakers when you want to ditch your bike shoes
Lifa Shirt: The first commercially available base layer made from polypropylene, released in 1970 by Helly Hansen.
Gear companies know how to make packs lighter, jackets more waterproof, and skis burlier. The only problem: young people couldn’t care less.
Sports Bra: A groundbreaking invention that lets women participate comfortably in a range of vigorous athletic activities.
Bill Bowerman: A legendary Oregon track coach who cofounded the shoe company Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964; 14 years later, it became Nike.
Double Plastic Mountaineering Boot: A highly reliable style of footwear that prevents frostbite in alpine environments.
Camouflage: A varying pattern of earth-colored prints designed to obscure the wearer from view, worn by hunters and members of the U.S. military
A tubeless tire tool that will fix holes too big for sealant
Denali Jacket: A popular performance fleece garment made by the North Face and commonly seen on mountaineers and college students.
Royal Robbins: Climber, businessman, and archetype for the modern clean-climbing ethic, which espouses the use of removable protection instead of pounding pitons into rock.
Rollerblade: A roller skate with soft, linearly arranged wheels offering fast, smooth glide.
Tough-ass pants: A term for rugged work trousers that are particularly good at handling abuse.
Tech binding: A lightweight binding system that transformed backcountry skiing and put telemarking on the path to obsolescence.
Jacques Cousteau: A French explorer and arguably the most prolific marine scientist and ocean conservationist of the 20th century.
The raw materials that make up the tools for hiking, running, paddling, skiing, and cycling. These 36 building blocks are indispensable to the design and function of gear, from mankind’s first wool layer to the latest lab-born membranes. (Some things just look better in print. To see this in all…
What do world-famous pilots like Jeb Corliss and Joby Ogwyn have in common? They all wear suits sewn by Tony Uragallo, a garden-loving designer who helps daring men zoom through the sky.
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.
Polarization: A lens technology that cuts glare created when light reflects off materials like plastic and glass.
The surprising tendency for technical products and trends from the outdoor world to find their way into mass culture.
Duluth pack: A heavy canvas rucksack, patented in 1882 by French Canadian Camille Poirier in Duluth, Minnesota, along the shores of Lake Superior.
Jeep: A four-wheel-drive vehicle first produced for the U.S. Army during World War II.